Review |28 Years Later

Extermínio: A Evolução (28 Years Later)

In 2002, with a timid debut, we were taken by surprise by the innovation of the zombie film genre, with Extermination (28 Days Later), directed by Danny Boyle, who at the time was already renowned for the excellent Shallow Grave and Trainspotting.

The term innovation is used here in several ways. The first is that it was filmed with 480p resolution digital cameras, allowing for more takes of a deserted London, while the chaos of traffic and pedestrians could be hidden beyond the edges of the screen and the different simultaneous shots, thus giving the film more realism, something accidental according to production and critical opinions.

Secondly, the innovation of the infected/running zombies, which presented a new type of threat on screen for the first time. Gone were the slow zombies invented and followed in George A. Romero's formula; now they were agile monsters, jumping over obstacles and strongly overpowered.

The influences were immediately taken up by subsequent films of the genre, the most successful being Dawn of the Dead , directed by Zack Snyder, or even by the beginning that started a legal battle with Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead, because the beginning of his comic book was almost identical to the beginning of the film. To this day, it is still unclear, as both are intertwined by a short period of release dates.

After a lukewarm sequel without the involvement of Danny Boyle or Alex Garland in 2007 entitled 28 Weeks Later, there was a promise that the next film would be in development and would be called 28 Months Later.

Amidst rumors, the heat for an immediate sequel eventually cooled.

Extermínio: A Evolução (28 Years Later)

Finally, in 2024, it was officially announced that the next film in the saga would be released, with the title (28 Years Later), adapted here to Extermination 3: The Evolution, promising innovations on par with the first film, filmed with smartphones and with a story influenced by the post-pandemic crisis of Covid-19 and criticism of the new British government plan called Brexit. Premiering on June 19, 2025.

After a prologue that is already a trademark of the franchise, the film begins by introducing us to a community that survives on an isolated island that can only be accessed at low tide in the mornings. We are introduced to the three characters whose evolution we will witness: the father Jamie (Aaron Taylor Johnson), the son Spike (Alfie Williams), and Isla (Jodie Comer), the mother.

Extermínio: A Evolução (28 Years Later)

The following script is Spike's initiation, who needs to go to the mainland to hunt infected people for the first time and earn merit for his first kill. Here, the cinematography shines before our eyes, with green and blue landscapes tinged with gray and a soundtrack with electronic and industrial influences (frantic throughout the film, as in Trainspotting) preparing us for the hostile world that awaits beyond the coastline. The rules imposed at the end of the first film are circumvented so that the infected can survive for so long.

Jamie and Spike fulfill their mission in a shameful way, so back on the island we see the true personality of the father, a critique of toxic masculinity, as he is someone who exaggerates his merits and imposes rules based on his own mythomania, leaving his son uncomfortable and more concerned with caring for his sick mother.

Extermínio: A Evolução (28 Years Later)

For the second act, the stage is set. Jamie hears rumors that there is a healer, a former doctor from the world before the apocalypse, which prompts him to flee the island with his mother and risk the hostility of the mainland in order to find at least some answer to her health problem. The editing is a little confusing here with the sudden appearance of soldiers with Swiss accents, and after an attack by the infected, only one escapes with his life.

We then have the suspicious encounter between the three survivors who now need to join forces to reach the healer, using a fire that never goes out as a reference point. The film pauses to catch its breath, just like the second act of the 2002 film. Then the agile events of the edition take us to Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), who is mysterious but at the same time kind to those who seek him out. His survival in the hostility among the infected remains a mystery with unsatisfactory answers, but already with a push for the promised trilogy of films, starting with this one.

Extermínio: A Evolução (28 Years Later)

The events of the last 15 minutes were very fast-paced, the distances that were previously considered great are quickly crossed, and we get a brief glimpse of what the prologue wanted to prepare, setting the stage for the next film.