Seven horror films said to recapture 28 Days Later’s original mood

Movieweb published an article by Adam Symchuk 12 minutes ago listing seven horror films that, the author argues, better capture the mood of 28 Days Later than its sequels.

The piece highlights films ranging from South Korea’s Train to Busan, in which a fund manager and his daughter are caught in a sudden zombie outbreak, to Jim Mickle’s Stake Land, which follows a teenage survivor and a hardened hunter traveling toward a promised safe haven. Other entries include Spain’s The Last Days, about an unexplained lethal agoraphobia in Barcelona; Pontypool, a radio-station drama where an outbreak may spread through language; Taiwan’s The Sadness, noted for extreme, stylized violence; I Am a Hero, about a shy manga assistant who becomes a reluctant protector; and George Romero’s The Crazies, which centers on a violent breakout and military response.

Symchuk frames the list with his own experience of seeing 28 Days Later in theaters and says his interest waned with the sequels, adding that the 2025 revitalization still felt like it was missing what made the original thrilling. The article closes by asking readers whether the franchise improved with each sequel or if other films did a better job building on the first film’s groundwork.

Key Topics

Culture, Stake Land, Pontypool, The Crazies, Danny Boyle