One Of 2025's Best Horror Movies Should Be On Your Netflix Watchlist

Danny Boyle's "28 Years Later," the third movie in the groundbreaking zombie apocalypse franchise, will reportedly be available on Netflix this weekend, starting September 20. This is big news because Netflix has a tendency of helping the popularity of previously released shows and movies; "Breaking Bad" fans, for instance, can certainly attest to how much Netflix helped boost the show's profile.

Not only will the "28" franchise likely receive a wave of new viewers this weekend, but it will actually deserve that wave. "28 Years Later" is a great movie, one of the best in the whole horror genre to release this year. It's a riveting film with a talented leading child actor, and a directing technique that's both innovative and true to the series' roots. (There's also an inexplicably hung zombie thrown in there, much to the amusement and bafflement of plenty of theatergoers this past June.)

The most impressive part of "28 Years Later" is how it expands on the world established in the first two movies. The first film gave us a zombie outbreak (sorry, an infected outbreak) that only affected the United Kingdom. Because the UK is an island and the infected can't swim, this creates a fun situation in "28 Years Later" where the UK has devolved into an isolated, quasi-medieval society while the other countries still enjoy all the little luxuries we have in the real world today. 

The second movie in the series, "28 Weeks Later," ends with the infected spreading into France. It's a storyline that (if followed through on) would've killed the most unique dynamic this franchise has going for it. Luckily, "28 Years Later" quickly and efficiently cleans up that misstep, telling the audience in the opening sequence that the virus was "driven back" from mainland Europe. Maybe some fans wanted more of an explanation than what this movie's willing to give, but most should be happy to fill in the blanks on their own. 

The key to the first movie's success is that, as dark and violent as it is, "28 Days Later" isn't a film with a fully nihilistic outlook. That film's final act had a clear beating heart, one that ended on a hopeful note for humanity. It's with that second film, "28 Weeks Later," that the series rejected that original approach; the filmmakers portrayed almost every human character in "28 Weeks" as selfish and/or stupid, ending with the message (intentional or otherwise) that humanity is doomed to perpetual self-destruction. It's no surprise "28 Weeks Later" wasn't as well-received as the original.  

Thankfully, "28 Years Later," with director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland back behind the camera, has returned to the original's approach. "28 Years Later" may have some of the scariest, most suspenseful horror sequences of 2025, but it's also sweet and thoughtful. It's a film that's willing to engage in the nature of death and our relationship with it, which makes for a powerful coming-of-age story for its young protagonist, Spike (Alfie Williams). 

While the general structure of "28 Years Later" may be familiar to "28 Days" fans, its final scene is unlike anything the franchise has done before. For better or worse, those closing minutes of "28 Years Later" is one of the strangest yet fascinating movie moments of the year. If you're not willing to watch "28 Years Later" for the beautiful story, the breathtaking camerawork, or the lovely score, you should at least watch it for that absurd final scene. I can't guarantee you'll like it as much as some fans did, but I can guarantee it'll give you something to talk about.