Having had its world premiere in London last night with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes and Jodie Comer, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s return to the 28 Days Later franchise is finally here.
28 Years Later is the first in a new trilogy of British zombie horror movies set in 2030, after the 2002 Rage virus outbreak depicted in the original Cillian Murphy classic.
The reviews are now live, and the latest blockbuster has 95 per cent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, a new record for the series.
Check out some of the highlights below, including our 5-star review, which calls 28 Years Later the best film of the year so far.
Daily Express
Bloody, brutal, tear-jerking horror and the best film of the year so far. It will leave you sledgehammered by the end of this epic rollercoaster.
The Sun
The breathtaking and gritty camera work is backed by a thumbing soundtrack, cracking script and some mighty fine performances from some of our best actors.
The Times
The sense of hallucinogenic sweatiness won’t be to everyone’s taste but [Garland] and Boyle should be applauded for taking such big swings and having the flair and confidence to pull them off. It’s an astonishing piece of work.
Daily Telegraph
It’s Fiennes’s gently patrician, RP-accented doctor which gives 28 Years Later its lingering, Kiplingian ache.
NME
While 28 Weeks Later explored post-7/7 paranoia, this post-Brexit successor seems to be as much about the insanity of isolationism as it is the bewildering madness of COVID
Metro
One of the most triumphant ever revitalisations of a franchise that transcends the idea of mere genre. 28 Years Later is a brutally moving film, and the first horror movie to make me cry… It’s also a phenomenal piece of cinema.
Empire
With 28 Years Later, Boyle and Garland return to breathe thrilling life back into an overexposed genre. There isn’t an obvious choice in sight.
BBC
It glows with Boyle’s visual flair, Garland’s ambitious screenplay and a towering performance from Ralph Fiennes.
The Independent
28 Years Later is a post-Brexit, Covid-conscious take on this world, with ideas about nationalism, isolationism, and weaponised culture added to the mix. But it’s punchy and simple once again.
Time Out
Boyle reinvents the zombie movie as a bloody pop-art installation.
Total Film
Come for the propulsive, heart-in-mouth first half, then, and stay for the risk-taking second.
The Guardian
An interesting, tonally uncertain development which takes a generational, even evolutionary leap into the future… creating something that mixes folk horror, little-England satire and even a grieving process for all that has happened.
28 Years Later is out now in cinemas.