Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

28 Years Later 

This film is going to be among one of my favourites of the year as Danny Boyle and Alex Garland have struck gold once again crafting an incredible story that takes place within the world of 28 Days Later and builds upon the lore with new characters, a brand new setting that works so well for the plot and has great jump scares but at the heart of it is about humanity and the human condition. The actors brought together for this film is also solid as you have the likes of Aaron Taylor - Johnson, Jodie Comer and newcomer Alfie Williams who gives a tremendous screen debut that is among one of the best young actor performances I have seen all year! This film draws you in the moment it starts and refuses to let go and then scares the daylights out of you effectively and then breaks your heart and brings you to tears 28 Years Later is one of the most complex and sharply written Zombie Films I have ever seen! 

Firstly, The approach taken to bring people back into the landscape of 28 days later I thought was masterfully done as Danny Boyle brings a great visual flare with pulse pounding direction here that made that first film such a cult classic and then coming back with Alex Garland who gives a razor sharp screenplay and expanding the world of the rage virus by making it be set in a whole new setting with a brand new set of characters I thought was a great way into the story in order to keep it fresh and not just be a retread of what we have already seen. The film has many deep rooted themes that are very well touched upon within the course of the story from Family, Death, humanity and as I mentioned the human spirit is a big one and the way that it is presented visually onscreen is honestly so moving in it’s execution. A lot of people have voiced their dislike for the direction this film takes as a lot of people were hoping for a more fast paced gritty bloody and gore fest which this film does have a lot of violence and gore for sure but it is not by any means a fast paced horror thriller. This film I would categorize it more in the area of a slow burn film that has the backdrop of a horror film for sure and their are parts that will genuinely scare the audience but it is about a mother and son dynamic and the emotional love they have for one another and a lot of people were not expecting that approach to this franchise and honestly I found it so refreshing. The film takes it’s time in telling the events of this narrative as the film is mostly told through the perspective of Spike the young kid in the film and what makes it so compelling to me was how the film has a kid who has strictly only been raised in a post apocalyptic world only known isolation and having to follow strict rules and living far outside of what we deem normal society. So when a character later asks him about what a cell phone is or the mail service or things of that nature he has no way to respond to that as his way of living has always been in a wold of the rage virus which is so fascinating from a character perspective. The film also makes you question the community he resides in and that it may be cult like in its approach to how they train the kids to basically become soldiers and Spike runs at his first opportunity when he sees the lies and mislead parenting being done in large part by his father. The way the film has the picture be a story about him wanting to help his mom who is severely ill is very touching and it delves into as I mentioned themes of death and mortality the way they go about these themes was very raw and emotionally moving that moved me greatly. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland do deliver with the thrills and scares their is no doubt with that but what made these films stand out compared to your typical Zombie film is that it has always been about the human connection and how one goes about surviving in these very tough living conditions and I think they bring that theme into places we haven’t seen them go with it in 28 years later that is phenomenal. As it expands the world of the lore while also giving us new characters to fall in love with and fleshing them out and of course leave us on a cliffhanger of an ending to have us hungry for what comes next and the set up for the sequel was perfectly done. The film also on a technical level is gorgeously shot aside form Sinners this is the second best shot horror film I have seen all year it is beautiful the way the are able to use the camera to really present the setting the film resides in. Aside from the great imagery the editing once again is frantic and intoxicating while keeping you on edge the entire way through. The way this film delivers with the bold new direction, great screenplay and fantastic look and feel of it 28 years later delivers on all fronts. 

Secondly, The performances from the whole cast are splendid! Now  I will start with  Aaron Taylor -  Johnson who plays the father of the film and does a heartbreaking performance at showing his complicated relationship with his son and wife. We see him in the beginning wanting his son to hunt and kill and be able to do what he does and when his son sees him for who he really is their is a growing resentment that builds between the two. Aaron Taylor Johnson shows that loving proud father quality in his eyes and tone in the first 20 minutes when they go hunting but he also has a stern quality that can be pretty harsh but he brings that characteristic to the character with such fierce emotion. He has a great scene with Alfie Williams in the stairwell at the top of the house in the first half of this film and both of them work off each other so well when their sharing the screen that scene is a tremendous talent of both performers as Alfie is delivering the hard hitting dialogue and all Aaron Taylor has to do is react to what he is being told and the way the emotion hits him like a wave is so powerful. Aaron Taylor Johnson once again brings his A game and gives a terrific performance that I hope we see explored more of going forward as he is so so good in this film. Then their is Jodie Comer who I remember seeing in The Bikeriders last year and being blown away with her talent and ever since have been keeping a eye on her and here she plays a mother sick and just wanting to be a good mother to Spike despite her illness she has. A lot of her performance is shown through what she does not say verbally it is through looks and how she emotes with her body language as you can tell whatever she is sick with is taking a mental toll on her as the film progresses her speech and memory worsen. Jodie brings such a tender emotional vulnerability to the character that has you ache for her as she is trying her best to hold on for her son despite the dire situation she is in and the way that she delivers this character to the screen is amazing as you can see the sheer emotional and psychical pain she goes through. Jodie Comer does a tremendous Job at brining this role of Spike’s mother to life in a truly moving performance that is among some of the best I have seen from her. Then you have the star of the film Alfie Williams who plays Spike and wow does he do a splendid Job he is the heartbeat of this film and plays the role of a kid grown up in a post apocalyptic world perfectly. He has never known what “ normal society” is and seeing him face challenges mentally and psychically that test him constantly as amazing to witness as for a kid who has never really had much onscreen experience he is a total natural. Alfie Williams plays the role with such emotional sincerity and great leadership as he is very young and to be leading a huge film like this is no easy feat and he knocks it out of the park with his onscreen performance. Everyone in this film is great even Ralph Fiennes who plays a small role in this film pivotal to the plot he may not have much screen time but his impact is huge. Each actor in this film did a terrific Job no weak links at all in the whole cast. 

Lastly, 28 Years Later is a film that pushes the franchise to go to new limits in exploring the human condition, It also shows the places people will go emotionally for the ones they love in such dire times and the way that Danny Boyle and Alex Garland were able to still even after all this time still find new places to bring this franchise is truly amazing to see. As Danny Boyle injects the film with that frantic tone needed for this kind of material and then Alex Garland rips through the screen with his amazingly well done screenplay that brings these fresh characters into places emotionally that will move you while still serving that classic terror and scares we have come to expect from these films but at the same time give audiences something new without just giving the exact same thing we have seen before. 28 Years Later is a film about what happens when you push a community to have to adapt to a unbearable new reality and what would happen if a child was raised in that environment what that would do to them mentally and how they would adapt to that setting. With Death all around them it is easy to loose focus on things like humanity and looking out for each other despite the bleak situation surrounding them it perfectly describes the human spirit and 28 Years later is a film that is breathtaking, terrifying, emotional and a film that will have you wanting to see what happens next the moment it is over this film is a freaking masterful film Danny Boyle and Alex Garland did a tremendous Job with this film. 

This film centres around the rage virus 28 years after it’s initial outbreak and how the world has had to figure out a way to stay away from the infected and be able to still live their lives

Rated R : Grisly Images|Graphic Nudity|Brief Sexuality|Language|Strong Bloody Violence

Alfie Williams : Alfie gives a sensational breakout performance as Spike in this film! Now keep in mind he has not much prior acting experience before this film came out as he is a new face within the industry. To take on a massive franchise like this is no easy feat and he is the starring role of the film whose co stars are Ralph Fiennes, Aaron Taylor Johnson and Jodie Comer to stand toe to toe with those acclaimed actors at the age of 12 is so impressive. Now he plays a kid that only knows a world in where he has been quarantined but to him that is his sense of normal he has no real memory of what life was before the rage virus spread across the country. He brings Spike to life with such wonder in his eyes in the beginning but the more he sees the real world that he was kept from the more that sense of joy drains from his eyes and he goes into full on survival mode. When his father feels he is of age to hunt and kill an infected as in a way of looking at it like it is some sort of sport he goes along but the entire time he has no idea what he is doing and feels almost sick in a way to be killing a person as he is not used to doing something of that nature. You can see him hesitate to shoot them and is quivering as he dose not want to cause harm but his dad think’s it will be a good bonding experience and toughen him up in the process if anything it terrifies him and does it sharpen his skills sure but his father clearly went about teaching that lesson the wrong way. As after they return home and their is a massive celebration he feels his dad is not telling him the full truth of what is going on and he grows resentment towards his fathers for his laps in judgement of how he looks after his family. Spike feels he has to step up as the “man” of the house and take proper care of his mother if his dad is not going to he knows he has no choice but having to step into that role and he and his mother sneak off to the mainland to try to see if they can treat her illness. Alfie Williams shows such emotional distraught in his eyes and you can see the genuine concern he has for his mother but also the sheer love that he is willing to put his life on the line to save her and he won’t rest until she gets the care she needs. Willliams brings this emotional tenderness to the role that makes you want to just huh him and tell him everything  will be okay as he has never had to fight for his existence until now as he has no father to look out for him as his dad did not do what he was supposed to as a father so now he has to fend for himself. Everything he encounters is his first time when he is running from infected ones to camping out for the night he is doing things his father taught him for years and Is putting those skills to use. In a way it is very tragic as to see a kid be stripped of his childhood like this and to know he will never be able to have a normal childhood and this grim reality his all he will ever know. Alfie also is able to rip your heart out in the dramatic heavy scenes so well as the moments with the father early on was emotionally powerful in his presentation of showing how disappointed he was with his father and how sharp his tone was to the sheer anger seething in his voice. But when he is around his mom he never gets mad at her he is so sweet and gentle and knows that she has had a hard life and wants to make it easier on her by trying to make her smile even though the world around them is not the happiest situation. Alfie Williams’s character Spike has such a tremendous arc he is set on from the first frame and in the beginning he is this terrified kid who has no idea what he has gotten himself into and is petrified of what is lurking around every corner and by the end he has perfected the art of survival and how to keep himself alive his a entirely different person he is a fully realized character by the last act and even though this film ends on a cliffhanger I am so excited to see the places he explores with the character in the next films. As their are so many things about Spike that can be explored and without giving anything away their is a very heavy emotional scene in the mid point of the film that almost brought me to tears and the reason it did was in large part due to how well Alfie Williams can just strip his soul bare onscreen emotionally and be so incredibly vulnerable and just give himself over to the scene and fully wrap himself up into it as you can feel the thick emotional sadness weighing on him. Alfie Williams delivers a performance that is among one of the greatest young performances I have seen from an actor ever and he has such a bright future ahead of him I cannot wait to see what he does next all I do know if this was a taste of what he can do wow he did a incredible job. Alfie Williams is phenomenal giving a mesmerizing leading performance that will have you stunned. 

Danny Boyle : Boyle has given a return to form with 28 years later. Now I think Danny Boyle is one of the most underrated filmmakers to ever come out of the UK as he has given such great films from Trainspotting, 127 Hours, Steve Jobs and his Oscar winning film SlumDog Millionaire he has shown time and time again he can entertain an audience with a truly captivating story as he has such an intriguing style to his films that just pop out. Now he did the first film in this franchise many many years ago but did not do the film directly after it but was kept on creatively to oversee it and I love how involved he has been in the process of these films and his passion and excitement for the films you can feel in each frame of his films especially this one. He did not want to just do a legacy sequel that was retreading the same water we saw from previous instalments that so many legacy sequels have done he instead took an approach with Alex Garland and they worked together to make a film that yes takes place within the same universe but make a whole new trilogy with a new set of characters for the audience to get invested into. The film takes a big swing at having the film centre around a son and his ailing mother and their close bond along with trying to survive in a world that is very grim around them. It still has the scares and pulse pounding horror for sure but Danny places it in parts where you least expect it that catches you off guard and when you see the gore it is brutal and gory but he never makes the violence the showmanship aspect of the film where the heartbeat of the film lies is within Alfie Williams’ character Spike we are seeing everything from his perspective and some may think it is not a great direction for the film to go but I think it is great as taking a child who was born after the virus had infected the world and telling the film from his perspective is unique. Their is also so many themes that are brought to the surface that of Love, Death wanting to find the truth in a world full of lies, survival and grief and all of those tones are shown in brutally real ways that Boyle never sugarcoats I will say in all of his films when he discusses deep themes he never does it in a glamorous way  it is shown in very raw ways and I respect his approach to his storytelling and he has that same mindset here once again. The visual’s of the film are also so well done on a technical level from the score, editing and cinematography it brings the audience in with its breathtaking views and jarring editing and a haunting score. Danny Boyle brings an amazing sense of style and vision to this film and explores the human experience with such emotion that will emotionally impact the audience. Overall Danny Boyle brings a fresh look on this franchise and leaves the views wanting more with a truly great cliffhanger ending Danny Boyle did a terrific job bringing this tale to the screen.