Perhaps our prayers have been answered, as Sony has finally released “28 Days Later” for digital distribution. Starting today (December 18), you can rent or buy this iconic horror on Amazon. This is great news, especially since “28 Days Later” has not been available for streaming for a long time after Disney lost the rights

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But this release is not just coincidental timing. The fan response to the trailer for “28 Years Later” that was released last week was incredible: according to Deadline, the trailer has been viewed 60.2 million times worldwide, making it not only the most watched horror trailer of 2024, but also the second most watched horror trailer of all time (behind “It Chapter 2”). As of now, it has 140 million views worldwide.

Impressive numbers, but I'm not surprised. This is a famous franchise making a comeback after 17 years since “28 Weeks Later” and fans like myself couldn't be more excited, and now that “28 Days Later” is available on PVOD, it's the perfect time to review it before “28 Years Later” is released on June 20, 2025.

There are countless reasons why “28 Days Later” is a must-see, enough to write a whole essay, to be honest. But to put it simply, this film is one of the most influential horror masterpieces of the past 25 years. It changed the “zombie” genre, injected fresh and terrifying ideas, and redefined what apocalyptic horror could be. If you like your apocalyptic movies bloody, tense, and gritty, “28 Days Later” is worth every dollar on Amazon.

But if you're not familiar with the film, let me briefly explain. 28 Days Later begins when animal rights activists accidentally release a highly infectious virus called “Rage” from a laboratory in Cambridge, England. The virus spreads rapidly, turning infected people into violent zombie-like creatures within seconds. The story follows Jim (Cillian Murphy), a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma in a deserted London hospital 28 days after the initial outbreak. As Jim ventures through the eerily abandoned city, he witnesses the devastation of the infection.

The ruined London in which Jim awakens at the beginning of 28 Days Later is one of the most stunning openings in horror film history. The film truly stands out because while it delivers thrilling, blood-boiling horror, it also makes you actually care about the characters. In most horror films, the characters are merely raw meat for the plot, but in 28 Days Later, the characters feel like real, relatable people you would meet on a street corner.

Beyond its striking characters, terrifying menace, and brutal gore, “28 Days Later” stands out as a smart, genuinely unsettling film that feels eerily real. The infected are not conventional zombies who die and come back to life. Instead, they are living people, driven by overwhelming rage and deadly force against ordinary humans. The premise of the film becomes even more plausible as time goes on, especially in today's world, where the notion of social decay and the dehumanization of people through anger and aggression seems all too plausible.

Again, it would be easy to go on and on about the brilliance of 28 Days Later, but at its core it is a masterful horror thriller that not only scares, but stays with you for days (maybe even 28 days). Cillian Murphy gives a standout performance as a man struggling with loneliness, trust, and loss in an unforgiving post-apocalyptic London. He embodies the raw, human response that many of us would have when faced with such a dire situation.

Now is the perfect time to see “28 Days Later” before the sequel is released. As you might expect, “28 Years Later” takes place 28 years after the Rage virus wreaked havoc on the world. The film marks the first chapter in an exciting new trilogy, with the second, 28 Years Later, Part II: The Bourne Temple, already being shot in parallel with the first.

Cillian Murphy, of course, reprises his iconic role, but this time his character may not be the once-ordinary bicycle courier who wakes up to find London in ruins (some thought he was a zombie in the trailer, but that seems unlikely). Big names like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes also anchor the sequel, which is directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland.

Fiennes told IndieWire about the plot: “It's been 28 years since England was hit by a terrible plague of infected people, violent and rabid humans, and there are only a few areas that are not infected. The main character is a young boy trying to find a doctor to help his dying mother. He leads his mother to the beautiful lands of northern England. But of course, all around him are infected people hiding in the woods, hills and forests. But he finds a doctor who we might think is strange and eccentric, but who is actually a force for good.

As the aftermath of the apocalypse continues, fans can expect more thrills and fake blood. And if you want to watch the entire series, don't forget to stream “28 Weeks Later” on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK. After the virus appears to have burned itself out, repopulation and recovery attempts are made in the UK, where the government has declared the country “safe.” However, the virus quickly resurfaces when infected individuals escape quarantine.

Buy/Rent “28 Days Later” on Amazon now before “28 Years Later” is released on June 20, 2025.