28 Years Later (2025) Review

Plot: A boy (Alfie Williams) and his ill mother (Jodie Comer) travel to the mainland ravaged by those infected by the Rage Virus to find a doctor (Ralph Fiennes) who may be able to cure her.

Review: Like many people, I enjoyed both 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later (and, to be honest, I enjoyed Weeks more than Days). I’m bummed that they skipped to 28 Years Later without first having 28 Months Later, but I get the idea…as almost 28 years had passed since the last movie (okay, okay, 18, but you get the idea).

This movie does something I detest – it serves only to set up another movie. I hate that. If a film can’t stand on its own (proverbial) two feet, then you’re not making a movie, you’re making a television series. What if 28 Years Later bombed? Then, we wouldn’t get the next installment, which completes the story! Mind you, the next movie was shot back-to-back, so that wouldn’t happen in this case, but you know what I mean. The ending leads to the next film, and I’m intrigued, but also annoyed. There’s a whole sequence at the beginning of the flick that sets up a character not for this film, but the next one. Ugh. Hate that.

The movie does have some sticky points. Spike and his dad go to the mainland to…what? Raid other places for supplies? Sure, but with the island needing supplies up until now, those places would have already been ransacked. To…have Spike learn how to shoot the infected? Sure, but with the island being cut off from the mainland, you don’t really need him to learn to shoot. As a coming-of-age thing…okay…why? How about to…have an excuse for Spike and his mother’s future trip to the mainland? Bingo…and that’s fine. But, in the context of the initial trip to the mainland, it makes no sense. I also love how Spike magically gets better at shooting the infected the second time he’s on the mainland. First time, he can’t hit the broad side of a barn with a bazooka. Second time, he’s a great marksman. Yeah.

However, the movie has a great cast. Alfie Williams, as Spike, was not annoying – a rarity for child actors these days. In fact, I liked him…a lot. When his dad is bragging about his non-exploits on their trip to the mainland, he’s like, nah, I wasn’t good. I’m glad they made him humble and realistic. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is damn good as the flawed father, it’s amazing watching the guy who was Kick-Ass in all these varied roles now. Ralph Fiennes was excellent as always. It’s rare to see him as a “good guy”, so this was a bit of a treat. The standout performer was Edvin Ryding as the sarcastic, frightened Swedish soldier – he injected some humour into his few scenes. He was wildly entertaining in the brief time he was on screen.

The movie also had some great thrills. The chase across the causeway as the sun was setting was gripping and visually terrific, and the best scene in the film. The attack on the underground cell, the soldiers battling the infected in the culvert, the infected kid creeping up on a sleeping Spike – there were a lot of great, tense moments in this movie. Also, it’s filmed stunningly and did quite a service to the locales they filmed in.

I will say that I am very interested in the next movie – the ending of this movie left me wanting to see more, which was a good thing. I’ll see 28 Years Later: The Bone Church next year and hope that the series continues to deliver solid entertainment that continues to do a just service to a legendary sub-genre of horror films.