28 Years Later

Plot

It has been 28 years since the rage virus plagued the UK. The outside world have left them to fend for themselves on the chance they will infect the rest of the planet.

Those who survived have lived in isolation, cut themselves off from the mainland and live in solitude.

A young family, with dad Jamie – is taking his young son Spike across to the mainland for his ‘first kill’. On a night trapped there, Spike spots a fire in the distance, and upon his return discovers that it belongs to a doctor.

Believing the doctor might be the salvation for his sick mother Isla, Spike orchestrates a mission to take his ailing mother to the doctor to save her.

Direction

Original director Danny Boyle returns to direct, from a script by original writer Alex Garland.

While the direction is amazing, I didn’t really care for some of the over abundance of CGI at times (especially during the Alpha chase across the causeway). Had it been more reliant on practical effects this would have been a much stellar scene – and added to the tension, rather than take it away.

Cast/Characters

Spike, played by Alfie Williams is really the central cast member (despite getting billed fourth). He is the heart of the film, and has memorable moments with all the other cast members.

Jodie Comer plays mum Isla, who is dangerously ill – and Spike ‘kidnaps her’ to take her to the mainland to find Dr Kelson, the supposedly insane Dr who lives there. She does great moments of both lucidity and confusion as her mystery illness is taking over her body.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Jamie, who we “think” is the child from the cold open (*** twist *** he’s not). He is trying to train his son on the ways of the world. While he loves his wife, he is also having an affair with one of the townspeople. He is off-screen for the second half of the movie as Spike takes Isla in search of Kelson.

Ralph Fiennes plays Dr Kelson. He is only on screen for the last half an hour, but my goodness what a performance. His entire demeanor of the world around him, and the way he is with both Isla and Spike is mesmerising.

Jack O’Connell shows up for the last few minutes as the leader of a group of survivors (and gets third billing). This is due to the fact he is to be in the sequel… Bone Temple.

Edvin Ryding plays Erik, a Sweedish soldier who saves Isla and Spike in an attack. He is from ‘the outside’ where the world has continued to exist in how we the audience know it (Internet, Smart Phones, Uber etc).

Breakdown

Starting with a ‘cold open’ of the events that started the rage virus, we see a young boy who flees to safety following a carnage in his home town, taking with him a cross belonging to his priest father.

Cut to 28 years later – and we see a community living in what is essentially the pre-industrial revolution. Jamie, is dad to Spike who is 12, and ready for his first venture out to the mainland (they live cut off from the mainland except for a causeway which opens up during the day, and is covered with water at night). Spikes’ mum Isla has been sick for some time, and Jamie seems almost apathetic towards her, due to her constant mood changes, which include her cursing him out with every name under the sun. because of this apathy he has even taken another lover.

The film has two distinct parts: dad Jamie’s – where Spike and Jamie head to the mainland – they are hunted by an alpha zombie (smarter and stronger) – and spike witnesses a fire in the distance that Jamie ‘swears’ he knows nothing about. these are quite sweet as spike constantly puts himself down on his ‘in-action’ on killing the zombies, but jamie is nothing but proud of his son.

In the ‘second’ part, spike learns of ‘Dr Kelson’ and vows to take mum there to help her. They have a few close run ins with some zombies (and in her brief lucidity is able to off some of them before they do spike), and soon they meet a kindly Swedish soldier who shows them, and tells them all the things about the world outside of the infected zone such as the internet and smart phones! survivors are likely not able to leave the mainland UK for fear of spreading the virus to the rest of the world.

They also bare witness to the birth of a baby from a zombie woman – and the baby is not infected. Not before another run in with the alpha (rip Erik), and then they meet the ‘crazy’ Dr Kelson – who is actually the complete opposite. he is lucid, kindly, empathetic and extremely educated. he quickly deduces what is wrong with Isla – which leads them into philosophical conversations on life, death etc.

He honors the dead by building a monument out of their skulls, and some of the characters we meet even end up on his ‘memento mori’.

I found this second half of the film less about horror – but about living/death/family – and how they are important to us. This might have been a disservice to some fans or watchers of the film, but I loved every moment of Fiennes being on screen.

Following *** spoiler *** Isla’s death, and being placed at the top of Memento Mori, Spike takes the child back to his community, and goes out on his own… this leads to the set up to the sequel with “The Jimmy’s” led by… Jimmy the boy from the cold open – who seemingly has led a group to honour Jimmy Saville (who’s prolific allegations came about in 2012 – a decade before the rage virus). I can’t wait to see this one, and what Fiennes does in it (I’ve heard it is much better than this).

The score by Young Fathers is simply fantastic, and honours the first film.

Overall

Every now and then you watch a long awaited sequel and it is not worth the wait… This was totally worth it.

The performances, the direction, the score, and all of what Ralph Fiennes brings to the table is just extraordinary.

A superb sequel. Can’t wait to see what is to come with Bone Temple.

4/5

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