28 Years Later
Movie, 2025, Three decades on, Set in Holy Island
28 Years Later is #3 of 4 in release order and #3 of 4 in chronological order in the 28 Days Later.
The story
Twenty-eight years after the Rage virus outbreak, a heavily-defended island survives connected to the mainland by a single causeway. When one of the group leaves the island into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.
28 Years Later recap
28 Years Later (2025) follows Spike, a 12-year-old from an island village, who crosses to the infected mainland with his father and later his sick mother. Danny Boyle directs again from Alex Garland's script. The virus has been wiped out across Europe, but Britain remains under quarantine. On Lindisfarne, cut off from the mainland at high tide, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) takes his son Spike (Alfie Williams) across the causeway to make his first kill. They run from an Alpha, a stronger, more intelligent Infected, and see a distant fire, which a neighbour says belongs to Dr Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes). Spike learns his father is cheating and will not seek help for his mother Isla (Jodie Comer), so he slips away with her. Swedish soldier Erik Sundqvist (Edvin Ryding), stranded from a patrol boat, helps them until an Alpha kills him. It follows the earlier films after a long gap.
28 Years Later ending explained
28 Years Later ends with Kelson revealing his Bone Temple, a monument of skulls and bones, and diagnosing Isla with terminal cancer; she chooses to die, and Spike places her skull at the top. Spike leaves the baby girl Isla helped deliver at the village gate and returns to the mainland. There, a gang in tracksuits and blond wigs led by Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell) saves him from the Infected. The Bone Temple continues directly.
Post-credits scenes
No. 28 Years Later has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch 28 Years Later
28 Years Later is streaming on Netflix in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 88%
Where it fits
- Release order: after 28 Weeks Later, before 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
- Chronological order: after 28 Weeks Later, before 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
What to watch before 28 Years Later
In release order, the essentials before 28 Years Later (2025) are 28 Days Later (2002) and 28 Weeks Later (2007).
Cast
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Jamie
- Alfie Williams as Spike
- Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson
- Jodie Comer as Isla
- Jack O'Connell as Sir Jimmy Crystal
- Chi Lewis-Parry as Samson
- Edvin Ryding as Erik Sundqvist
- Christopher Fulford as Sam
- Stella Gonet as Jenny
- Kim Allan as Jimmy's Mother
- Sandy Batchelor as Jimmy’s Father
- Geoffrey Newland as Anthony
Directed by Danny Boyle.