There was something quite special about seeing 28 Days Later in the theaters when it first came out, with the movie offering a fresh and exciting take on the zombie genre that captured a post-apocalyptic UK unlike anything else committed to film at the time. It remains one of my favorite theater-going experiences of all time. However, my interest in the franchise waned a bit with 28 Weeks Later, though it was likely naive to expect the same sort of cathartic theater-going experience twice in a row. The 2025 revitalization, while great, still felt like it was missing what made the first so thrilling.
Of course, there is a long period between 2002 and 2025, and, for myself, that timeframe was filled with countless horror films, including plenty of post-apocalyptic and zombie-led horrors. Among them are many movies that build on the themes explored in Danny Boyle’s films and manage to do them better than any of the sequels. Here, I am not arguing that any of these are necessarily better overall, but there is an undeniable charm that captures that magic that I first experienced when watching 28 Days Later. As such, these are also great for fans of the greater franchise, but even better for those who hold the first film in higher regard than the rest.
7
‘Train to Busan’ (2016)
Here is a relatively easy comparison, with Train To Busan, arguably, interjecting the same amount of fanfare and acclaim into the zombie genre that 28 Days Later did decades previous. The film follows fund manager Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) and his daughter, Su-an (Kim Su-an), whose daily commute is caught up in an explosive zombie outbreak. The quick escalation raises tension, and survivors start to work both together and at odds to deal with the escalating threat.
28 Days Later did a phenomenal job of capturing an already devastated and overrun zombie landscape. While this approach worked for the film, the franchise never really captured the immediate, emotionally devastating intensity one would expect from the initial outbreak. When it comes to injecting drama into an intense scenario, South Korean productions almost always deliver more than their Western counterparts, and I would argue that is the case with Train to Busan over any 28 Days Later sequel.
6
‘Stake Land’ (2010)
Zombies are not the only end-of-world monster threat out there, and Jim Mickle proves just that with his dark, vampiric, post-apocalyptic movie Stake Land. Here, teenage survivor Martin (Connor Paolo) is taken under the wing of hardened hunter “Mister” (Nick Damici). Mister teaches Martin how to survive, while the two slowly make their way to the promised safe haven of New Eden, having to face off against deranged cults and bloodsuckers along the way.
Emphasizing moral erosion and post-apocalyptic despair, Stake Land almost acts as a better sequel to 28 Days Later than 28 Weeks Later does. Notably, while 28 Weeks Later leans more into military intervention, Stake Land keeps the horror intimate and realistically pessimistic. It is arguably the way many wanted to see the zombie franchise move, and it is arguably the reason Jim Mickles’ grim vampire horror film became a cult hit that is still championed to this day. At the same time, the two also exist as pretty ideal companion pieces, showing two different sides of the apocalypse with emotion and style.
5
‘The Last Days’ (2013)
Building off of an intriguing premise, David and Alex Pastor’s The Last Days presented a unique vision of the world’s end. Here, an unexplained, lethal agoraphobia strikes the people of Barcelona overnight. As a result, anyone who leaves their home finds themselves overwhelmed to the point of death. The story follows former executive Marc (Quim Gutiérrez), who heads into the tunnels under Barcelona from his office, fighting the desperate masses while trying to find his pregnant girlfriend.
Where Danny Boyle’s movies would only continue to grow in scope, The Last Days offers a claustrophobic, isolating, and melancholic vision of the apocalypse. Moreover, the film captures the shock of an instant societal collapse that never really materialized in the 28 Days Later sequels. There is also an ambiguity here about the force that caused the cataclysmic event, which adds a layer of confusion that is deeply fascinating and goes beyond the fear of a more immediate, tangible threat, such as a zombie. An underrated offering from Spain that is worth tracking down.
4
‘Pontypool’ (2008)
Pontypool’s abstract approach to apocalyptic zombie horror makes it one of the most distinctive entries in the genre. Taking place in the titular small Canadian town, the work follows a disgraced disc jockey, Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie), who begrudgingly stakes the airwaves of the small local station. Grant begins to receive a series of disturbing reports about the dead walking, with desperate phone calls painting a larger picture of an outbreak that spreads through language.
The stripping away of zombies in a zombie film (there are some at the end) may seem like a baffling choice for a horror film, but Pontypool is so perfectly scripted that it still creates tension as secondhand accounts are called in to a remote radio station. Director Bruce McDonald presents a conceptual dread in which the lack of information and a frightening ambiguity become the subject of horror. These themes are something Boyle would explore through the 28 Days Later sequels, but, by design, not nearly as effectively as in Pontypool, which laser-focuses in on the concept.
3
‘The Sadness’ (2021)
The scenario presented in 28 Days Later is certainly one of violence and danger, but what if viewers wanted more action, more blood, more chaos than what the sequels brought? Well, that is where Rob Jabbaz’s Taiwanese-language shocker, The Sadness, comes in. The story follows a young couple, Jim (Berant Zhu) and Kat (Regina Lei), who try to reunite amid a violent breakout. Here, the outbreak goes beyond the fast-moving zombies of 28 Days Later; instead, the infected indulge in every dark desire to its most extreme.
This one obviously won’t be for everyone, and fans who come to this have to be comfortable with some elements of pretty extreme, gory horror; one of the opening scenes sees gallons of blood spilled inside a subway in a series of vicious attacks. Still, everything here is so stylized and well-executed that it becomes more about spectacle than shock, and while the violence is nonstop, the story at its core is engaging and full of twists.
2
‘I Am a Hero’ (2015)
Aiming to tell an authentic and emotional story, I Am A Hero centered on shy manga assistant Hideo Suzuki (Yô Ôizumi), whose troubled life becomes even more perilous during a zombie outbreak in Tokyo. With a shotgun and an already shattered sense of self-confidence, Hideo slowly finds people he wants to protect who force him to step into the role of someone he has never been before: determined and decisive.
28 Days Later focused on an unprepared protagonist, adding a certain relatable human element that got lost in each subsequent sequel. In I Am a Hero, fans get a more grounded experience of what it would be like for an unlikely ‘hero’ in a zombie apocalypse that never really landed quite the same in subsequent 28 Days Later sequels. Awkward yet very human, the tale of zombie survival has an undeniable charm that sets it apart from many others.
1
‘The Crazies’ (1973)
28 Days Later was far from the first of its kind, and while it presented a polished and highly influential vision of a world in chaos, its themes were explored as expertly in the past. While you might think I would point to one of George Romero’s zombie films, there is undeniable charm in his grittier, paranoia-driven The Crazies. For those unfamiliar, the plot follows a breakout in the fictional Evans City, which turns its inhabitants violent and crazed, prompting swift military intervention. The movie follows a few survivors who face the threat of an oppressive government alongside the infected.
Romero, a pioneer in the genre when it comes to constructing socially aware horror movies, places the terror of The Crazies within institutional incompetence, panic, and authoritarian overreach; themes which Boyle and many others would echo in their own works. At the same time, while there is some sense of order in the 28 Days sequels, The Crazies feels more grounded in reality, with societal breakdown portrayed as chaotic, irrational, and irreversible. An underrated early offering from the undisputed master of the zombie genre.
What do you think of 28 Days Later and its sequels? Are there any films you feel did better to build on the phenomenal groundwork Danny Boyle built with the first film, or did the franchise really get better with each one? I would also love to hear which horror movies you enjoyed that gave you similar vibes.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
