'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
28 Years Later brings back the shocking world of the Rage Virus after nearly three decades of cooling down. The movie continues the story from Danny Boyle's original masterpiece that shocked viewers across the world. The director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland created a sequel that honors its roots while telling an entirely fresh story.
The film features entirely new characters in a different location from the former film's London setting. However, dedicated fans of the franchise will discover several hidden references cleverly woven throughout the movie.
These Easter eggs connect the new story to the popular 2002 original 28 Days Later in profound ways. The references range from direct narrative parallels to subtle visual callbacks, escalating the viewing experience.
28 Years Later manages to include these intricate nods without overwhelming the central story or feeling forced. Every reference feels very organic within the context of the new movie's narrative structure. The film stars talented actors who bring a lot of depth to their roles in this brutal post-apocalyptic world.
Trending
7 easter eggs and references you missed in 28 Years Later
1) Church scenes mirror each other
28 Years Later opens with a compelling church scene that directly parallels the former film in striking ways. In the new film, young Jimmy flees to a nearby church during the initial outbreak chaos. His father, who shows up to be the local reverend, awaits his inevitable fate with problematic religious fervor and twisted happiness.
The chaotic scene mirrors Jim's first frightening encounter with the infected in 28 Days Later. In that former movie, Jim enters an abandoned church in deserted London and desperately fights an infected priest. Both sequences utilize sacred religious settings to display the virus's terrible impact on civilized society. The churches represent fallen sanctuaries in a world gone mad with violence. These powerful parallel moments establish the profound connection between the two movies effectively and immediately.
2) Musical connections span decades
Music plays a very important role in connecting 28 Years Later to its predecessor through emotional resonance. The Christian hymn Abide With Me appears prominently in both movies during significant emotional moments, defining the role. In the former film 28 Days Later, a single child sings this haunting tune as Jim finds his parents' dead bodies in their home. The new movie features the same hymn during a peaceful montage of daily life in Holy Island's community.
The song's compelling lyrics about staying faithful through death perfectly fit both movies' central themes of hope and loss. This musical callback creates a strong emotional bridge between the two films that spans years. The hym's presence reminds audiences of the franchise's consistent exploration of survival, loss, and human connection during impossible circumstances.
3) Crows bring death and discovery
Both movies feature giant crows as ominous messages of danger and unexpected discovery throughout their stories. In 28 Days Later, Frank gets brutally infected when contaminated blood drops from a feeding crow's beak into his eye. The hungry bird was feeding on infected leftovers when Frank accidentally touched it during the journey.
28 Years Later includes the same scene where Spike and Jamie discover a new infected body in an abandoned cottage. A particularly aggressive and large crow feeds continuously on the corpse until the character's sudden approach startles it away immediately. The crow's hasty departure reveals that the infected person is still alive and a danger.
These parallel sequences show how nature continues its organic cycles even during humanity's most intense apocalypse. The crows serve as unknowing agents of deadly infection and crucial discovery throughout both narratives.
4) Missing letters create accidental messages
28 Years Later includes a particularly witty visual reference involving strategically missing letters on commercial signs throughout the wasteland.
A damaged Shell gas station appears prominently with its crucial S missing, making it read Hell instead of the former brand name. This detail directly mirrors a memorable sequence from 28 Days Later, where Hannah, Selena, and Jim create a desperate "HELLO" sign from the leftover fabric pieces.
In the former movie, the improvised sign briefly appears to spell HELL before its concluding completion by the survivors. Both instances utilize incomplete words to accurately reflect the hellish world the characters must inhabit every day.
These visual puns add dark humor while constantly emphasizing the apocalyptic setting surrounding the characters. The missing letters strongly symbolize how organized civilizations have broken down piece by piece over the years. These details display the filmmakers' attention to connecting both narratives through shared visual language.
5) Apple's reference to a beloved character
Spike's logical choice to pack fresh apples for his dangerous mainland journey references Frank from the former movie meaningfully. In 28 Days Later, Frank finds perfectly preserved irradiated apples in an abandoned grocery shop during their quest for supplies.
He vigilantly explains that special irradiation prevents the fruit from spoiling quickly under ordinary circumstances. While advanced irradiation technology likely no longer exists in the rough world of 28 Years Later, Spike smartly chooses apples for the same reason Frank talked about.
The durable fruit would not spoil nearly as quickly as other perishable food during his extended journey across dangerous territory. This subtle callback honors Frank's memorable character while displaying practical survival thinking that transcends generations. The apple reference effectively displays how essential survival knowledge passes between separate groups of survivors.
6) Animals warn of impending doom
28 Years Later effectively utilizes fleeing animals to signal the forthcoming infected threats, just like the former movie established years ago. In 28 Days Later, panicked rats flee desperately through a shady tunnel before the infected arrive to run relentlessly after the main characters. The new movie features similar rodents escaping quickly from an infected person giving birth in an abandoned train car compartment.
28 Years Later also includes a visual scene with thousands of bats fleeing dramatically as Jamie and Spike cross the threatening causeway together. These intense animal sequences consistently display the wild creatures' sense of approaching danger long before humans can detect danger.
The fleeing animals create escalating tension while providing more suitable warning systems for the vulnerable characters. This pattern displays how nature continues to function even during the collapse of humanity.
7) Explosions save lives in similar ways
Both movies feature important, crucial explosion scenes that save the main characters from certain death during infected attacks. 28 Days Later, Mark and Selena protect Jim by cleverly triggering a giant gas station explosion that destroys the pursuing infected hordes.
28 Years Later recreates this exact scenario when Erick heroically saves Isla and Spike at another damaged gas station facility. Erik fires accurate shots that ignite the damaging benzene vapor, creating a tragic explosion that kills all the infected while miraculously sparing the hidden survivors below.
28 Years Later effectively honors its predecessor through accurately placed Easter eggs and references. These connections enhance the viewing experience without taking over the new story's independent merit.
