28 Years Latercontinues the saga that began with28 Days Later. This is the third entry in a franchise that has introduced characters dealing with the aftermath of a world-ending virus that causes severe aggression and creates uniquely terrifyingzombies.This chapter of the story follows a group of people who have managed to carve out a community for themselves on an island. A family decides to leave the island to see the truth about what life has changed on the mainland.
There are many movies that explore similar themes and feature similar characters as those featured in28 Years Later. There are several zombie movies that feature survivors who have to deal with threats that extend beyond the undead. Additionally, DirectorDanny Boyleand screenwriterAlex Garlandhave been involved in many projects that have given them a chance to highlight their talents. The best movies like28 Years Laterare action-packed stories that are also meditations on the nature of humanity.
28 Years Later
10'28 Days Later' (2002)
Directed by Danny Boyle
28 Days Laterintroduces Jim (Cillian Murphy), a bike messenger who wakes up from a coma to find himself in the middle of the apocalypse.Director Danny Boyle creates a horrifying worldthat seessurvivors of a deadly viral outbreak attempt to rebuild their lives a month after society collapses. The story is a meditation on how quickly humanity’s worst impulses would come out without the constraints of society.
For those who want to take in the entire franchise, watching28 Days Lateris essential. Although28 Years Lateris not a direct sequel to28 Days Later, this first movie in the franchise sets the tone for the overall story. In addition to establishing the world that28 Years Laterexists in, this first movie establishesthe philosophical perspective that carries through the entire franchise, including its stark commentary on human nature.
28 Days Later
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
9'28 Weeks Later' (2007)
Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
28 Weeks Lateris the second movie in this franchise and follows a society that has been rebuilt in the months after the end of the world.This chapter takes place after most of the “zombies”, or infected, have died, and NATO has taken chargeof the United Kingdom. The movie specifically follows siblings Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton), who break quarantine protocol when they leave the established safe zone in London to retrieve a photo of their mother.
28 Weeks Lateris essential viewingfor anyone who’s a fan of this franchise since it provides a unique perspective on those who survived the initial viral outbreak and are in the process of rebuilding society.Both movies arestandalone entries in this franchise, although they each further establish the challenges that survivors of this outbreak face.28 Years Laterlooks at how society evolved years after the initial outbreak, and28 Weeks Lateris the intermediate step between this and the first days of the apocalypse.
28 Weeks Later
Six months after the original epidemic, the rage virus has all but annihilated the population of the British Isles. Nevertheless, the U.S. Army declares the danger past, and American soldiers arrive to restore order and begin reconstruction. Refugees return to British soil, but one of them carries a deadly secret: The virus is not gone and is even more dangerous than before.
8’The End We Start From' (2023)
Directed by Mahalia Belo
The End We Start Fromis based onthe novel of the same name byMegan Hunter, and follows a group of British civilians trying to navigate the aftermath of devastating rainstorms and floods.Jodie Comerplays someone known only as Woman,who has just given birth to a son and finds herself having to flee with her family to avoid the worst effects of the environmental catastrophe. She and her baby are separated from their family, and have to rely on others to survive.
Before seeing Jodie Comer headline28 Years Later, it makes sense to watchThe End We Start From, since this movie shows how well she can headline a post-apocalyptic survival story.In both stories, Comer creates a character who has had to rebuild her life in the wake of unimaginable tragedy. In28 Years Later, Comer plays a character who has had years to come to terms with a new reality, andThe End We Start Fromsees her as someone who is in the epicenter of the apocalypse as it unfolds.
The End We Start From
A woman tries to find her way home with her newborn while an environmental crisis submerges London in floodwaters.
7’World War Z' (2013)
Directed by Marc Forster
World War Zintroduces Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), a former UN investigator who finds himself having to investigate the cause of a massive zombie outbreak. As the virus that causes the outbreak runs rampant, Lane has to team up with people who he doesn’t want to.Lane soon learns just how devastating the outbreak has been as he travels around the world and sees how many countries are struggling to get a handle on the virus.
WhileWorld War Zfocuses onthe immediate aftermathof a zombie apocalypse and28 Years Laterhighlights what society would look like many years after the fact, both take broad looks at what societal collapse would mean for the entire world. This global perspective makes both movies unique in the zombie genre in that they highlight what a world overrun by such a devastating virus could look like in a worst-case scenario. They also both present characters who have to rely on their wits to survive the end of the world.
World War Z
Based on the novel by Max Brooks, World War Z tells the story of a world ravaged by a zombie virus. Former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) braves the apocalypse in search of a cure. He is tasked with finding the point of origin of the virus in order to synthesize a vaccine, reluctantly doing so in exchange for his family’s safety. His search takes him around the world, where he witnesses all the devastation of the apocalypse.
6’Trainspotting' (1996)
Trainspottingis a dark comedy directed by Danny Boyle that follows the lives of a group of people living with substance-use disorders.The movie specifically highlights how damaging heroin is as a substance, particularly in a community facing widespread poverty.Trainspottingintroduces Mark (Ewan McGregor), Simon (Jonny Lee Miller), Daniel (Ewen Bremner) and Franco (Robert Carlyle), friends who find their lives spiraling further out of control as their substance abuse worsens.
For those who appreciate Boyle’s unique vision as a director now that he’s returned to the franchise to direct28 Years Later,Trainspottinghighlights how well he’s able to tell deeply human stories.While there aren’t anyzombies to be found inTrainspotting, this is an early example ofBoyle creating a story out of a seemingly hopeless situation. Both movies highlight how human beings navigate the worst possible situations that life can throw at them.
Trainspotting
Heroin addict Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends – Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Begbie (Robert Carlyle), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Tommy (Kevin McKidd). He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane (Kelly Macdonald), along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can’t escape the life he left behind when Begbie shows up at his front door on the lam, and a scheming Sick Boy follows
5’Ex Machina' (2014)
Directed by Alex Garland
Ex Machinais a science fiction movie that follows Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer who is asked to administer a Turing Test to a humanoid robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander).Ava is developed with artificial intelligence, and is thought to be capable of thought and consciousness. Tech CEO Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac) has big plans for Ava even as his own life spirals out of control.
Since both movies are written by Alex Garland, it makes sense that they are similar in tone.Both are thoughtful and sometimes deeply troubling meditations on the truth of human nature.28 Years LaterandEx Machinahighlight Garland’s ability to tell complex human stories against the backdrop of existential threats. Neither of these stories offer simple answers to the challenges the characters face. Instead, these stories invite viewers to consider how we can shape our own futures.
Ex Machina
A young programmer is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a highly advanced humanoid A.I.
4’I Am Legend' (2007)
Directed by Francis Lawrence
I Am Legendtakes place in a post-apocalyptic version of New York City. After a virus that was meant to cure cancer destroys humanity, Dr. Neville (Will Smith) is left as the last human being alive.Neville finds himself surrounded by mutants who are vulnerable to sunlightand only come out at night. Neville spends his time avoiding these vampire-like creatures, known as Darkseekers, while also trying to develop a cure using his own blood.
Both28 Years LaterandI Am Legendtake place years after an initial world-ending viral outbreak.These stories both highlight the physical and psychological challenges faced by survivors of apocalyptic scenarios.28 Years LaterandI Am Legendhighlight horrific, virus-infected creatures who threaten survivors. However, both of these stories emphasize the fact that these creatures, who are remnants of the apocalypse, are not the main existential threats to the humans left alive.
I Am Legend
Loosely based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name, I Am Legend stars Will Smith as Robert Neville, a virologist who believes himself to be the last human on Earth. After a virus turns most of the world’s population into vampiric creatures known as Darkseekers, Neville finds himself immune. Believing himself to be the last man of Earth, Neville stalks through the ruins of New York, hoping to create an antidote that will save humanity.
Directed by George A. Romero
Dawn of the Deadis the second entry inGeorge A. Romero’s zombie series. The movie doesn’t feature any characters or setting from the first movie,Night of the Living Dead. Instead, this movie mainly focuses ona group of people who survive the zombie apocalypse by hiding out in a malland taking advantage of all its resources. They try to rebuild a new life for themselves as the zombie apocalypse spreads across the United States.
George A. Romero’s zombie moviesserved as the inspiration for28 Days Laterand its subsequent entries.It makes sense, then, to watch one of Romero’s most compelling zombie movies after watching28 Years Later. Both of these stories focus on the many ways humans find a way to survive when facing impossible odds.28 Years LaterandDawn of the Deadare both stories that show that human nature is consistent, even during the end of the world.
Dawn of the Dead
A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.
2’Carriers' (2009)
Directed by Àlex Pastor and David Pastor
Carriersstars Chris Pineas Brian, one of four survivors of a zombie apocalypse. Along with his brother Danny (Lou Taylor Pucci), his girlfriend Bobby (Piper Perabo), and their friend Kate (Emily VanCamp), Brian does his best to survive this apocalyptic landscape. The group of survivors faces threats, including people who lie to them about being infected with the zombie virus.They do their best to live by Brian’s strict rules that he createsto keep them alive.
Like28 Years Later,Carriershighlights the brutal realities that come with surviving the end of the world. These zombie movies are examples of ones that highlight the fact that humans will always be a threat to each other, even in the face of threats like the undead.28 Years LaterandCarriersare examples of post-apocalyptic stories that examine the fact that surviving the apocalypse can often be a hopeless experience.
Directed by John Hillcoat
The Roadfollows a father and son navigating a post-apocalyptic wasteland.The movie is an adaptation ofCormack McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novelof the same name. The father (Viggo Mortensen) and son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) are unnamed, and it’s unclear exactly what kind of disaster has caused such widespread devastation.This story mainly focuses on the relationship between father and son, and how it’s been upended by their new reality.
For those who appreciate the bleak nature of28 Years Later,The Roadfeatures a similar tone. Both stories highlight the human drama that would play out in any end-of-the-world scenario.28 Years LaterandThe Roadfocus on the humanity of their characters and how human nature remains the same even without the constraints of society. At their core, these are stories about families, and how no one can survive a post-apocalyptic world alone.
NEXT:The 10 Best Zombie Movies That Weren’t Directed by George A. Romero, Ranked
