Just like the two other films in the franchise, 28 Years Later is a very emotional movie. Fans were delighted to hear that the 28 Days Later franchise would continue 18 years after the last film. 2007’s 28 Weeks Later may not be everyone’s favorite film, but the original 28 Days Later, which was released in 2002, is one of the most influential zombie movies of all time.
Therefore, it’s great that director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, the creative minds behind the franchise’s first movie, paired up once again to make 28 Years Later. Thankfully, reviews for 28 Years Later have been quite good so far, and its box office haul proves that people are still interested in the zombie franchise.
The upcoming 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will continue the story, and hopefully Boyle and Garland will be able to make the third film in their planned trilogy, as well. However, for now, let’s focus on the first film in the trilogy and 28 Years Later’s emotional ending. Specifically, let’s examine how 28 Years Later continues the franchise’s most heartbreaking trend.
28 Years Later Ends With Isla’s Death
She Decides To Be Euthanized To End Her Pain
28 Years Later primarily follows Spike, who is brilliantly played by Alfie Williams. The first act of the movie sees him leave his safe island community with his father, Jamie, to travel to the mainland. While on this trip, Alfie and his father encounter a lot of danger, which makes for many thrilling sequences.
However, once Aflie and his father return to Holy Island, the movie slows down quite a bit. After gaining some experience on the mainland, and after learning that he can’t really trust his father, Aflie decides to take his mother to a doctor on the mainland who may be able to cure her illness.
After meeting Dr. Kelson, he quickly surmises that Isla likely has cancer, which is why she has been in so much pain for so long. Unfortunately, there is no way Dr. Kelson can cure Isla, which is why she allows him to peacefully kill her. This is obviously a heartbreaking moment for Spike, but actress Jodie Comer recently explained why Isla made this decision at the end of 28 Years Later. She said:
I think she’s so ready at that point. I think if you’ve ever been around anyone with an illness of this kind or I think when someone’s gone through an extended period of suffering, I think there is a real kind of insatiable desire for it to end and be over.
There’s just something that Kelson provides them in that moment, whether it be an outlook or a sense of safety and kind of healing that I think she feels she has to go. You know what I mean? I just think there was an acceptance and a kind of readiness for her to be out of pain and out of the turmoil, which it’s interesting, isn’t it? Because it can almost appear quite selfish to be like, ‘Wow, how can you just leave?’ But I think it’s just kind of come to that point for both of them where they’ve been through so much and she is offered a way out and a way out that is much nicer than a lot of other possibilities.
In a franchise like 28 Days Later, one would expect Isla to experience a much more gruesome ending. However, instead of losing her to the infected or to other, more malicious survivors, Isla choosing to be euthanized by Dr. Kelson allows Alfie to properly say goodbye to her. Tragically, children saying goodbye to parents is now a notable 28 Days Later franchise trend.
28 Years Later Continues A Heartbreaking Trend Of Parental Loss
Every Main Character Has Coped With Losing Their Parents
Every movie in the 28 Days Later franchise has featured children losing their parents. After waking up from a coma after the initial Rage Virus outbreak, Cillian Murphy’s Jim desperately wants to go home to see if his parents are still alive. Jim discovering that his mother and father committed suicide after the outbreak is one of the most heartbreaking moments in the original film.
|
28 Days Later Movies |
RT Critics Score |
|---|---|
|
28 Days Later (2002) |
87% |
|
28 Weeks Later (2007) |
73% |
|
28 Years Later (2025) |
89% |
Also in the franchise’s first movie, Hannah has to say goodbye to her father, Frank, after he gets infected. Unlike in other zombie franchises, because of how the Rage Virus works, Hannah barely has any time to say goodbye to her father in 28 Days Later. Within seconds, Frank, who was a comforting presence in the first movie, turns into a monster and is sH๏τ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.
Even moreso than the first film, 28 Weeks Later follows two children who have to cope with the loss of their parents. After returning to the United Kingdom many months after the initial outbreak, Tammy and Andy learn how their mother was infected. Interestingly, Tammy and Andy actually learn their mother is still alive in the film, but it doesn’t take long for them to lose her once again.
In the series’ second movie, Tammy and Andy also lose their father not long after being reunited with him. Tammy and Andy’s relationship with their father is actually quite terrifying, since he hunts them as an infected throughout the course of the film. Therefore, based on these examples, it is clear that every movie in the 28 Days Later franchise has in some way dealt with the relationship between children and their parents.
However, Isla’s Death In 28 Years Later Is A Change Of Pace For The Franchise
Her Death Was Far More Peaceful & Accepting
Unlike all the other aforementioned children in the franchise, Spike doesn’t necessarily mourn his mother after she is gone. After meeting Dr. Kelson and visiting the Bone Temple, which he has spent years creating, he explains to Spike and Isla that death is a natural part of our existence and should not be mourned. Spike realizes that even though his mother’s physical body dies, she will still live on in his mind.
Unlike the franchise’s other children, Spike will probably not view his mother’s death as a tragedy.
For many fans, Dr. Kelson is the best part of 28 Years Later, mostly because of his thought-provoking perspective on life and death. Without a doubt, losing his mother will be an important moment for Spike going forward in the new trilogy. However, unlike the franchise’s other children, Spike will probably not view his mother’s death as a tragedy.
Instead, his mother’s death, and knowing that he too will have to die someday, will likely encourage Spike to live a more meaningful life. After this refreshing change of pace for the franchise, it will be interesting to see how Spike’s story continues in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and the third movie in the trilogy.
Could 28 Years Later: Bone Temple Continue This Trend?
Will We Learn More About Jimmy?
In addition to learning more about Spike and how he handles the weeks and months after his mother’s death, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple could also explore how Jimmy has dealt with losing his parents. The opening scene in 28 Years Later sees Jimmy lose both his mother and father in tragic ways. Interestingly, Jimmy’s father, who was a priest, accepted his death, which aligns with what Dr. Kelson teaches Spike.
Based on the surprising ending of 28 Years Later, Jimmy will definitely be a major character in The Bone Temple. Other than what is revealed during the flashback at the beginning of 28 Years Later, not much is known about Jimmy. However, it’s a safe guess that he probably won’t subscribe to the same belief system as Spike and Dr. Kelson.
The action-packed introduction of Jimmy’s group proves that they could be dangerous villains in The Bone Temple. Since Jimmy and the members of his group probably have a unique philosophy, it will be interesting to learn how they view the world in the sequel. After 28 Years Later, I think it’s likely that the upcoming sequel will continue this franchise trend.
