The new film starring Jodie Comer has earned rave reviews from critics
28 Years Later has earned rave reviews from critics as it arrived in cinemas today. The latest instalment of the iconic zombie franchise stars Liverpool’s own Jodie Comer and is set almost three decades after the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory.
The new movie sees Academy Award winning filmmaker Danny Boyle return to the director’s chair. The 68-year-old launched the franchise with 28 Days Later in 2002., but did not direct the sequel, 28 Weeks Later, which was released in 2007.
Danny Boyle has reteamed with writer Alex Garland to relaunch the franchise with 28 Years Later, the first in a projected new trilogy. The film was released in cinemas today and sees Jodie play Isla, one of a group of survivors navigating the post apocalyptic landscape.
The movie has won rave reviews from critics as it has received a near perfect Rotten Tomatoes rating on the day of its release. From 107 reviews, the film has received mainly positive verdicts as it currently holds a 93% fresh rating.
GQ is one of the many outlets to laud the new film as it published a positive review. The headline, from reviewer Jack King, said: “28 Years Later isn’t the film you thought it would be — and might just be an emotional masterpiece”
The reviewer praised the film for containing more emotional depth than the traditional horror film. It said: “For all of the horror in 28 Years Later, the film is elevated by Boyle’s (and writer Alex Garland, himself the much-respected director of Annihilation and Warfare, among others) savvy choice not to forgo beauty.
“For one, this makes for an effective visual contrast — light and shade, and all that. But it is also much more human: this is not one of those cookie-cutter horrors where our characters are two-dimensional printouts on flimsy bits of cardboard, but fully fleshed out people who we care about, and feel for.”
Another reviewer praised the human quality of the piece as Robert Daniels from RogerEbert.com said: “A deeply earnest film, a picture whose sincerity is initially off putting until it’s endearing.”
Jake Coyle of Associated Press agreed as he said: “This is an unusually soulful coming-of-age movie considering the number of spinal cords that get ripped right of bodies.”
Esther Zuckerman of Bloomberg News was taken aback by the way the film’s combination of horror and drama. The reviewer said: “One of the strangest, most exhilarating blockbusters in recent memory. It’s a truly bizarre piece of art that’s somehow both grotesque and extremely moving..”
Tori Brazier from the Metro commented how the film brought her to tears in a 5 star review. She added: “28 Years Later is a brutally moving film, and the first horror movie to make me cry.”