Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, written by Alex Garland, who went on to become a wildly successful genre filmmaker in his own right, is a very well-regarded fan favorite horror movie. It led to a 2007 sequel, 28 Weeks Later, which Boyle and Garland were not directly involved with. That film was not as well received and does not have the following the original does. But Boyle and Garland are back for the latest entry in this horror franchise, 28 Years Later, arriving in theaters this weekend. I hadn’t seen the other two films in a long time, but luckily that wasn’t much of a problem. 28 Years Later works very well as a standalone film, but also leaves you pumped for the next one.

28 years after the zombie apocalypse that kicked all of this off, we open in a Scottish island, where the zombies are mostly on the mainland, and everyone has done their best to rebuild a community in this horrific post-apocalyptic setting. Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is taking his son Spike (Alfie Williams) for his first zombie-hunting lessons. Jamie is emotionally unavailable and has a strained relationship with both his son and wife. Spike’s mother Isla (Jodie Comer) is sick with something they can’t identify, and is mostly bedridden. Once Spike hears about an unconventional doctor (Ralph Fiennes) on the mainland, he takes his mother there looking for answers. And of course, a bunch of zombies are killed along the way.

28 Years Later immediately emerges as the strongest film in this franchise. I need to do a rewatch of the first two before I can say that definitely, but I was pretty blown away by this film at every turn. It starts out with a lot of tension and dread, but then sneaks up on the viewer emotionally in ways they couldn’t possibly have been expecting. It’s a horror movie that had me fully crying at one point. It delivers everything the viewer could want as a horror film, or as a creature feature, but it is also more about these characters and their relationships with one another, and the power of resilience. 

Child actor Alfie Williams is easily giving the strongest performance in this movie, and he anchors the whole thing successfully in ways that are exceedingly rare for a child actor in their first big project. He’s easily out-acting Aaron Taylor-Johnson, an actor who, to be fair, I do like, but he’s not called upon to do all that much in this film. He’s fine, but he largely disappears for the second half. Jodie Comer, an actress I barely recognize from project to project, is terrific here as well. I was worried early on that the script would sideline this character or make her less of a focus, and luckily this doesn’t happen. Ralph Fiennes is also very, very good here but the less I tell you about his character/performance, the better. Because I don’t even remember seeing him in any trailers for this movie, and it was a surprise to see him at all, much less seeing him as this specific character. 

You can tell Danny Boyle and Alex Garland have spent some considerable time figuring out what they wanted the next part of this franchise to be, because everything here feels so deliberate and so well constructed. Anthony Dod Mantle, the cinematographer who shot the original 28 Days Later, returns here and I was surprised to learn this was primarily shot using an iPhone and other smaller cameras. Considering how the film strikes such a powerful balance between the shaky-cam of the chase scenes to the beauty of some of the wide vista shots, this film always looks terrific. And another thing that sticks out is the editing here, Danny Boyle’s frequent editor Jon Harris worked on this film. Every editing choice here feels incredibly deliberate and it’s evident while you’re watching the film. Carson McColl and Gareth Pugh are the production designers here, and they effectively create what is essentially a new world for this franchise – these are all places we’ve never been to before and this world feels lived in and genuine.

Overall, 28 Years Later delivers as a horror movie, but it’s much more interesting as a human drama, elevated by some very good performances. It should be noted this is the first part of a planned trilogy, and a sequel, directed by Nia DaCosta, was filmed back-to-back with this film, and is scheduled to be released in January of next year. And leaving this one, you certainly do feel a part-one vibe. We don’t end on a ‘to be continued…’ title card, but we’re very eager to see what comes next. I’m hoping that film lives up to the standard established by this one, and if that happens, we’re all in for a treat. 28 Years Later will scare the crap out of you before it breaks your heart. It’s an intense, thrilling and emotionally charged thrill ride that’s a perfect choice for this summer movie season.