Ready to dive back into the chaos before the new sequel drops? 28 Days Later shook the zombie world in 2002 with its fast, furious infected and unforgettable characters. Whether you call them zombies or not, this film rewrote the rules of horror – and we’re here to break down why it still hits hard nearly two decades later.
Empty Streets, Full Chaos: The Story of 28 Days Later
Jim wakes up in a deserted London hospital with zero memory and zero idea what’s happened. As he stumbles through empty streets, he quickly discovers the city-and the world-has been overrun by a terrifying virus that turns people into rage-fueled monsters. Teaming up with the fierce survivor Selena and a small group trying to hold onto hope, Jim fights to stay alive while navigating a brutal new reality where the infected are only half the danger. It’s a gripping race against time, trust, and humanity itself.
🧟 28 Days Later: The Rage Virus That Reanimated the Zombie Genre (Without Calling Them Zombies)
Hold onto your Cornetto – we’re going back to 2002, when Danny Boyle unleashed an apocalypse so raw, so feral, and so fast that the entire zombie genre had to sprint to catch up.
🎬 At a Glance
Streaming now on iPlayer | Rewatching before 28 Years Later hits cinemas
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Written by: Alex Garland
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Christopher Eccleston
Released: 2002
Streaming on: BBC iPlayer (UK)
🧟♀️ So… Is It Even a Zombie Movie?
28 Days Later isn’t technically a zombie movie. Just ask Boyle or screenwriter Alex Garland – they’ll insist these aren’t zombies. They’re infected. With rage. But let’s be honest: if it bites like a zombie, screams like a zombie, and charges at you in a blood-soaked frenzy… we’re calling it a zombie.
And yet, it’s so much more than just that.
🚴♂️ Wake Up, Jim
Cillian Murphy (in one of his earliest and eeriest lead roles) wakes up in a hospital to a completely deserted London. Sound familiar? (The Last of Us fans, we see you.) The film’s opening – Jim wandering through an emptied capital – is iconic for a reason. No CGI, no tricks. Just brutally early mornings and some very patient traffic police.
It’s eerie, it’s atmospheric, and it tells you everything you need to know: the world ended, and nobody told Jim.
🦠 Not Your Gran’s Shamblers
The virus – Rage – spreads in seconds. It doesn’t wait for you to turn grey and shuffle. These infected sprint. And scream. And vomit blood. Think zombies on a triple espresso and a bad mood. It’s not about the undead anymore – it’s about losing your humanity in a blink.
Boyle and Garland pulled from Ebola, rabies, and pure adrenaline to craft their horror. This wasn’t moaning ghouls creeping out of graves. This was chaos, primal fear, and brutal survival.
🧠 Brains? Try Existential Dread
This film hits hard not just because of the infected, but because of the uninfected. The humans. The ones who survive.
Naomie Harris’s Selena will absolutely kill you in a heartbeat if you show signs of infection – until she won’t. Her arc is one of the strongest in the film. From survival machine to someone who hesitates, who begins to care. That moment where Jim says, “That was more than a heartbeat,” hits so hard because you’ve seen her change.
Brendan Gleeson’s Frank is a heartbreaker too – trying to keep hope alive for his daughter, Hannah. And when the virus takes him, it’s cruel. Quiet. Brutal.
Then there’s Major West, played with chilling realism by Christopher Eccleston. His soldiers shift the film into a new kind of horror – one that doesn’t rely on infection. Because sometimes the scariest monsters are just men with too much power and not enough humanity.
🎬 Low-Budget, High-Impact
Shot on digital video, made for just $8 million, and filmed guerrilla-style across London – this was indie horror at its best. That gritty, grainy look? Not just a vibe – a necessity. And it worked.
This wasn’t Hollywood slickness. This was raw, unpredictable, and real. You can feel the fear, the grime, the exhaustion. And thanks to a killer soundtrack (shoutout to John Murphy’s “In the House – In a Heartbeat”), the tension never lets up.
🧟♀️ Fast, Furious, and Still Fresh
That opener? Still iconic. Jim waking up in an abandoned hospital, wandering through a silent, deserted London – it’s unforgettable. It’s one of those sequences that burns into your brain and never really leaves.
But this film is more than just its (brilliant) beginning. The cast carries it. Cillian Murphy is excellent, but it’s Naomie Harris’s Selena who really stands out. She starts out stone-cold and ruthless – survival first, no hesitation. But across the film, you see that soften. There’s that moment where Jim says, “That was longer than a heartbeat.” And you realise – she’s changed. She cares. The found family they build with Frank and Hannah (Brendan Gleeson and Megan Burns) feels real, lived-in, and fragile. And when the soldiers enter the picture? That’s when the horror shifts gears.
Because the rage-infected are terrifying – but the men? The men are worse.
Eccleston’s turn as Major West is chilling in that grounded, all-too-human way. He’s not monstrous. He’s calculated. And that makes the third act so devastating and so effective. This film isn’t just about infection. It’s about power, control, desperation – and how the biggest threat might not be the virus, but what it brings out in people.
🧬 The Legacy: A Genre Reignited
Before 28 Days Later, zombies were kind of… dead. After it? Everything changed.
We got Shaun of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead (2004), World War Z, The Walking Dead, Train to Busan, The Last of Us. Fast zombies. Emotional zombies. Prestige zombies. All of them owe something to this film.
And the rage didn’t stop there. The film spawned:
- A sequel: 28 Weeks Later
- A graphic novel: 28 Days Later: The Aftermath
- A comic continuation
- And now? 28 Years Later is officially out – with Boyle and Garland back at the helm.
The virus is still alive and mutating.
🔁 Rewatching in 2025: Does It Still Hold Up?
Streaming on iPlayer and rewatched just in time for 28 Years Later‘s release (today!)
Short answer: yes. Longer answer: absolutely yes.
The opening remains unforgettable. The cast is flawless. And the emotional journey – especially Selena’s – hits even harder now. You feel her learning to trust again. You feel the bond forming between her, Jim, Frank, and Hannah. And you feel the dread when the soldiers arrive.
And honestly? It hasn’t aged badly at all. The camera grit only adds to the tension. The message feels more relevant than ever. And the scares still land like a punch to the chest.
☣️ Final Thoughts
28 Days Later didn’t just reinvent a genre. It carved out something raw and unforgettable – something still pulsing under the surface more than two decades later.
Call it a zombie movie or don’t. Just don’t watch it alone with the lights off.
🧟♀️ Infected Rating
🧟♀️🧟♀️🧟♀️🧟♀️🧟♀️
5/5 blood-slick stairwells
Terrifying, tense, and timeless.
🎬 Meet the Survivors (and Soldiers) of 28 Days Later
This ragtag crew of characters is what keeps the film gripping, intense, and totally unforgettable. From the confused courier waking up to a ghost city, to soldiers with agendas of their own, everyone brings something unique to the apocalypse party. Here’s who you need to know:
- Cillian Murphy as Jim – The bicycle courier who wakes up from a coma to a world gone mad. Innocent, determined, and desperate to survive.
- Naomie Harris as Selena – London survivor turned fierce warrior. Quick to kill but slowly learns to trust and care.
- Brendan Gleeson as Frank – A taxi driver with a big heart and even bigger regrets.
- Megan Burns as Hannah – Frank’s young daughter, tough but vulnerable in a terrifying world.
- Christopher Eccleston as Major Henry West – The soldier with a mission… and a dark side.
- Noah Huntley as Mark – Another survivor traveling with Selena, caught in the chaos.
- Stuart McQuarrie as Sergeant Farrell – One of the soldiers who adds to the tension and conflict.
- Ricci Harnett as Corporal Mitchell
- Leo Bill as Private Jones
- Luke Mably as Private Clifton
- Junior Laniyan as Private Bell
- Ray Panthaki as Private Bedford
- Sanjay Rambaruth as Private Davis
- Marvin Campbell as Private Mailer
Each actor adds a layer to the story – from desperation and hope to betrayal and survival. It’s a wild, emotional ride with a cast that delivers every punch.
💬 Burning Questions About 28 Days Later
Still infected with curiosity? You’re not alone. Whether you’re rewatching before 28 Years Later, wondering why your screen looks like it time-travelled to 2002, or just trying to survive an internet debate about “fast zombies” – we’ve got you covered.
Here’s what people are really asking about 28 Days Later – and the answers you won’t need to sprint from.
❓ Do you need to watch 28 Days Later before 28 Weeks Later?
Technically, no – but you’ll get way more emotional impact if you do.
28 Weeks Later picks up after the events of the first film but follows new characters. That said, knowing what happened with Jim, Selena, and the initial outbreak gives you a richer backstory and makes the chaos of the sequel feel even heavier.
Basically: not essential, but highly recommended. Like washing your hands during a Rage outbreak.
😱 Is 28 Days Later or 28 Weeks Later scarier?
Depends on your flavour of fear.
- 28 Days Later is raw, quiet, and personal – it creeps under your skin with emotional dread and ethical horror.
- 28 Weeks Later is louder, bloodier, and more explosive – full of set pieces, government failures, and that terrifying helicopter scene.
Scariest moment overall? Still the men in 28 Days Later. No contest.
📺 Why is 28 Days Later low quality?
It’s supposed to look like that.
The film was shot on early digital video cameras – not for aesthetics, but for budget and speed. That gritty, grainy look? It wasn’t a filter. It was a necessity. And honestly? It works.
The lo-fi vibe makes everything feel more real, more immediate, more “holy crap, this could happen.” If anything, the low quality is part of what makes it so unforgettable.
🤔 Why isn’t Cillian Murphy in 28 Weeks Later?
Simple answer: the sequel follows a completely different set of characters.
28 Weeks Later shifts focus to a new outbreak in a freshly repopulated London, long after Jim, Selena, and Hannah’s story ends (or does it?). Cillian Murphy wasn’t written into the script, and the filmmakers went for a broader, more militarised scope. And Cillian Murphy was also busy with other projects.
But hey – never say never. With 28 Years Later confirmed and Boyle/Murphy both involved? We just might see Jim again yet.
🗣️ Over to You
Rewatching before 28 Years Later too? Did the empty London still make your skin crawl? Still dreaming about chimps in lab coats? Hit us up in the comments or tag us on socials – we want to hear all your infected thoughts. And don’t forget to check out our Letterboxd review here >>
🎥 Craving more cinematic chaos?
Check out our other movie reviews for everything from horror gems to the weirdest twists in fantasy, sci-fi, and beyond. We’ve got opinions – and we’re not afraid to use them.