In the seminal 2002 horror film 28 DAYS LATER, director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland turned the tired zombie film on its rotting head. The zombification of the population of England was caused in their film by the accidental release of a highly contagious, aggression-inducing virus that traveled fast, could infect a victim irreparably in 30 seconds or less, and turn them absolute bonkers. Humans who could think, talk, and reason were suddenly turned into marauding, mindless cannibals, attacking the uninfected and laying all of Britain to waste in a month. The film’s title referred to the scant time it took for Britain to go from a thriving nation to a dystopian hellhole. Oh, and did I mention that the zombies in this story could run with lightning speed, not lurch about as in previous efforts? By putting such fresh spins on zombie clichés, Boyle and Garland changed the game.
A sequel followed in 2007 that saw American troops arrive in the UK to try and contain the contagion. A successful comic book series from Fox Atomic also followed, as well as numerous imitators riding the renewed zombie wave including THE WALKING DEAD and THE LAST OF US. Now, along comes 28 YEARS LATER, but for this horror fan the new effort from Boyle and Garland is a mixed bag. Much of what was amazing decades ago is still present: state-of-the-art production values, pulsating action, passionate acting, and shocking violence. Unfortunately, it all feels very familiar after all these years, especially given so many other entries crowding the sub-genre. Additionally, the story has some large lapses in logic and clarity that it never overcomes and ultimately ends up seriously marring the fun.
The story finds survivors who have been untouched by the Rage virus now live in isolation on a small, tidal island connected to the mainland of England by a single causeway. They use that causeway to travel back and forth to gather lumber for fire, as well as scavenge for other needs. That very plot point alone raises numerous questions that are never adequately answered, like whether or not the rest of the world is wholly infected or what efforts had been made in all those decades to defeat the plague. At one point, a character is holding a modern cellphone and my first question is why Apple is still cranking out new editions even if the market is yay thin for them. Additionally, how do the mostly nude Ragers survive the elements or even a cold British winter? Such lack of context feels incomplete and prevents those watching in the cineplex from gathering a truer understanding of what’s going on in this new world order.
What we are given are three strong characters to focus on. Macho dad Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a scavenger in the village, is trying to help his 12-year son Spike (Alfie Williams) become a man to help scavenge. He’s got his hands full already though with an ill, borderline psychotic wife Isla (Jodie Comer), as well as his own issues with drunkenness, volatility, and fidelity. During the first trip with his son to the mainland, the kid almost gets them killed several times, proving that the pre-teen Spike is not capable yet. And it’s brought home when a Rager chases the two all the way home across the waterway.
Yet the immature Spike is undeterred and hears a local mention a doctor who legend has it has survived on the mainland. Spike thinks that the MD can help cure his mum and in no time, he’s venturing across the causeway with her in search of a diagnosis. It’s such a misbegotten scheme, even for a 12-year-old, it’s almost laughable. Isla, with her erraticism and physical lethargy, would be a liability during a sunny walk in the park, let alone on such a risky mission. Still, that’s the entirety of the plot.
To keep such machinations going, the filmmakers decide to lessen the Ragers threat substantially at this point, along with a lot of what’s left of the film’s credibility. Surprise, surprise, when the duo is in a jam, they manage to outrun their aggressive predators or luckily get assists from a helpful stranger or two within reach. Garland is one of the smartest screenwriter/filmmakers working today, as evidenced by his films EX MACHINA and ANNIHILATION, but Isla’s continuing survival in the wild feels like an elaborate cheat. It gets worse too, like when she defeats a Rager handily with no weapons but her bare hands, and even helps a raging pregnant zombie deliver her baby. Comer is very good in the part, but her skills don’t make her character all that more credible a creation.
The doctor finally shows up in the third act, and is played by Ralph Fiennes. (Given away in the trailer.) The veteran actor adds considerable gravitas to the proceedings, but his character defies logic as well, surviving on his own for decades in the wild with no medicine, limited shelter and supplies, not to mention Ragers roving all around him in the woods. But rather than seek out or build safer digs, he has chosen instead to construct monuments to those who’ve died during the plague via jutting towers of skulls and bones. If he can do that, couldn’t he make a better home for himself than a dug out space with a woven-stick hatch? Why doesn’t Boyle and Garland’s world building make more sense?
Boyle pulls out of a lot of his directorial flourishes – skip-framing the editing, playing with film speeds, adding jarring visual effects and ear-piercing sound design – but none of it helps gloss over the dull patches in between the action set pieces where very little happens. Meanwhile, Garland’s script manages to throw in some foreign soldiers late in the game yet still ignores bigger questions about where the global community stands in context of all these events 28 years later.
Sure, there is plenty to engage horror fans here, and I admired a great deal of it, but logic problems and a lack of contextualization shouldn’t be as shocking to those watching this long-gestating sequel as all the bloody carnage on display.
