28 Years Later

They effectively retconned end of 28WL. They said flat out they wanted to make it about Britain being quarantined . I agree the world would isolate Britain and don’t think they’d save anybody , why risk it ?

In terms of “lots of stupid characters doing lots of stupid things, I think People can and are erratic and unpredictable, particularly in stressful environments. Like when there’s a virus outbreak and people refuse to be careful and many downright stupid, we literally saw that during Covid.

The doctor not killing the infected did sort seem jarrying at first. But when you reflect back it’s actually a horror cliche for every character to automatically kill every danger by default. I mean again, if we use Covid as an example, the medical professionals still worked in hospitals and surgery’s when we didn’t even know how dangerous Covid was. Not exactly the same perhaps but still fear of death didn’t put them off putting their lives in danger for what they believe in, which was helping people.

Somebody learning to live and navigate a dangerous environment really isn’t that big a stretch. It does make you think “why would he not kill the infected” but the simple answer isn’t “everybody would”. That’s people projecting their logic and rigid understanding of how people act in horrific situations. People adapt differently, some people even try to retain their humanity in the face of horror.

Ironically the doctor seems to be relatively content in the environment which is funny cause he’s probably living each day “free” while everybody else in the island is just trying to survive. He could easily be somebody who has learned , like the opposite of a great hunter, to basically avoid , disguise and co-exist with the infected. His life is actually , in many ways, the healthiest way to adapt, accepting the environment and at peace with death.

There’s a deep philosophical dive you could do on that and compare it to how most people in western democracies “survive” the very same conformed zombie like way while not truly living. And an even deeper dive is on how people who find his actions “unrealistic” versus how truly authentic they live their own lives versus “doing what you’d expect”.

In terms of the boy wanting to get his mother to the mainland. How is that hard to fathom? He suspects she’s going to die and she seems to be his goto anchor and he thinks (rightly) his dad is already moving on. She is his world and he’s a stronger connection to her over his father and the village way of celebrating rights of passage. Of course he’d do anything to “save her”. I can actually relate on some level to that fear of losing the one person who you feel a connection to.

His confused mother going with him? Again, not a stretch. The world he’s seen, even the horror of his recent visit to the mainland, why would that stop him fighting to save his mother’s life? No different to refugees fleeing a country on a boat that’s basically tossing a coin they will even survive the trip!

Even the mother helping with the pregnancy, some people haven’t been round dementia or even people with mental health issues, I’ve seen crazy stuff and don’t see that being an issue. It’s reflective more on what people expect , the rules of engagement in horror movies demand that “people adhere to how I think is appropriate to act”.

I didn’t love this movie on first watch but have thought an awful lot about it which in itself is a testament to the elements that do make you reflect. Asides from the ending, which is marmite, a lot of the complaints can be explained away . I always think we can forgive a lot in a movie if it’s ticking the right boxes but things that aren’t really that important become issues when the movie isn’t doing it for us.

As somebody who was desperate to enjoy this and looking forward to it for ages, mu guess is its largely expectations.

I really expected a tone closer to 28DL , i felt the boots on the ground trailer suggested that (was such a super trailer) and i didnt think the movie delivered what "was promised". I came out of the movie confused as to how i felt about it. But rather then getting angry and raging about all the things i didnt like (which is what alot of people do), i reflected on the movie we got over the one I wanted/expected.

Yeh Boyle and Garland do like to subvert expectations and they definitely tried to do something different from 28DL, but to be honest I dont think thats what I wanted. I didnt want "a deeper meaning" horror movie, I felt what worked most for the first as moreso the raw, gritty horribly realistic feel of it (even if it did have its own philosophical undertones). A virus thats a mix of rabies and ebola is something we can imagine because these are real virus, thats probably what scared me the most back when it came out.

28YL has less of a "this could happen" feel for multiple reasons so it feels less connected to what made the original so frightening. Thats not a critcism, more a guess on why it probably was really dissapointing to some and maybe to myself.

Id say if you go into it expecting nothing specific but want to see a good horror with some deeper emotional undertones and a few quirky/jarring elements, it’s a must see in the cinema. There are a couple of really quality moments, not least a chase scene that is superbly done and Im looking forward to seeing again on the big screen. And I thought they actually had a beautiful story to do with loss , accepting it and dealing with it in a very healthy way. That was really lovely idea.

At worst, I dont think this is reasonably any lower then a 6/10 as a standalone horror movie that definitely has some really good ideas and some super moments. I can understand the high reviews because it would of been easier for them to give me (and others) what I wanted. But the movie is growing on me the more I think about it.