28 YEARS LATER is not a safe sequel, in fact it’s far bolder, punchier and unexpectedly emotional than you might expect. It’s also by turns uglier and more achingly beautiful than every other example in its over-stuffed sub genre. Almost three decades after the Rage virus overran the UK, Britain finds itself quarantined from mainland Europe and barely surviving in a handful of isolated communities, such as the one on Holy Island. There, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) takes his pre-teen son Spike (Alfie Williams) on his first zombie-hunting mission, where they find the virus has evolved to be more dangerous than ever. Danny Boyle’s imagery is searing, Alex Garland’s screenplay is incisive, Young Fathers provide a bludgeoning soundtrack and the whole ensemble, particularly Alfie Williams, Jodie Comer as Spike’s ailing mother Isla and Ralph Fiennes as the enigmatic Dr Kelson, are on top form. Even as Boyle steps back from the franchise, he’s left us with not one but two of the most daring and high-impact British horrors this century. SSP