Tag: Zombies

28 Years Later Review: A Thrilling and Oddly Moving Return.

In my teens, I went through a zombie phase. 
The Walking Dead, The Living Dead franchise, and The Last of Us were all zombie properties I greatly enjoyed. 
And then there was 28 Days Later. 
The movie which introduced the concept of running zombies (I know, I know, they are called infected in the film), 28 Days Later truly scared me.
Despite liking other zombie movies, I always wondered how the zombies caused apocalypses when they walked so slow.
But the Rage Virus in 28 Days Later convinced me by introducing not only fast zombies, but ones with an almost instant turn-rate upon infection. 
Due to how much this concept frightened me, it took me a while to watch 28 Weeks Later but, when I finally got the courage to do so, I was met with one of the best horror openings in movie history. 

Watching Don abandon his wife to survive was shocking and riveting.

So, when it was announced over twenty years later that Danny Boyle and Alex Garland were returning to make a third installment, I was obviously excited.
My excitement only grew with the first trailer, which I consider one of the best trailers of all time.
It turned an already grim poem, Boots by Rudyard Kipling, and made it even more terrifying.
Now, after many months of waiting, 28 Years Later is finally here. 
Having literally just returned home from having seen it, what did I think of it?
Well, I am pleased to say that 28 Years Later is a great film… but not in the way I expected. 
Directed by Danny Boyle, and written by Alex Garland, 28 Years Later picks up, well, 28 years after the Rage Virus has decimated the UK.
Despite the mainland being full of infected, some have survived on a nearby island.
One day, scavenger Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) takes his young son Spike (Alfie Williams) to the mainland in the hopes of him getting his first infected kill.

The movie truly begins with Spike’s coming-of-age mission.

While out there, they encounter new kinds of infected, a body mysteriously hung up by the feet, and signs of other survivors. 
Spike learns that one of these survivors may be Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), a doctor who could potentially help his sick mother, Isla (Jodie Comer).
That is all I will say about the plot, though.
The movie is well acted across the board, with the young Alfie Williams being the breakout star, in my opinion.
As for the cinematography and editing, both are stellar, delivering quick and frenetic shots of the infected, which make them just as scary as they were in the first two films, if not more so.
What makes this especially impressive is that 28 Years Later was filmed on an iPhone. 
I know the director did not just pull an I-Phone out of his pocket and start filming, there was clearly other technology involved in making this film look as good as it does.
But, still, it is impressive.

28 Years Later looking so good makes me wonder how other films made using iPhones and similar technology could look.

Moving onto the quality of the story now, what did I mean when I said the film was great but not in the way I expected?
From the trailers, I expected 28 Years Later to be a constant thrill ride, full of horror and tense scenes.
While those things were certainly present, what I was not expecting 28 Years Later to be was moving, with an especially poignant message about death and letting go. 

“There are many kinds of death,” Ralph Fiennes’ character tells us.

Speaking of the unexpected, though, what the hell was up with that ending?
It felt like the movie switched genres. 
That is not a complaint, however.
I thought the abrupt tonal shift of the ending worked brilliantly, especially with how it both paid off prior foreshadowing and also paved the way for the future.
That’s right, a sequel is on the way: The Bone Temple, which was shot consecutively with this film and is expected to release early next year. 
After how great 28 Years Later was, and the impact of its ending, I will definitely be checking the sequel out when it comes to theaters. 

The ending left me hungry for more 28 However Long Later.

So, I have had a lot of good things to say about 28 Years Later, but do I have any negatives?
Well, if I had to nitpick, I would say the CGI could be a bit noticeable at times, but that’s about it.
Otherwise, 28 Years Later is a fantastic film and more than worth the wait. 
It is gory, thrilling and, above all else, surprisingly moving, making 28 Years Later one of my favorite films of 2025 so far, alongside Sinners.
I am already looking forward to The Bone Temple.    

All of Us Are Dead Review: High School of the Dead.

After another rewatch of Train to Busan, I suddenly remembered the trailer of a South Korean zombie show I had never got around to watching, All of Us Are Dead.
Based off the manhwa by Joo Dong-geun, the story is set at a high school where a zombie outbreak occurs and then spreads to the rest of the fictional city of Hyosan.
The show then follows the students and various other survivors in the city as they attempt to survive the outbreak in twelve episodes.

All of Us Are Dead follow its characters’ attempts to survive in a fun but slightly drawn-out season.

Starting off with the positives, the characters are all pretty well done, for the most part.
The characters the writers want you to like you like, and the characters the writers want you to hate you really hate.
In particular, I want to commend Lee Yoou-mi’s performance as Lee Na-yeon.
She played Ji-yeong in Squid Game.
I mention this because, whereas I really sympathized with her character in that show, I absolutely despised her character in All of Us Are Dead.
It really showed off her acting range. 

It is really difficult not to despise Na-yeon after the first few episodes.

As for characters I liked, I personally found myself gravitating towards the side characters more than the main ones, like Yang Dae Su (Im Jae-hyuk), the group’s cheerful heavy hitter.
That is not to sell the main characters short, though, because they are all pretty good.
As for the zombies pursuing these characters, they are all threatening, what with their speed and resemblance to the ones from Train to Busan (which is referenced).
There are also things which make them fairly unique compared to other zombies, such as the concept of “Hambies.”

The zombies of All of Us Are Dead bring new things to the table while also feeling familiar.

Just as interesting are the characters ways of surviving the zombies, usually twisting their school supplies into methods of survival.
While it is a plus to see how smart these characters are in certain situations, it unfortunately makes times when they make mind blowingly stupid decisions standout.
This, sadly, happens often, culminating in the most unnecessary self-sacrifice I have seen in a long time, making me roll my eyes. 
There are also quite a few moments of convenience and, to top it off, I would say that there was an overabundance of subplots.
I think at least a few of the extra storylines could have been cut down or removed entirely and not much would change.

Moments of extreme convenience, like this one, drag the show down,

Still, despite these many criticism, I would still recommend All of Us Are Dead.
Yes, the story can be pretty frustrating with characters making stupid decisions, moments of convenience, and a few too many subplots.
But, on the other hand, the zombies are threatening and have some unique qualities, the methods used to combat them are interesting, and the characters are engaging, whether they are likeable or purposefully unlikeable.
It will be a while until Season Two, though, since filming is supposed to take place in 2025.  
When we eventually do get it, I hope it does not repeat Season One’s flaws.