28 Years Later (2025) - "Living For the Boyle" Series

Welcome to the LIVING FOR THE BOYLE review series!  Daniel Francis Boyle originally hailed from Manchester, England and his filmmaking career took off thirty years ago in 1995 with the release of acclaimed cult thriller Shallow Grave.  And ever since then, Danny Boyle (as he’s officially known) has carved out a uniquely successful career not only achieving box office success several times but also winning a few Oscars along the way.  During this time period, he has also become one of MY personal favorite directors, having helmed excellent ORIGINAL stories spanning several genres including children’s fantasy, science fiction, crime drama, horror, and biopic.  Over the next few months, I will be reviewing some of my favorite entries from his filmography in the lead-up to the long-awaited sequel to one of his more successful films….28 Years Later which will be released in the U.S. on June 20!

It's finally here!  Following several months of hype including one of THE more iconic trailers of recent years, Danny Boyle has returned to this ongoing post-apocalyptic saga.  Also returning is screenwriter Alex Garland (Annihilation, Ex Machina) and together they have crafted a new story within this post-apocalyptic universe taking place entirely on the British Isles several years (28 actually) after the initial outbreak of the "Rage virus" which overtook the UK.  This story focuses on young Spike (Alfie Williams) who lives on a remote island off the coast of the infected mainland in a quaint village with his mother (Jodie Comer) and father (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).  There are several harrowing run-in's with the infected but at its core, this is a coming-of-age story.  So does it live up to the hype?  Let's find out....

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon

Editor: Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

“Living for the Boyle” Series:

Welcome to the Living for the BOYLE series.  Daniel Francis Boyle originally hailed from Manchester, England and his filmmaking career took off thirty years ago in 1995 with the release of acclaimed cult thriller Shallow Grave.  And ever since then, Danny Boyle (as he’s officially known) has carved out a uniquely successful career not only achieving box office success several times but also winning a few Oscars along the way.  During this time period, he has also become one of MY personal favorite directors, having helmed excellent ORIGINAL stories spanning several genres including children’s fantasy, science fiction, crime drama, horror, and biopic.  Over the next few months, I will be reviewing some of my favorite entries from his filmography in the lead-up to the long-awaited sequel to one of his more successful films….28 Years Later which will be released in the U.S. on June 20!  (Music playing over)

28 YEARS LATER – 2025 Directed by Danny Boyle

Starring Alfie Williams, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes, Edvin Ryding, Christopher Fulford, Stella Gonet, Chi Lewis-Parry, and Jack O’Connell

Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Drama (Audio clip)

Following a six year absence from the big screen - his last film was 2019's silly but sweet Yesterday - Danny Boyle has returned (with top-flight writer Alex Garland) to deliver an intense, emotional fever dream of a post-apocalyptic zombie adventure. Of course the zombies are actually the "infected" and the actual structure and tone of the story is more akin to a coming-of-age story. Despite what the marketing would have you believe, the main protagonist is 12-year old Spike (the excellent Alfie Williams) who is living with his mother Isla (Jodie Comer) and father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) in a somewhat fortified island off of the coast of the now rage virus infected-and-quarantined UK. 🙄 The only things keeping them safe from the infected madness in the mainland is basically geography....a causeway which crosses over and is obscured by the tide most of the time. 

Alfie is about to go on his first journey over to the mainland with his father as pretty much a rite of passage where he will not only encounter various types of dangerous infected and the outside world for the first time....but will also be expected to kill said infected, an inaugural hunting trip with the old man with higher stakes if you will. 🤫 Off the bat, the visuals are arresting...wide shots aplenty of gorgeous Scotland highlands scenery along with several up-close shots of some infected when they are being taken out, all made possible by brilliant returning DP Anthony Dodd Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire, Rush) along with nifty new innovative uses of IPhone cameras sometimes rigged in circles a la "bullet time" from The Matrix. 🤔

As you would expect, Boyle and Garland put their personal stamp on all of this. Boyle's kinetic whimsy backed by high-energy music is is in full effect whereas Garland brings his signature grisly nihilism. The story walks a tonal tightrope and with the exception of a few wonky leaps of logic, it pretty much succeeds! Anyone going to see this expecting to see a 100% gritty dystopian horror fest is likely to be somewhat disappointed. :/ Oh there are still gnarly kills aplenty along with several tense setpieces focused on evading freakishly determined infected. The main threat seem to be these seemingly evolved "Alphas" who are actually just as terrifying as seen in the distance via silhouette as they are when seen up close. :o 

But this is NOT a straightforward genre horror film ABOUT the Infected....it slows down at points, takes some unexpected detours, and it definitely concludes on a genuinely bizarre note which I KNOW has already pissed off scores of viewers. And I loved just about every minute of it. :) The cast is strong across-the-board with Alfie Williams definitely the standout - we're pretty much with his character through the entire runtime and he delivers a compelling arc of a kid having to suddenly grow up fast, even faster than he expected given the high-stakes set-up for the story. The ever-reliable Ralph Fiennes delivers another banger performance as the mysterious Dr Kelson who is initially sort of presented as a Colonel Kurtz-type figure to seek out....and he doesn't disappoint. 

BOYLE-ing Point (Over his 30 year career, Danny Boyle has not only proven adept at mastering a variety of genres but he also managed to leave his personal stamp EACH time…whether that be through casting, music, and/or shot selection.  This is THE signature moment within this film when it is most obvious that we are enjoying a Danny Boyle joint!):

One key Boyle specialty has always been cannily inserting some lightness into an otherwise serious and/or dark story.  And he and Garland pull that off here….adding some grim humor at key points of the story which keeps with the overall tone yet still lands enough to ease some of the tension….give you a breather if you will.  And this occurs well into the second half of the movie with the appearance Swedish up-and-comer Edvin Ryding as Erik, a rogue soldier whom our main protagonist encounters at a key point in the story – he COMPLETELY steals his scenes and is truly does pop up at just the right time to not only provide some needed humor but ALSO to provide some invaluable context to the state of this world OUTSIDE of the British Isles….and I’ll just leave it at that. 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Much of the vibes throughout this movie of course come from Boyle’s expectedly canny usage of music to liven things up - this time he has enlisted Scottish hip-hop Young Fathers to compose the score. Hailing from Edinborough, they have been playing for about eleven years and most famously won the UK’s prestigious Mercury Prize for their debut album “Dead” in 2014.  The music they provide is somewhat hard to describe....maybe a heady mixture of The Dust Brothers and The Beach Boys? 🤔 (Audio clip)  

But it just WORKS, helping maintain the overall tension of the narrative while definitely placing an exclamation point on a couple well-earned moments of transcendence!  And it’s distinctive enough to help sell what is admittedly a truly WACKY ending to this movie.  I’m not going to spoil it too much through lord knows there has been a TON of online discussion about it this past week….including the sudden appearance of a character who bares a distinct resemblance to a certain deceased and now-disgraced British celebrity, I just don’t know enough that and I’m still kind of TORN about this ending.  However as with all Boyle joints, he’s always adept at ending his films on lively notes….no exception here with this raucous, playful track which kicks off the closing credits, known as “Pals.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

To start things off, I don’t think ANY talent was wasted on this film as far as I can tell.  But going BEYOND that?  There’s been this running issue which I have found myself commiserating about often enough in this category EVEN for recent films which really loved like Sinners…..and that’s been the proliferation of marketing especially trailers which give away WAY TOO much in advance of the movie.  Well it pleases me to say that did NOT happen with this movie….major kudos to the Sony Pictures marketing department for running an effective campaign for this movie which achieved JUST the right balance of establishing intrigue without giving away anything major.  And of course the centerpiece of this campaign: that now ICONIC teaser trailer from last fall with the Rudyard Kipling poem – I’m pretty sure I watched it at least a DOZEN times too.  One of THE best trailers of the 21st century for sure and proof once again as to how trailers for a movie can be an art-form on to themselves. (Audio clip)    

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie): 

Going along with just how effective that Young Fathers music is, it also helps sell what was already a truly impressive sequence which occurs round 45 minute mark….I mean wow…..THIS is why we go to the movies!  Talk about a sequence which is both beautiful AND extremely tense….Spike and his father Jamie are now heading back to Holy Island via the aforementioned causeway….tide has not completely set down yet so they ARE walking through several inches of water.  It’s night-time, the GORGEOUS Northern Lights are out above them in the sky…..it seems as if they’re home free.  (Audio clip) 

But of course….they are NOT as they can now see AND hear splashing towards them behind them in the distance AND gaining….it’s that Alpha….they’re getting closer, HE’S getting closer, they’re alerted the folks guarding the checkpoint…..arrows are shot, flames are lit…..will they make it on time?? And what’s waiting for them should they break through?  This might the sequence of the year and the track we hear over THIS one is called “Causeway.” (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

I have gotta say that it has been a TRULY gratifying experience over the past six months combing my way back through the Danny Boyle catalog of films….kind of a personal journey no doubt as I can vividly remember the dazzling experience of seeing his first THREE films while in college all in theaters – Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, and A Life Less Ordinary – even though that first batch had varying levels of quality, he just spoke to me as a filmmaker, you say I was a “Season Ticket Holder” from the beginning. (Audio clip) 

And now almost thirty years later – within a COMPLETELY different era and as a mature (I think) adult now, here he is STILL delivering films which speak to me personally, not only about the changing state of the world but also as a father – previous episodes Millions and Steve Jobs were a big part of that of course.  And now collaborating once again for the first time in more than twenty years with writer Alex Garland – who HIMSELF has become one of my go-to-directors, see previous episodes Annihilation and Civil War – he has done that once again.   It's definitely "A Danny Boyle Film" in the best sense and as with that original 28 Days Later film, he has taken what on paper could be a conventionally grim story and infused it with energy, beauty, and even just the right amount of humor!  For directing what I believe is now one of his best films – probably Top Five – Danny Boyle is the MVP. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 4.6 stars out of 5

Overall, this film just left me enthralled. It delivered the necessary amount of pure carnage I would have expected (spines!) while still providing enough humanity to even earn some tears along the way. Like the recent Sinners, it actually transcends its genre with brilliant direction, excellent music, and a pure heart - they would actually make a pretty nifty double-feature. 🤗

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And that ends another BOOTS BOOTS BOOTS BOOTS…MOVING UP AND DOWN AGAIN review!