Note: The following article contains major plot details from the movies ’28 Days Later’ and ’28 Weeks Later.’
When Danny Boyle’s ’28 Days Later’ sneaked into theaters in 2002, it not only breathed new life into the traditional zombie film, since he clearly aimed to give it a new spin, unlike any other series. Rage Virus had nothing to do with zombies. Or the pace, ferocity, and ideology of the rage that spreads when the collapse of society occurs in one night. It is clear that the filmmaker reveals the silence that follows after the damage has occurred. The empty streets of London, the tentative relationships between the survivors, and the eerie silence between the attacks made it a horror film show, which would soon be interrupted by outbreaks of violence.
But then five years later, 28 Weeks Later came along and tossed us subtlety out the window. This sequel, led by director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, is not going to ask you to linger in dread because it throws you headlong into direct chaos. Where Days was an intimate chamber piece, Weeks is a full-blown example of an apocalypse that occurred and continued in the new 28 Years Later film.
Four Survivors vs. An Entire City on Fire
The first movie had its scope neatly focused on 4 key characters named Jim, Selena, Hannah, and Frank, as they move through the devastated Britain, after realizing that there is hope in a radio message, but when they realize the true reason for that message, it is merely terror and loneliness. The two girls, Selena and Hannah, were pursued by the soldiers, who were so desperate that they were about to kill both of them. The whole film was recorded using a video camera, and this made the frightening moments among the running scenes even more terrifying. The handing out of medicine to the small Hannah, who lost her father very recently, was an extremely shattering moment. The fight of Jim to save the girls was somewhat a cheering moment for us, but the continued duration of that moment was straight-up horrifying. In contrast, 28 Weeks Later has an amplified scope. Here, we are presented with a U.S.-led Safe Zone, where we see NATO soldiers standing by and the hope that London can be restored from the Rage Virus. The actual plot centers around two kids named Tammy and Andy, who are in the United States and later come back to London, which was now declared as a Safe Zone. Don, the father of the kids, briefs them about how he lost his wife and their mother to the virus. Of course, this is not true. At the beginning of the movie, we see a group of people speaking, and then we also witness Don hugging his wife. The second scene progresses as a kid rings on their door, who was chased by the infected.
The Saga Evolves As ’28 Years Later’ Expands the Threat
The story began to unroll horrifically as all were affected by it, except Don, who remained the sole survivor, escaping through sheer luck and leaving his wife behind while she cried for help. However, the imaginary tale that Don spun did not go as planned, as the kids managed to escape to the mainland, outside the safe zone, back to their house, where they found their mother, who was alive and alone. She was then seen to be immune to the Rage Virus but a carrier of the virus as well. Then comes one kiss that blows everything about the safe zone to smithereens. Don’s desperate try to regain connection with his infected wife, who was left alone amidst the horde of infected, and everything goes haywire. The Rage Virus breaks out once again, and in no time, the whole city is engulfed in flames. Helicopters cut through the crowds of people, firestorms light up the roads, and soldiers gun down civilians along with the infected. The show and the delivery are merciless. Whereas Boyle focused on human cruelty in the guise of predatory soldiers, Weeks brings the blade home. The betrayal of Don’s wife, his infection, and subsequent transformation into the very horror that pursues his children packs a far more personal, far more chilling punch. Horror is no longer abstract, as the maker has made it all familial. There is no safety anywhere, including the home. 28 Weeks Later never gave us a reprieve in between or allowed us to catch our breath. Once the virus began to spread, it was a free fall. One adrenaline-fueled sequence after another, designed as much to weary the viewer as the characters. Now, in 2025, comes the sequel, 28 Years Later. Boyle and writer Alex Garland are back together again, having launched a new trilogy in much the same way as they did Days, but this time tapping the catastrophic potential of Weeks by introducing new strains that evolved from the virus. This new film had a bigger budget and a clean slate of creative ambition, and it did indeed redefine the series all over again, this time taking into account its predecessors.
