The buzziest international release this week? Hands down 28 Years Later.
It’s the latest sequel to 28 Days Later (2002), a film that stood out back then for turning the zombie genre into something oddly poetic—with DV handheld camerawork that gave it a raw, almost documentary-like edge.
But here’s the million-dollar question:
Can you watch this without seeing the original?
✅ Absolutely. I did—and had no problem following along.
This isn’t a direct continuation in terms of characters. The world is the same (post-zombie apocalypse), but we’re 28 years down the line. A father, Jamie, decides to give his son a survivalist “coming-of-age” experience—leaving the safety of the human fortress and heading straight into zombie territory to learn how to hunt and stay alive.
The first half is surprisingly engaging. There’s a grungy, rock ‘n’ roll vibe as the father and son team up to fight off zombies. Every time they shoot a zombie in the head with an arrow, the film goes into this weird slow-mo “stutter” effect. Honestly, at first I thought the iPhone they filmed with was lagging. But no—every kill is stylized like this, intentionally glitchy.
Then the tone shifts—hard. The boy decides to take his ailing mother on a dangerous journey across zombie lands in search of a rumored doctor. It doesn’t end well. She never returns to the village.
The result? A movie that feels all over the place. At times it’s horror, at times it’s indie and introspective, occasionally suspenseful—and then the lo-fi visuals remind you: yes, it was shot on an iPhone, and no, they didn’t always get the lighting right.
Worth watching?
If you’re a horror fan or someone who loved the original and wants to revisit that world—go for it. It’s uneven, but definitely memorable.
🔻 Rating: 6.0/10
#28YearsLater #ZombieMovie #FilmReview #iPhoneCinema #NowWatching