Opening in the Highlands of Scotland in 2002 we see a young boy named Jimmy (Rocco Haynes) watching TV before he witnesses the death of his family as the ‘rage’ virus spreads across the UK. 28 Years Later we see a different young boy named Spike (Alfie Williams) wake on the day that will see his coming of age in his survivor community.

An opening write up quickly dismisses the events of 28 Weeks Later telling us that the ‘rage’ virus was pushed back from Mainland Europe and the UK is now in a permanent quarantine zone. Spike lives on Lindisfarne, also known as ‘Holy Island’ which is a small island in the north east of England that is only connected to the mainland at high tide. This natural protection has allowed the community to survive under specific rules where raiding parties are sent to the mainland to gather goods.

On its surface the story is straightforward, we see Spike’s coming of age journey with his father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) in its first half followed by Spike’s journey with his mother Isla (Jodie Comer) to seek help for the unexplained illness that seems to be robbing her of her sanity in its second half. But the subtexts throughout have since had me thinking of the film and its messages almost non-stop and resulted in numerous conversations about the interpretations.

That is not to say that 28 Years Later shies away from the hold your breath in fear moments its previous entries have had. This is still a film franchise that knows exactly how to ratchet up the tension and hold you there for long periods of time. Just watching the protagonists consider setting up camp for the night had me panicked for what might come. And this time the story expands on how the rage virus has impacted different people in different ways by showing us “slow-lows” and “alphas. The former being bloated infected that crawl slowly on the ground searching for bugs to feed on and the latter being physically bigger, stronger and cleverer than the other infected.

The returning creative team of writer Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle have done an absolutely spectacular job of making a film that is phenomenal on all levels. Spike’s story is about lost youth as a result of a pandemic and coming of age in a challenging time. Holy Island’s story is one of isolationism and could easily be seen as a reflection on Brexit. There are many allusions to how our lived experiences directly inform how we see the world and how we behave within it. Most poignant though are the discussions of Momento Mori and how knowing you will die is important in cherishing love. And as the first film in a planned trilogy of sequels it also has an ending that will have you wanting January 2026 to come round fairly soon.

Alongside the returning Garland and Boyle is cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle who gave the original film such a distinctive look using handheld digital cameras. This time he has elected to use the Iphone 15 Pro Max alongside some specially built rigs to capture footage in a similarly mobile and quick way. But also to try to capture infected kills in a more spectacular kinetic way.

The cast are wonderful as well. The stand out star and lead is young Alfie Williams who only has two previous credits to his name and is only fourteen years old. Given the film’s emotional centre lays with his performance it is a wonderful effort. Taylor-Johnson has been on a rather good run of late playing smaller supporting roles with great impact in the likes of Tenet, Bullet Train, The Fall Guy and Nosferatu and he does the same here. His flawed father figure is perhaps more interested in the fame that being a raider gives him than keeping his eye on the duties of husband and father. Jodie Comer rises to a very difficult role of being a woman slowly succumbing to an unknown illness that can leave her rambling and wild in some moments and coherent in others. But perhaps the most memorable performance will ultimately be Ralph Fiennes who gives something special in amongst the chaos of the overarching storyline.

28 Years Later feels like a very special film with so much to say whilst still scaring you at every possible turn. Go see it.