Alfie Williams and Ralph Fiennes in ’28 Years Later’
Sony Pictures
28 Years Later is an unusual sequel, showing the aftermath of the Rage Virus of 28 Days Later, telling a compelling, stand-alone story that sets up another sequel for the franchise.
28 Days Later is credited with popularizing the “fast zombie” to cinemas, and like many iconic zombie films, concludes with a plot twist hinting that humans are the real monsters.
28 Years Later takes a different approach—it’s a late sequel and standalone coming-of-age story that illustrates how life moves on, even after the apocalypse, while setting up an intriguing sequel, The Bone Temple.
What Happens In ‘28 Years Later’?
The film begins with a bungled attempt by Jamie (Aaron-Taylor Johnson) to induct his twelve-year-old son Spike (Alfie Williams) into manhood by taking him on a scavenging hunt to the mainland where he can see the remnants of British society, and make his first kill.
Spike feels deeply disappointed by his father when Jamie later lies about his prowess, and cheats on his chronically ill mother, Isla (Jodie Comer)—Isla is suffering from a mysterious ailment that leaves her disoriented and in pain.
When Spike finds out that there’s a doctor living on the mainland, he sets off with his mother to try and cure her sickness, leaving his father behind.
Spike and his mother struggle to survive in the formidable landscape of post-apocalypse Britain, and discover that the Rage Virus has evolved.
‘28 Years Later’ Introduces New Zombie Lore
The original 28 Days Later is credited with introducing the “fast zombie,” but the infected of this world aren’t technically zombies at all—they’re living hosts to the Rage Virus, which keeps victims in a state of psychotic fury.
Unlike traditional zombies, the infected can starve to death, and can be taken down by a shot to the heart, but can withstand terrible pain and injury, seemingly without noticing, as their body is constantly flooded with adrenaline.
While the infected don’t exactly look their best, they’re not as ravaged as traditional zombies, and do not seem to decay if they maintain a heavy protein diet.
28 Years Later introduces crawling, bloated bottom-feeders known as “Slow Lows,” and “Alphas,” which are much taller and stronger than the average infected.
Alphas all seem to share a fixation with tearing out the heads and spinal columns of their victims, wielding them as a kind of hunting trophy.
The film hints that there’s more to these infected than what we once knew, as a pregnant infected woman gives birth to a non-infected baby, and displays a touch of humanity during her delivery.
The Alpha who impregnated her seems horrified by her murder, implying that the infected don’t just have sex lives, but seemingly, affectionate relationships.
It’s just a glimpse of humanity, but it’s an intriguing development that hints that the infected could eventually evolve beyond mindless hoards.
What Happens At The End Of ‘28 Years Later’?
Spike and Isla take the miracle baby to shelter, a temple made of bones constructed by Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes).
While Spike’s father was terrified of Kelson due to his fixation with the dead, Spike learns that the man is paying his respects to the deceased by maintaining a memorial tower of skulls.
Kelson has learned to live in peace surrounded by violence, and chooses to subdue the infected with sedatives rather than slay them.
Kelson tells Spike that his temple is an ode to the inevitability of death—he literally calls it a “Memento Mori.” Kelson then diagnoses Isla with terminal cancer, underlining his point.
Spike’s mother informs him that she always felt that she was dying, but wanted someone else to tell him. Spike’s father may have tried to harden him to the murderous life of a scavenger, but he never told him the bitter truth about his mother.
Kelson teaches Spike how to grow beyond his parents, giving Isla a mercy killing and allowing Spike to place her skull on the top of the structure.
Spike learns to accept death and suffering, but understands that he cannot lose hope. Hope, of course, is represented by the miracle baby, which Spike names after his mother.
28 Years Later draws a similar conclusion to the animated film The Boy and The Heron, proposing that the old ways are dying, and deservedly so, but something new is emerging from the embers.
Spike leaves the newborn Isla with his community, then moves on, so he can travel the mainland in solitude.
At the very end, Spike encounters the child we saw during the very first scene of the film, whose father abandoned him to religious delusion during the initial outbreak, a man known as “Sir Jimmy Crystal” (Jack O’Connell).
Sir Jimmy Crystal gives deeply unsettling vibes from the get-go, and while his bizarre gang of hoodlums do save Spike’s life, it’s implied that Spike may have wandered into a much worse situation.
As 28 Days Later concludes, humans are the real monsters—we’ll soon see what becomes of Spike when the upcoming sequel, The Bone Temple, is released.
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