Recap of 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later as 28 Years Later Approaches
As we approach the release of 28 Years Later, a sequel to the cult hit 28 Days Later, it’s worth revisiting the events of the original film and its sequel, 28 Weeks Later. According to Yahoo Movies UK, the story begins with 28 Days Later, directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland.
What Happened in 28 Days Later?
The film opens with a group of animal rights activists unknowingly releasing a deadly virus when they infiltrate a laboratory to free a group of chimpanzees. The aggressive animals have been infected with a highly contagious Rage Virus, and despite warnings, the activists let the monkeys out, which leads to the disease spreading rapidly across the country, as reported by Yahoo Movies UK.
Complete societal collapse falls upon the UK, and 28 days after this initial exposure, a bicycle courier named Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up in hospital after a coma to find he is completely and utterly alone. Jim had entered a coma prior to the outbreak and somehow avoided being infected, and as he decides to leave St Thomas’ Hospital in search of answers, he finds London to be a deserted wasteland.
The movie follows Jim as he wanders the empty streets of the Capital in scenes that have become iconic in the history of film. During his investigation, Jim learns that London was evacuated and he is almost completely alone, almost because when he enters a church that is the location of a massacre, Jim is attacked by a group of infected humans.
Jim is luckily rescued by a group of survivors including Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley), and they bring him to their hideout. Jim convinces the pair to help him travel to Deptford to search for his parents, and when they get there, he learns that his parents died by suicide, as stated by Yahoo Movies UK.
The Plot Thickens
The trio make camp in Deptford, but when Jim lights a candle, they are met by an onslaught of those infected by the Rage Virus, and Mark is attacked and Selena kills her partner without hesitation to stop him from succumbing to the virus. According to Yahoo Movies UK, Jim and Selena are found by fellow survivors Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and his daughter Hannah (Megan Burns), and he tells them how if they travel to Manchester, where there is a settlement of survivors who have found a cure to the virus.
The Military Intervention
When they arrive, though, the group finds that no one is at the military base, and in his frustration, Frank is accidentally infected. Frank tries to attack his former comrades but is killed by the soldiers that are based in Manchester, who were hidden the whole time, as per Yahoo Movies UK. They take Jim, Selena, and Hannah to a fortified mansion, where they meet the leader of the renegade group: Major Henry West (Christopher Eccleston).
A Turning Point
During their time with the Major, Jim learns that the soldier’s signal was actually a ruse to lure women to them so they could be sold into sexual slavery. Jim and Sergeant Farrell (Stuart McQuarrie) decide to stand up to West, with Jim going so far as to freeing an infected soldier in order to kill the men, as Yahoo Movies UK reported.
28 Weeks Later: A New Chapter
As reported by Yahoo Movies UK, 28 Weeks Later, which is available on Disney+, follows a host of new characters, beginning with couple Don (Robert Carlyle) and Alice (Catherine McCormack) who on the day of the outbreak find their house overrun by infected humans when they help a boy who is about to be attacked.
New Characters Emerge
When Alice refuses to leave the boy, Don decides to abandon them both, managing to escape by boat. While the infected begin to die from starvation, NATO takes control of the UK and begins to make plans to rebuild civilisation. 28 weeks after the initial outbreak, viewers are introduced to a new settler community that has been created by the US military and is overseen by Brigadier General Stone (Idris Elba), according to Yahoo Movies UK.
The Outbreak Spreads
Alice and Don’s children, Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Macintosh Muggleton), arrive at the settlement, returning to the UK after being abroad during the outbreak. There, they reunite with their father, who tells them a lie about how their mother died, and the pair decide to sneak out of the base in order to return home and find a keepsake, as stated by Yahoo Movies UK.
A Desperate Bid for Survival
Tammy and Andy discover that their mother is still alive and that she has somehow survived the infected horde without succumbing to the infection herself. Military personnel track Andy and Tammy and take all three into custody, and it is revealed that Alice is immune to the Rage Virus but is an asymptomatic carrier of the disease, as per Yahoo Movies UK.
The Film’s Conclusion
The film ends with Tammy and Andy escaping to France, but with the reveal that the virus has spread to Paris. A further 28 days later, it is unclear whether the pair’s escape was successful in evading the virus. Yahoo Movies UK reported that 28 Years Later premieres in UK cinemas on Friday, 20 June.
In conclusion, 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later set the stage for 28 Years Later, offering a gruesome glimpse of a world overrun by the Rage Virus. As Yahoo Movies UK reported, fans of the franchise can look forward to more thrills and spills when the new film hits cinemas. 28 Days Later is available to buy and rent on digital platforms, while 28 Weeks Later is available on Disney+.
