HORROR: “28 Years Later.” / “Let Me In.” / “Let the Right One In.”

“28 Years Later” (2025, Netflix) post-apocalyptic coming-of-age horror film. The third instalment in the “28 Days Later” film series. I saw both “28 Days Later” (2002, Cillian Murphy) and “28 Weeks Later “ (2007, Robert Carlyle/Jeremy Renner) but I forgot what happened then, LOL! Danny Boyle and Alex Garland return as director and writer (they didn’t do “28 Weeks…”) with more ruthless chic and slimy shenanigan. Mr Boyle of 1996’s “Trainspotting” and 2008’s “Slumdog Millionaire.” And Mr Garland of 2014’s “Ex Machina,” among other gems. 

       This movie’s storyline: It's been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped from a biological weapons laboratory. Still living in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amid the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily defended causeway. When one of them decides to venture into the dark heart of the mainland, he soon discovers a mutation that has spread to not only the infected, but other survivors as well.

       The infected creatures here, also known as Alphas or Berserkers and Slow Lows, look more filthy, gooey, or simply disgusting jello! Their slimy dongs are also exposed, and all that shit. The mayhem is graphically tummy-assaulting. But the wicked urgency and visceral gore spree are also aesthetically whoa! You know what I mean? Many people love this weirdness. 

And although I don’t dig Aaron Taylor-Johnson, I am a fan of Jodie Comer. And yes the rough-edged cool of Ralph Fiennes; whether he is good or evil, he still exudes a sinister soul. The center is on 12-year old Spike, played by Alfie Williams, but nothing so big a deal with his performance. 

       Hey, this blood-splattered bombast grossed (pun intended) $151.2 million worldwide against its budget of $60 million. 🎥💻📽

“Let Me In” (2010, Roku) romantic horror, a remake of the 2008 Swedish film “Let the Right One In.” The plot follows a bullied 12-year-old boy who befriends and develops a romantic relationship with a child vampire girl in Los Alamos, New Mexico, during the early 1980s. Stars Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloë Grace Moretz. 

       Like the original, “Let Me In” is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist. And like the 2008 film, the moral center of this odd vampire feature are the young friends: Owen and Abby, deftly portrayed in poignant innocence by Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloë Grace Moretz. 🎥💻📽

“Let the Right One In” (2008, Tubi) Swedish romantic horror, adapted from John Ajvide Lindqvist’s 2004 novel. The film tells the story of a bullied 12-year-old boy who develops a friendship with a strange child in Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm, in the early 1980s. 

       The strange child, in fact, is more strange than a vampire. Acted out by Lina Leandersson as the bloodsucking Eli and Kare Hedebrant as Oskar, the boy who is in dire need of a friend, this movie presents a different take on the vampire genre. 

       “Let the Right…” mines compassion rather than wield fear. 🎥💻📽