28 Years Later: Zombies And A Tale Of Two Film Reviews

Zombies, baby!

Yeah I know that the director of 28 Years Later pooh-poohed calling those unfortunates infected with the rage virus as actual "zombies", that's how I, and lots of others, see them.

This 3rd installment of the 28 Days Later "franchise" was released 20 June, 2025 and was directed by David Boyle who also helmed the first movie. Alex Garland wrote both movies but neither was involved with the 2nd in the series "28 Weeks Later", and Boyle has mentioned that movie isn't really considered canon, even though this one follows the same basic timeline.

If you're unfamiliar with the franchise, YouTube channel Looper has posted a handy summary of the movies which will bring you up to date with the storyline.

I've included their video below, followed by reviews of 28 Years Later from two YouTube film critics I have been following for years, Jeremy Jahns and Chris Stuckmann. Also there's an interview from Rotten Tomatoes Trailers by Mark Ellis with actors from the movie, Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer, Alfie Williams (Spike), plus a few words from director David Boyle, along with the film's writer Alex Garland about their favorite scenes.

Looper Recap of the 28 Years Later film series

Here's a quick rundown of the three movies from Looper that hit on the main points of the story, from the initial outbreak and immediate followup where the main character played by Cillian Murphy navigates his newfound reality, to the second movie, carried by Robert Carlyle, Catherine McCormack, Rose Byrne and Jeremy Renner, to the "present day" with Alfie Williams, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes.

Cillian Murphy played the lead in "28 Days Later", the original that kicked off the franchise way back in 2002. If you're unfamiliar with what he's done since, he played Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders (I could go on and on about Peaky Blinders...) and of course winning a BAFTA as well as the Best Actor Oscar for his lead role in "Oppenheimer".

In the first movie he awakens from a coma to find he's not in Kansas anymore, discovering a seemingly empty London, but then finds out he's not alone, and soon pursued by fast-moving hordes of rage monsters.

This film made zombies kind of cool again, but more terrifying than the slow, shuffling Romero-era zombies, as these ones sprinted after you to chase you down.

Not your Dad's zombies, my boy. Not at all.

By the second movie, the story switches to Robert Carlyle's character, as he and his wife (Catherine McCormack) return to England weeks later (hence the 28 Weeks Later movie title) after those infected have appeared to have all died out, but Carlyle's character finds himself forced to abandon his wife to survive as a new wave of the rage virus manifests and their home in the country is attacked by the newly infected.

He is racked by the guilt because he ran away and left his partner to die, but later finds she has miraculously survived. I won't spoil it if you haven't seen the movie yet.

Jeremy Johns Review Of 28 Years Later

I've been subbed to Jeremy Jahns' film critic channel forever now and enjoy his quirky takes on whatever movies come out. I trust him to not fluff up a film just because the actors involved are more famous than other actors but he focuses in on aspects of the film or actor in ways I think "Why didn't I see that?" Or, "Okay. I'm NOT crazy after all. This guy's sees the same weird vibe in this movie I see."

But I'm not here writing some fanboy stuff to make him better in your eyes. Either you'll enjoy his takes or you won't. Here he is describing 28 Days Later.

Odd how Jeremy got himself a haircut between the opening and main body of the video (did you notice that too?). Also, I liked the little Star Wars "jumpscare" wedged into his review. His take on the theatrical aspects of the movie (arrow heads hot parts) were interesting.

What did you think of his review? If you want more, he's been doing this for 15 years now on YouTube and probably has reviews of the first two movies of the series stashed away somewhere in his twenty-two hundred review videos.

Chris Stuckmann Review Of 28 Years Later

I got "Stuckmannized" a long time back and have been subbed to Chris Stuckmann probably as long as Jeremy Jahns, and although they cover a lot of the same territory, I also like seeing what Chris has to say about the latest flicks.

Both of these guys have just over 2 million subs each and Chris also has a huge number of reviews on YouTube, so I'd be surprised if you haven't seen something he's reviewed.

Take a quick look at what he has to say about 28 Years Later and see if you agree with his take.

Many times I like hearing what Chris says about a movie because he has something of an eye for the filmmaking aspects of what he's reviewing and gives you his own slant on the movie in question. Another thing I enjoy is the way he describes whatever film he's reviewing, like an informative, short, introduction or summary.

Not a lot of words, but punchy and he gets efficiently to the point. Like in the video above. He points to Boyle's direction and brings attention to his consistency with what he did with the first movie.

Also enjoyed hearing about how much he enjoyed Alfie Williams' solid portrayal of Spike and how he fleshes out his character.

The '28 Years Later' Cast Reveal the Scenes That Scared Them the Most

The video below is Mark Ellis interviewing Ralph Fiennes and Jodie Comer for Rotten Tomatoes Trailers, followed by Alfie Williams and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who played the pivotal role of Spike and Jamie, with Williams receiving a lot of credit with having done an awesome job for someone so relatively young and having little previous experience in carrying a major film.

Finally they trot out Boyle and Garland for some much deserved backslaps and kudos for again re-invigerating the zombie genre.

Always interesting to hear veteran actors like Fiennes give details like the cold body makeup causing him a little discomfort and then Aaron Taylor-Johnson (who played Spike's father Jamie) and Williams discussing the railway scene and learning to use the bows and arrows.

But what do you think about the movie? Does it stand up to the first or second? Or does it stand on its own two feet? Where do you think they'll take the story next or should there be another film in the series?