28 Years Later early reviews: Gripping zombie film gets high praise, fans say: ‘This is a ride you don’t want to miss’
With high praise, the third 28 Days Later film is already being hailed as a masterful addition to the horror canon
It’s been nearly two decades since the rage virus last tore across the big screen, but if early reactions are anything to go by, 28 Years Later might just be the triumphant return fans have been hoping for.
Following 28 Days Later (2002) and 28 Weeks Later (2007), the long-awaited third chapter in the apocalyptic horror franchise arrives in theatres this weekend. And this time, it reunites the original creative dream team — writer Alex Garland, director Danny Boyle, and Oscar-winning cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle — for a blood-soaked raw continuation of the saga.
A story of survival and evolution
Set decades after the initial outbreak, 28 Years Later explores what’s left of humanity after thirty years of surviving the rage virus. A heavily quarantined Britain has forced survivors into tight, militarized enclaves. One such group lives isolated on a small island connected to the mainland by a single causeway. But when one member dares to venture out, they uncover a disturbing new evolution of the virus, one that’s no longer confined to the infected.
The stakes are higher, the fear more intimate, and the virus, it seems, deadlier than ever.
Early reviews
The first reactions have started pouring in and they’re overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Fans and critics alike are calling it everything from a “visual feast” to the most powerful entry in the franchise yet. “Believe me when I say you’re not ready for how cool this ends up being. Just absolutely masterful cinematography, editing, & direction. You’ll know exactly when these scenes are. 28 YEARS LATER is a visual FEAST. This turned me into the ‘leaning in’ meme,” one X user wrote. Another chimed in: “#28YearsLater is exactly the kind of bleak and raw chaos I wanted. Danny Boyle gives us a kinetic, emotional rollercoaster that uses a bunch of different camera techniques to great effect. This is a ride you don’t want to miss out on.”
There’s high praise for how the film balances its standalone appeal with the weight of its legacy. “#28YearsLater was well worth the wait. As a standalone, it’s incredible — but when you add the history of the rage virus and everything that makes this franchise so unique, it becomes something truly special. Danny Boyle shows just how much he’s evolved as a filmmaker, while reminding us how much these damn zombies have evolved too. This might be my favorite of the three—and that’s saying a lot, because I freaking love the first one. What a return. 4.5/5.” And then there are the more visceral reactions: “I loved 28 YEARS LATER, a proudly batshit beginning to a z̶o̶m̶b̶i̶e̶ horror epic trilogy, confronting the consequences of the Old Ways while Boyle’s love of digi-cinema experimentation is in full bore. In turns feverishly visceral and shockingly emotional — I cried. Go in blind.”
With audiences calling it “incredible,” “emotional,” and “worth the wait,” 28 Years Later may not just be a long-anticipated sequel — it might be the franchise's most defining chapter yet.
