It turns out the most terrifying thing about 28 Years Later isn’t the flesh-eating infected, it’s the emotions.
In a recent interview with GamesRadar+, star Aaron Taylor-Johnson described the upcoming sequel not as a straight-up horror movie, but as something more intimate and disturbing… a family drama set against the backdrop of a collapsed world. Taylor-Johnson said:
“We played the reality of the family drama, didn’t we? We just kind of leant into what our family was sort of feeling and going through in this post-apocalyptic world.
“So the story itself feels very intimate within this big landscape. So you don’t really play into the sort of horror theme in a way? You’re just playing the reality of the circumstances, and I think that, in itself, is more horrific.”
Directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, both returning from the original 28 Days Later, this third installment trades the genre tropes for something a little more grounded.
Of course, there are going be jumpscares. Yes, the Infected are back. But the emotional core revolves around Jamie (Taylor-Johnson), his wife Isla (Jodie Comer), and their son Spike (Williams), as they venture from the relative safety of Holy Island into the decaying chaos of the mainland.
What begins as a coming-of-age journey for Spike quickly turns into something far more dangerous. According to Williams, it’s that character shift that gives the movie its emotional bite.
“We really see Spike mature throughout this film, and he has to mature to survive. We see him right at the start where, you know, he holds back a lot and he’s still got that childlike curiosity.
“Then we start to see… well, he still keeps that but he pushes it back to defend his mother, who’s he trying to protect.”
Taylor-Johnson and Williams both avoided watching other zombie films while shooting because 28 Years Later doesn’t follow the usual playbook. When asked if he looked to the genre for inspiration:
Taylor-Johnson said: “I didn’t because I didn’t feel like it correlated or related to this.” Williams added: “It’s just so unique and creative. I just watched 28 Days Later a lot to try and get the vibe of this one.”
With Jack O’Connell and Ralph Fiennes also on board, and Boyle and Garland fully back in the creative driver’s seat, 28 Years Later is shaping up to be more than just a revival, it might be the most emotionally intense chapter yet.
28 Years Later hits theaters June 20th.
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