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Memento (a)mori: review of the film ‘28 Years Later’

‘Adolescence’ in a zombie apocalypse setting.

Although it has not yet been 28 years since the release of the smash hit ‘28 Days Later,’ screenwriter Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle have decided to reunite and release a sequel to the story (remember, the sequel ‘28 Weeks Later’ was filmed without their participation). In the original film, the rage virus was spread by monkeys that were released from a secret laboratory by not-so-bright animal rights activists. The film conveyed two messages: even in the midst of apocalypse and utter darkness, all is not lost if we preserve our humanity and each other, and that the only thing scarier than deadly zombies is armed incels. The film was shot on a Canon XL-1 digital camera (unprecedented audacity for those years) in MiniDV resolution, which gave the image a grainy charm of hopelessness, and thanks to the lightness of the equipment, the chase scenes came out more immersive. This time, Danny Boyle armed himself with 20 iPhones, a bigger budget, and a contract for an entire trilogy.

28 years later, the rage virus is still turning people into zombies all over the world. On a remote island near what remains of Great Britain, a small settlement lives a quiet life, connected to the ‘mainland’ only by a bridge that can be crossed at low tide. Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) takes his 12-year-old son Spike (Alfie Williams) across the bridge to teach the teenager how to kill zombies. At home, his sick mother Aila (Jodie Comer) remains, delirious from pain and fever for a long time, which none of the island's inhabitants can help with. After a successful and intense hunt, Spike notices a fire in the distance. His father tells him about the mad doctor Ian Kelsen (Ralph Fiennes), who lives in isolation on the ‘mainland.’ Spike then decides to take his mother to the doctor. Thus begins a journey into adulthood for which the boy is hardly ready.

Word on the street is that 28 Years Later is one of the best horror films of the year and a rare case where the sequel (we continue to ignore 28 Weeks Later, because Boyle and Garland had nothing to do with the film) is, if not better than the original, at least lives up to the public's expectations. The streets don't lie. Twenty iPhones, undeniable talent, and the authors' drive for innovation did the trick. This consistently bloody and violent zombie horror film, which makes you jump in your seat to the rhythm of Irish dance, still packs a dramatic punch with the power of an atomic bomb.

At the heart of the film is the coming-of-age story of a 12-year-old boy who has to separate from his parents, his community and grow up very quickly. Deciding to take his mother to a doctor (who may not be in his right mind), he shows character for the first time, escaping his father's influence. The journey across the ‘great land’ is deadly dangerous, and, taking responsibility for his mother's life, the hero learns to show skill and strengthen his character. Death lurks at every turn, but, as in the first part, it is not worth renouncing the feeling of love that preserves our humanity. It's like a zombie horror film, but it brings tears to your eyes. ‘Memento mori,’ the doctor repeats, ‘memento amori.’

On the surface, this is yet another technical achievement. Danny Boyle has once again found a way to use modern technology not just for the sake of form, but to convey the state of anxiety in which the world finds itself today. Filming with 20 phone cameras at once helped achieve a multi-layered and dynamic edit, especially in the action scenes. Cinematographer Anthony Mantle shot about 75–80% of the footage with just an iPhone, some of it captured with drones, and Mantle also attached various lenses to the phones, including a telescope. This approach helped Boyle and editor John Harris gather footage with different rhythms, angles, and textures to create something truly unique.

Caution: spoilers ahead! The finale not only tests viewers' knowledge of British pop culture, but also serves as a starting point for the next instalment of The Temple of Bones. At the beginning of the film, we see a group of young children blissfully watching Teletubbies. But soon a zombie apocalypse descends upon the world, and only one boy survives — Jimmy. He clutches a massive gold cross pendant in his hand, given to him before his death by a mad priest — like a talisman or a curse passed down through the generations. In the film's climax, 28 years later, a grown-up Jimmy (Jack O'Connell) and a group of men rescue Spike from a zombie attack. Their colourful tracksuits are reminiscent of the Teletubbies, their animalistic behaviour is reminiscent of the gang from A Clockwork Orange, and their ridiculous hairstyles are reminiscent of Jimmy Savile, an eccentric figure on British television who later turned out to be a maniac. That same cross on Jimmy's chest turns out to be upside down... and then you realise that the zombies weren't so scary after all.

This aticle was sponsored by Sena Icic