While 28 years laterthe trailer looks great, the long awaited sequel to 28 days later faces a challenge that previous films in the franchise didn't have to face due to the genre change. There are many subgenres of horror and they often fall out of favor among the moviegoing public with each passing year. Sometimes slashers are all the rage, while other times see ghost stories and possession films dominating the horror box office. 28 days laternext sequence 28 years later is betting big on the return of zombie films, but that hope comes with an important addendum.
28 days later told the story of Jim, a coma patient who woke up alone in an almost empty London. Cillian Murphy's protagonist soon discovered that London had been overrun by victims of the Rage virus who infected or killed everyone they encountered. The sequence 28 weeks later it ended by revealing that the virus had escaped Britain and reached France, setting up a more apocalyptic sequence. Now the story of 28 years later appears poised to deliver on that promise, judging by the events depicted in its first trailer. This could be a problem.
28 Years Later is a post-apocalyptic horror, not a disaster horror
The Sequel's Setting Changes Its Subgenre
Different 28 days later and 28 weeks later, 28 years later is a post-apocalyptic horror film. The trailer for 28 years laterwith its isolated tribal communities, religious fanatics, and reconstructed rudimentary civilization, it more closely resembles Undead or A Quiet Place Part II what 28 days later. The sequel is about life long after the end, when society has reshaped itself, not about society's immediate and terrifying collapse. This makes the story 28 years later more challenging, as the end of the world has been well-known territory for horror viewers in recent years.
28 Days Later, from director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland, was a fresh and vital surprise.
28 days later became a surprise hit at a time when zombie films had been in decline for some time. After the evil Dead, Night of the Living Deadand Return of the Living Dead every franchise was successful throughout the '70s and '80s, the '90s featured a dearth of shambling undead haunting the multiplex. Slashers and haunted house movies were the order of the day, so director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland 28 days later was a new and vital surprise, the success of which has probably contributed to everything since 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake for 2009 Zombielandfor TV Undead.
28 years later he joins an increasingly busy subgenre
Post-apocalyptic horror has boomed in recent years
In contrast, 28 years laterthe story will need to stand out in a crowded market full of dystopian and post-apocalyptic films and shows. For every post-apocalyptic horror hit like A Quiet Place Part II or Arcadianthere are disappointments like Barcelona bird box, Leave the world behind, Y2K, Azrael, Never let goand even arguably Furious. This doesn't even begin to compete with the franchise on the small screen, as Silo, Precipitation, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixonand Walking Dead: Those Who Live. Compared to the silent zombie subgenre 28 days later faced at its launch, 28 years later must impress in a field full of competitors.