The sequel to 28 Days Later, 28 Years Later, is blowing up the box office right now. It’s a worthy successor to the film that changed the face of the zombie genre. (This less said about 28 Weeks Later, the one that wasn’t directed by Danny Boyle, the better). Oh, and it’s very much not a film to show to your kids. But what about Days? Is that any better?
Nope! 28 Days Later is even more horrific than its successor. It tells the story of Jim (Cillian Murphy), a young man who awakens from a coma to find London deserted and the world as he knew it devastated. Turns out that while he was in said coma, a virus transmitted by experimented-on monkeys spread to humans and turned Britain into a world of deadly and very fast zombies. He teams up with Selena (Naomie Harris), and together they look for survivors. They eventually find father-daughter duo Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and Hannah (Megan Burns) and go on what can only be described as a post-apocalyptic road trip to find the military. But when they find them, things get bad fast.
Let’s take a look at what gives this film an R rating!
28 Years Later is bloody and violent
Sex and nudity: There’s no sex in 28 Days Later, but there is nudity. The first time we see Jim, he’s naked and lying on a hospital bed. We see everything – it’s a completely full-frontal shot. And some of the zombies are nude as well.
Violence and gore: Where to even begin? The zombies are walking gore machines, spewing up blood and chasing people to infect them. That’s not even getting started on the violence perpetuated by humans, though. Jim takes out one non-infected soldier by gouging his eyes out. Other characters are shot or chopped up with a sword. It’s nasty stuff.
Language: It’s probably not surprising that characters swear a lot in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. The f-word and c-word both come up.
Drinking and drugs: Drugs factor heavily into the plot. Selena used to be a pharmacist, and she’s carrying around drugs that help her sleep. She convinces Hannah’s dad, Frank, to let her have half of one when none of them can sleep. But these drugs come into play once more once the characters reach the military base. It turns out – and this is one of the most horrific things about the movie – that the soldiers are planning to rape Selena and Hannah. Selena gives Hannah drugs so she won’t be aware it’s happening, and she’s out of it completely as Jim kills all the rapist soldiers.
Frightening or intense scenes: The whole movie is one big frightening and intense scene! But worst of all is the attempted rape of Selena and Hannah, because Hannah is a mere 13 years old. It’s a chilling look at how far society can fall in the wake of a disaster. But of course, the constant attacks by zombies can shred the nerves as well.
This movie really isn’t recommended for anyone under the age of 18. However, if your 17-year-old insists on watching it (and to be fair, I myself watched it when I was 17), it does give a good opportunity to talk to your child about sexual violence and consent.