The 28 Later Movies Ranked
I don’t think it’s much of an overstatement to say that 28 DAYS LATER rewired the zombie movie formula for, well, through to this day. For a while, it seemed the “series” was going to be relegated to two films, the latter of which not directed by Danny Boyle (except for one crucial scene) or written by the first’s scribe Alex Garland. But with the release of 28 YEARS LATER and then its sequel, the fourth film in 24 years, Boyle and Garland have reunited (and collaborated with Nia DaCosta) to totally re-contextualize their original genre shakeup. I’m not quite sure what to call this quartet, but simply “28 Later” seems appropriate.
EDIT 1/19/26: Added 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE.
#4–28 WEEKS LATER (2007)
D: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
28 WEEKS LATER’s oft-discussed opening is certainly its best part (and it’s the part that Boyle directed). The sheer tension of the images of Robert Carlyle running from the zombies makes for one of the genre’s greatest moments. The rest of the movie…not so much. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo pulls off some of the stylistic flourishes Boyle accomplished with the low-budget original, but the doubling of resources for this film doesn’t quite mesh with the intended scrappiness (although it could, as we’ll see). The ideas for expansion of this world, more than half a year after the events of 28 DAYS LATER, are somewhat clever and interesting, but the human connection just doesn’t land the same way. 28 WEEKS LATER is a textbook sequel that overcomplicates what makes its predecessor great.
#3–28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE (2026)
D: Nia DaCosta
The swift follow up release of 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE makes it feel like the other side of the years-later sequel reimagining coin. DaCosta makes the film her own, not copying Boyle’s aesthetic approach, although I must admit the hurricane effect of 28 YEARS LATER has more of a thunderous resonance. This is a relative quibble, though, as THE BONE TEMPLE is absolutely brutal and darkly comic, maybe even more so than its predecessor (almost certain in the former department). Jack O’Connell is on one as an absolutely ridiculous yet deeply scary villain and Ralph Fiennes plays a deeply moving and almost unknowable type of person: that of the enlightened forgiver. His role is bound up in the film’s almost silly, yet also profoundly terrifying, treatment of religion and its negative effects on in-groups. Ultimately, although THE BONE TEMPLE feels like a bit of a slight detour in the “Years Trilogy” (a follow up is planned), its import on literal plot points, but more importantly on the intricate web of themes and commentary of this electrifying reimagining of the “franchise” (what used to be just two films), are thrilling and disturbing.
#2–28 YEARS LATER (2025)
D: Danny Boyle
In the hands of a filmmaker like Boyle (who, let’s be clear, has some clear misses), the idea of a horror sequel, and specifically one in the lineage of 28 DAYS LATER, can be a remarkable thing. 28 YEARS LATER is a tremendous upsetting of expectations and a maximalist whirlwind of camera movements, jarring edits, and oppressive sound design. And I love it. Using iPhones and some digital cameras to simulate the feel of the original, 28 YEARS LATER succeeds in feeling like a “rough” big budget film. But it’s not without its static moments of serene beauty, even if they’re often disrupted by creeping dread. 28 YEARS LATER is a total triumph of a “years later” sequel and one that has me extremely excited for the next films in the series.
#1–28 DAYS LATER (2002)
D: Danny Boyle
But the allure of the film that started it all just can’t be beat (at least yet). 28 DAYS LATER, as mentioned earlier, had an incredible impact in grounding the zombie film into something else, which unfortunately did lead to a lot of subpar copycats. But Boyle’s scrappy horror film (some of the stories of production are incredible) masterfully uses the low-res digital look of its time to its ultimate advantage. 28 DAYS LATER contains some genuinely shocking moments, perhaps even more so within the context of what non-infected humans are capable of (a thread that would start being done to death after THE WALKING DEAD’s popularity). Cillian Murphy standing in an abandoned London and Brendan Gleeson’s run-in with a blood drip are going to stick in my brain, maybe, forever? 28 DAYS LATER is a paradigm-shifting film, a disturbing and thrilling experiment of wild aesthetic abandon with sequels that have yet to top its feeling of dread.
