28 Days Later’s terrifying first sequel is getting a new streaming home just weeks before the long-awaited third movie hits theaters. Danny Boyle’s visceral take on the zombie apocalypse wowed audiences when it hit cinema screens way back in 2002. The clock then spun forward to 2007’s28 Weeks Later, revealing the world to still be in a precarious state thanks to the ongoing Rage Virus threat. Now, over two decades after the first film, thecalendar is sweeping forward even more in28 Years Later, which is set for release on June 23, 2025.
With just weeks to go before28 Years Latermakes its long-awaited debut,28 Weeks Lateris getting a new streaming home, coming to Hulu on June 1.
Did You Know: A third28 Days Laterfilm was being developed even as the second hit theaters, but rights issues held up production, and the film ultimately fell into development hell.
The catastrophic viral outbreak detailed in28 Days Laterhas subsided by the time the second film begins, and soldiers have begun restoring order in post-apocalyptic Britain. But NATO’s recently-established Safe Zone doesn’t stay safe for long, as a pair of grief-stricken siblings slip out to retrieve a memento of their dead mother, setting off a chain of events that sees the Rage Virus coming back with a vengeance. What had been a relatively peaceful place becomes the scene of carnage, as the Safe Zone’s denizens go back into survival mode.
Boyle’s intimate-yet-intense direction was a big reason why28 Days Laterworked so well as a film, as was the harrowing and intelligent script by futureCivil Wardirector Alex Garland. The sequel had a different main creative team, being directed and co-written by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, without Garland in the mix. But the movienonetheless does an admirable job carrying on the horrifying spiritof the influential original. The sequel may not feel as groundbreaking as the first film did, but on a technical level, it’s just as strong.
There’s a lot more action in28 Weeks Later, which could be a plus or a minus depending on one’s preferences. The first film may be more claustrophobic, in keeping with the classic Romero movies that inspired it,but the second has an unrelenting ferocity that’s impressive in its own right. The movie can indeed be seen as a forerunner to later action-charged zombie media likeTrain to BusanandThe Last of Us.
The cast is another of28 Weeks Later’s big strengths. The first film’s lead actor Cillian Murphy may not be on-board this time (nor will he be back for the upcoming third film), but the ensemble does include the likes of Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Imogen Poots and Idris Elba, a stacked cast if ever there was one. An atmospheric and brutal exercise in action-horror,28 Weeks Lateris one of the best zombie movies of the 2000s, a decade positively brimming over with brilliant examples of the genre.
What ScreenRant has said about28 Weeks Later…
28 Weeks Laterretained a lot of what made the original work, including the intense handheld camera work and relentless chase sequences. It also upped the action quota, as once the re-infection hits, the sequel rarely pauses for breath.
28 Weeks Laterkey facts
Box office gross (budget)
$65.8 million ($15 million)
Rotten Tomatoes critics' score
72%
Rotten Tomatoes audience score
66%
