film / 2002
28 Days Later
A bicycle courier wakes from a coma to find Britain emptied by the Rage Virus and joins a small group searching for safety.
Verified facts
- Runtime
- 1h 53m
- Director
- Danny Boyle
- Released
- 2002
- Origin
- United Kingdom
PlotGeeks explainer signals
Why read this explainer
For this film, the outbreak, the journey north, and the soldiers' false refuge can blur into one crisis. Jim's changing response to other survivors gives those stages a clear emotional line.
PlotGeeks note
The soldiers offer protection before revealing their threat to Selena and Hannah. Jim's return to the mansion makes care for his companions the reason he risks another escape.
Connected knowledge
Connected in PlotGeeks
Related explainers and browse pages for 28 Days Later.
- Appears in 28 Days Later films in order
See where 28 Days Later belongs in the listed reading and viewing orders.
- Explore Survival
These guides compare the practical choices of survival with the moral costs those choices create.
Timeline
Major events
- The Rage Virus escapes
A laboratory breach turns aggression into a national epidemic.
- Jim wakes in London
The empty city forces him to learn what happened from other survivors.
- The group reaches the mansion
A promised refuge becomes a threat when West reveals his soldiers' plan.
- Jim returns
He weaponizes the mansion's disorder to rescue Selena and Hannah.
Story in 60 Seconds
The short version
Animal-rights activists release chimpanzees infected with the Rage Virus, and Britain collapses. Twenty-eight days later, Jim wakes in an abandoned London hospital. Selena and Mark explain the outbreak; after Mark is infected, Selena kills him immediately. Jim and Selena join Frank and his daughter Hannah, then follow a military broadcast to a fortified mansion near Manchester. Major Henry West offers protection, but Jim learns that the soldiers intend to force Selena and Hannah into sexual slavery. Jim escapes execution, releases an infected soldier, and uses the resulting chaos to rescue them.
Spoiler sectionEnding ExplainedShow ending detailsHide ending details
Jim kills or evades West's soldiers and frees Selena and Hannah. West shoots Jim, but Hannah drives their taxi through the gate and leaves West to an infected soldier. Twenty-eight days later, Jim has survived Selena's surgery and the three live in a remote cottage. They spread a huge HELLO banner for a passing aircraft, whose pilot spots them. The theatrical ending leaves rescue possible without promising that the wider disaster is over.
Original context
Why it matters
The banner offers a different future
The cottage and aircraft leave the trio vulnerable but still together. Their attempt to make contact follows a refusal to accept the soldiers' exploitation as the price of survival.
Key turning points
West reveals the purpose of the refuge
The soldiers' plan makes the mansion dangerous to Selena and Hannah. Jim must resist the people who offered safety as well as the infected outside it.
Character links
Who connects to whom
Character motivations
Jim returns for his companions
Escaping execution gives Jim a chance to leave alone. He returns and releases the infected soldier so that the disorder can help him reach Selena and Hannah.
Explore the story
Creators, themes, and characters
Reading and watching order
Where this story fits
Films
28 Days Later films in order
Watch the four released films in release order. The cast changes, but each film builds on what Britain and the Rage Virus have become.
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