It has been 28 (film) years since the rage virus spread from a lab monkey to humans, creating vicious and violent zombie-like creatures to roam the UK and cause irreversible destruction.
How did this event dismantle society and impact the way the survivors live, behave and navigate life?
Filmmakers Alex Garland and Danny Boyle return to the world they created to explore the lasting devastating impacts and what it looks like almost 30 years later.
While the rest of the world has moved on, the UK is quarantined with the virus contained – but the infected still roam, creating a wasteland.
A small community thrives on a tiny, isolated island off the coast of England connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway accessible only by foot and during low tide.
The community lives without mod-cons, reverting to traditional methods like hunting and only going back to the mainland for supplies when desperate times arise.
As a rite of passage, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) takes his pre-teen son Spike (Alfie Williams) to the infected mainland for the first time ever and to experience his first kill with a bow and arrow.
It is an experience fraught with danger and close calls, but when Spike learns about weird loner Dr Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), who lives on the mainland, he returns with his sick mother Isla (Jodie Comer) to receive medical attention.
28 Years Later is a tension-filled return to the world established in 2002, showing how things have changed, or in some cases, not changed at all.
While this part three doesn’t explore the very fascinating concept of rage as an infectious disease to any further depths, it does show us developments in this world and the virus’ impact that serve as genuine surprises.
Even ways the infected people have developed may have a jaw-dropping effect.
Writer Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle dipped out of the series for the sequel 28 Weeks Later, and their lack of presence was noticeable.
While it was a solid film, the sequel’s reliance on CGI to convey scale seems like the opposite direction to what Garland and Boyle established in their original film.
They have now returned to bring it back on track – a down and dirty, almost documentary-like presentation of this broken world.
That is not to say that they have repeated themselves; they have built on what they established, expanded the world, and shifted the tone to give us a more emotional experience.
Horror fans need not fret – there are still the requisite jump scares and gory moments.
In fact, there are several white-knuckle sequences that are made all the more terrifying because of the sympathetic family that we follow.
Some may squirm during the quieter moments that develop character, relationships and dynamics, but this just ensures a richer experience for when danger lurks.
The cast is so dynamic (Williams is a stand-out among greats) that one may even be moved to tears during a particularly moving sequence later in the piece.
This is a great return to the series that leaves an appetite for further exploration of this world.
And those of us who want more are in luck – another is just around the corner.
8 out of 10
