’28 Months After’ – Yes, There’s a Mockbuster for ’28 Days Later’ & ’28 Years Later’

Before I knew there was a word for them, I was watching a lot of mockbusters. Snakes on a Train, Paranormal Entity, and Transmorphers are just a few of the “classics” I took in as a young and credulous cinephile. Nowadays, I’m fully aware of what I’m getting into if I turn on the likes of Pet Graveyard or Ape versus Mecha Ape. So I fancied myself prepared for 28 Months After, a “new” movie that has, somehow, been mistaken for another 28 Days Later sequel. Within seconds of viewing, though, it should be evident that this isn’t related to anything from the 28 universe, much less on the same level as other mockbusters. I’d even go so far as to say this movie made me long for The Asylum.

The funny thing — well, one of many funny things — about 28 Months After is that it’s not a new release. It hitches a ride on the 28 Years Later publicity train, for sure, but this movie dates as far back as 2012, and Google shows it was added to the streaming service Tubi back in 2023. There is also its alternative title to consider; before changing names, the movie was originally called Aftermath. At the very least, the rebranding helps avoid any confusion with other Aftermaths. This includes a 2014 post-apocalyptic movie that actually came up third in my results when I searched for 28 Months After on Tubi.

Not helping the movie escape accusations of false sequelizing and shameless opportunism is the poster used for 28 Months After. That choice of a biohazard symbol positioned behind the title is as obvious as it is brazen. Meanwhile, the image of a soldier masked up and geared up is nothing more than an enhanced stock image that was also used on the poster for the similarly themed 2013 movie Ridge War Z. As someone who’s always been tickled by different movies using the same stock photo for their posters — look up Absentia, Roadkill (2011) and The Levenger Tapes, and you’ll know what I’m referring to — this revelation is amusing. For others, though, they’re less pleased to discover that the heavily armed character on the 28 Months After poster is nowhere to be found in the actual movie.

Image: The posters for 28 Months After and 28 Years Later side by side.

28 Months After has already led to a handful of “What I Ordered Versus What I Got” type of reviews. In all likelihood, though, the mockbusting on display here is the work of the distributor, not the creators. (I caught myself chuckling at the line “I used you; that’s the fact of the matter, and now I’m done with you”.) That said, the movie definitely delivers its on-paper plot: “In the wake of the apocalypse, a small band of survivors struggles to start over while fighting off violent hordes of both the living and the dead.” That’s more or less what happens. So the real problem with this movie is the quality, or rather its lack thereof.

In mere seconds of hitting PLAY, you should know what lies ahead. There is nothing resembling the deliberate lo-fi aesthetic of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later here; 28 Months After looks cheap because it is cheap. In the rare case you’ve never seen something like this before, this is one of many do-it-yourselfers filmed in people’s backyards, offices and any public spaces they could find, access and afford. All scenes, including ones where characters are simply standing around and talking, are always accompanied by a generically foreboding, and possibly lifted, music score. The editing is disjointed at worst, and awkward at best. In all frankness, there’s nothing too positive to say about the filmmaking other than the fact they turned the camera on and got every actor in the shot. Even that last part could be arguable at certain points of the movie.

So, yeah, this shoestring mockbuster — if you can call it that — is going to fool some folks. Plus, with 28 Years Later now out in the wild, a person is bound to think “Hey, this is already streaming?” and then click on 28 Months After before realizing their mistake. Talk about hard lessons in life. Anyhow, unless you’re a die-hard enthusiast of homemade horror movies, especially ones that elicit memories of the SOV era, 28 Months After is difficult to recommend. And chances are, you’ll be zombie-dashing for that STOP button. However, if you’re anything like me, you’ll throw caution to the wind and watch anyway. Do as you wish, but also remember: You were warned.

The post ’28 Months After’ – Yes, There’s a Mockbuster for ’28 Days Later’ & ’28 Years Later’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

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