This article contains mild spoilers for 28 Years Later.

Sometimes, you need to check your expectations at the door before taking your seat in the theatre. I think that’s the case with the latest Danny Boyle and Alex Garland collaboration, 28 Years Later. This, the third in the franchise, is a different kind of zombie movie. Although there are definitely zombies, and there’s a lot of bloodletting, this is really a coming of age story. At the same time, you get to see what’s currently going on in rage virus-infected Britain.

Since 28 Weeks Later, the virus has mutated. We still have the zombies we saw in the previous movies, but there are now a couple of other types. One, which seems a poor adaptation, produces human walruses that slowly slither upon the ground, eating worms or whatever else they can happen to catch, including napping humans. The more dangerous types are called “alphas.” These are larger than the typical human, and tougher; they can withstand all sorts of punishment, though a bullet or arrow to the head is still fatal. They are also more intelligent, almost human-like in how they behave and how they are organized. We see, for example, a pregnant alpha. They don’t just eat uninfected humans, they feast upon animals such as deer.

Britain remains the only infected country, and its quarantine is enforced by warships visible from the coast. Although we saw the virus spread to France in the last film, we are told that the Europeans beat the virus back. Some take this as a repudiation of 28 Weeks Later, though it makes sense that, with the emergence of the rage virus in Britain, other countries would develop contingency plans just in case. I do wish we found out what became of the two children, but you can’t have everything.

The central character of 28 Years Later is twelve-year-old Spike. His community is nestled safely behind large gates on Holy Island in Northumberland, linked to the mainland by a causeway that is only traversable at low tide. His father has declared Spike ready for his passage to adulthood, which entails traveling to the mainland and killing his first zombies. They make it there and back again—just. Something Spike learns afterwards sends him back to the mainland in search of help for his mother.

There’s not a lot of story here, but there’s plenty of scares and a lot of growing up. The young Alfie Williams, who plays Spike, is a real find. Not only is he an amazing child-actor, he’s a remarkable actor, period, and he’s a stand-out in a cast that gives some very strong performances.

The film, unfortunately, doesn’t so much end as it stops. However, it does set up the sequel, to be released in 2026, called 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

I very much enjoyed 28 Years Later and I’ll be looking forward to the next one.