28 Years Later (15)

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s genre-defying zombie masterpiece makes its long awaited return in this beautifully haunting film.

28 years after the ‘Rage’ virus decimated the British Isles, which is now left under European military quarantine to fend for itself (how very topical), we open on a small community living on Holy Island, with its causeway keeping them safe from the mainland.

Spike (newcomer Alfie Williams) is a 12-year-old whose adored mum Isla (Jodie Comer) is unwell, confused and depressed. His dad Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) takes Spike on a sortie to the mainland, a rite of passage which brings him to manhood. But then Spike becomes obsessed with rumours of a “doctor” (Ralph Fiennes) still living in this danger zone. Spike disobeys all the island’s rules by taking his mum with him out into this forbidden area, on a desperate quest to find this doctor who can cure her.

Just like 28 Days back in 2002, Years is a thorny, challenging, unpredictable work; shot on the latest iPhone - so as to allow Boyle to navigate the deep Northumberland wilderness easily - it’s art-house filmmaking with a sizable budget.