Get ready for a different breed of terror. Danny Boyle, the visionary director behind the seminal zombie thriller 28 Days Later, has dropped tantalizing hints about its upcoming sequel, 28 Years Later, promising it’s “not what you’ll expect at all.” More than just a return to the rage-infected world, Boyle is innovating behind the camera, employing unique filming techniques designed to fundamentally ratchet up the sense of “unease” and immerse audiences like never before.
In a fascinating peek behind the curtain revealed in an interview with IGN, Boyle and his trusted cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle, are leveraging modern technology in a surprisingly visceral way. Forget traditional cameras for every shot; the duo has utilized a custom-built rig featuring up to 20 iPhones to capture some of the film’s more “graphic” violence.
This unorthodox approach isn’t just a technical flourish; it serves a psychological purpose on set. Boyle explained that the multi-iPhone setup had an “unexpected benefit” of confusing the actors, thereby “manufacturing less self-aware performances.”
“It’s a wonderful tool for actors to keep them guessing, especially experienced actors,” Boyle chuckled. “They get to know where the cameras are and they get to know lenses and they get to know what they’re doing. But this throws them. It’s like, ‘What!?'”
This technological evolution mirrors the original’s gritty realism. Back in 2002, Boyle and writer Alex Garland opted for digital video cameras, theorizing that in a real apocalypse, abandoned recorders would hold horrifying found footage. Nearly three decades later in the film’s timeline, smartphones are the ubiquitous recording device. The iPhone rigs, capable of capturing “180 degrees of vision,” aim to make viewers feel like they are “inside the scene.”
Boyle elaborated on this immersive effect: “You feel like you’re in the room with Jodie Comer and her son, venting her rage at Aaron Taylor Johnson, like you’re in the abandoned train with the naked alpha and the unzipped spine and head.”
Starring a powerhouse cast including Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams, Jack O’Connell, Jodie Comer, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 28 Years Later will follow survivors on a heavily guarded island off the English coast. When tragedy forces a father and son to venture onto the infected-ridden mainland, Boyle’s innovative filming aims to maximize the dread.
The widescreen effect generated by the iPhone arrays isn’t just for show; it creates more screen real estate in which to hide terrifying, fast-moving infected. “We thought we’d benefit from the unease that the first film created about the speed and the velocity, the visceral [aspect] of the way the infected were depicted,” Boyle stated. “They could be anywhere… you have to keep scanning, looking around for them, really.”
Prepare for a new level of intimate, unpredictable horror when 28 Years Later infects cinemas on June 20. This isn’t just a sequel; it’s a reinvention of how terror can be captured and experienced.
