In 2002, as the Rage Virus spreads in the U.K., a boy named Jimmy (Rocco Hanes) flees as his home is attacked by the Infected. He hides in a church with his father, a local minister, but the man is praying in ecstasy over the virus as a harbinger of The End. He gives Jimmy a crucifix to wear and helps him escape as the monsters break into the church.
Twenty-eight years later, in 2030, the Rage Virus is gone from Continental Europe, but the British Isles are still in quarantine. Only a few survivors live. On the island of Lindisfarne, separated from the rest of Britain when a causeway floods at high tide, a few survivors hold on, including a scavenger named Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), his wife Isla (Jodie Cumer), who is mentally ill, and their twelve-year-old son, Spike (Alfie Williams).
Jamie and Spike cross the causeway for a hunting ritual as part of a coming-of-age celebration. They find and kill an Infected man branded as Jimmy, escape from an infected pack led by an Alpha named Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). They spend the night in a wrecked cottage attic and see foreign boats patrolling and a fire in the distance. The attic collapses and the Alpha pursues them across the causeway until the Alpha is killed by village sentries with a ballista.
The village celebrates Spike’s first Kill, Jamie embellishes his son’s brave deeds and then is discovered having an affair with Rosie, the village schoolteacher, A friend named Sam (Christopher Fulford) says the fire was set by Doctor Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), a former G.P. Spike confronts his father in the morning, who says Kelson is insane, burning bodies by the hundreds.
Spike and Isla escape the island and go off in search of the Doctor, hoping he can cure her. They travel to mainland Britain and are rescued from a pack of Infected by a Swedish seaman named Erik Sundkvist, the only survivor of a stranded NATO patrol boat. Isla finds an infected woman in labor and helps deliver an uninfected child. Erik shoots the infected mother and Spike shoots him with arrows. Suddenly, Doctor Kelson appears and sedates the Alpha, whom he calls Samson. Kelson leads Spike and Isla to a giant temple, built with bones and skulls. He adds Erik’s skull to the structure. He reveals that Isla has advanced cancer. Isla and Spike share their last moments together and Kelson euthanizes her and Spike places her skull at the very top of the structure.
Samson infiltrates Kelson’s sanctuary and Spike subdues him with a medicated dart, saving Kelson’s life. Kelson suggests that Spike take the infant home, but Spike leaves her at the Lindisfarne village gate. He leaves a note saying that he named the child after his mother and promises to return someday. Jamie tries to follow him, but the rising tide stops him. 28 days later, Spike is rescued from a pack of infected, led by a now adult Jimmy, who wears an inverted crucifix.
The film was produced and directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. It is a sequel to 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. Cillian Murphy, who starred in the first film, was executive producer. 28 Years Later was shot back to back with its own sequel: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. It received generally positive reviews.
It was thought of as a commentary on isolationism after Brexit and Covid-19. It is quite graphic and was filmed mostly in the north of England. The actors who played the Infected were naked, but because there were children on the set, their genitals were covered by fake genitals. On Rotten Tomatoes, it was given an 88% positive review.