28 Years Later

During the initial outbreak of the Rage Virus, a young boy, Jimmy Crystal, flees his house in the Scottish Highlands as his family is attacked by the Infected. He takes refuge in the local church with his father, a minister, but finds him praying in ecstasy, interpreting the virus as a harbinger of the end times. Jimmy's father gives him a crucifix necklace and helps him to safety before submitting to the Infected as they break in. Twenty-eight years later, the Rage Virus has been successfully eradicated from continental Europe after reaching Paris during its second outbreak, leaving the British Isles under indefinite quarantine with few survivors. A civilised community has been subsisting on Lindisfarne, an island defended naturally from Great Britain by a causeway that floods with the tide. Among the inhabitants of Lindisfarne are Jamie, a scavenger; his wife, Isla, who has undiagnosed cancer; and their twelve-year-old son, Spike. Jamie and Spike cross to mainland Britain for a coming-of-age hunting ritual. They find an Infected man who has been tied up and branded with the name "Jimmy". Spike kills an Infected for the first time. Jamie and Spike then escape a pack of Infected led by an "Alpha," an evolved Infected that is stronger and more intelligent than the others. Jamie and Spike shelter overnight in the attic of a run-down cottage, where Spike observes foreign boats on quarantine patrol and a fire farther inland. When the attic collapses, the Alpha pursues Jamie and Spike across the partially inundated causeway and nearly catches up to them. The village sentries kill the Alpha with a ballista. The village throws a party for Spike to celebrate his first kill. Spike is upset by Jamie's embellishment of his deeds and discovers his affair with Rosey, the village schoolteacher. He discusses the fire with a family friend, Sam, who suggests it was made by Dr Ian Kelson, a former GP in exile. The next morning, Spike confronts Jamie for his unwillingness to seek medical care for Isla and for his infidelity. Jamie insists that Kelson, whom he once witnessed burning corpses en masse, is too mentally unstable to help. Unconvinced, Spike and Isla escape the island and journey to mainland Britain. There, they are rescued from a pack of Infected by Swedish Navy seaman Erik Sundqvist, the sole survivor of a shipwrecked NATO quarantine patrol boat. Isla discovers a pregnant Infected in labour and helps her deliver an uninfected baby girl. When the Infected becomes violent, Erik shoots her and threatens to kill Isla and Spike if they don't let him kill the newborn too. An Alpha appears and decapitates Erik. Spike and Isla flee with the newborn and Spike shoots the Alpha with arrows. Just as the Alpha catches up with Spike, Dr Kelson appears and temporarily sedates the Alpha (whom he has named Samson) with a blowgun and a morphine-xylazine dart. Kelson leads Spike and Isla to the Bone Temple, an ossuary he has constructed out of cleaned bones belonging to both fallen survivors and the Infected. He explains the funerary concept of memento mori and incorporates Erik's skull into the Temple. Kelson examines Isla and deduces that she has advanced terminal cancer. Kelson consoles a devastated Spike with the phrase memento amoris, which means "remember, you must love." Isla and Spike share their last moments together, and Isla allows Kelson to euthanise her. Kelson gives Isla's skull to Spike to place at the top of the Temple. When Samson rampages through Kelson's sanctuary, Spike subdues him with a tranquilliser dart and saves Kelson's life. Kelson encourages Spike to take the infant home. Instead, Spike leaves her at the village gate and returns to the mainland, still disillusioned. Jamie reads a note from Spike that reveals he has named the infant after Isla and promises that he will return when he is ready. Jamie tries to follow Spike to the mainland but is blocked by the rising tide. Twenty-eight days later, Spike is rescued from a pack of Infected by an adult Jimmy Crystal, who now leads a bizarre cult of violent chavs wearing coloured tracksuits and peroxide blond wigs. Jimmy introduces himself to Spike and encourages him to join Jimmy's group.

Plot from 28 Years LaterCC BY-SA 4.0