Days Later’ brought a horrific genre back: the zombies. The movie was two decades ago and starred Cillian Murphy as Jim, who was a bicycle courier guy. He discovers that he is among the survivors of an incurable virus that has wiped out the U.

28 Years Later is a captivating return to form that casts away cheap nostalgia and doubles down on the powerful nature the first movie was known for. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland recognized that the message of empathy versus conflict still carries a charge, and pick things up in a sweeping epic that doesn’t miss a heartbeat.

Victor Halperin's White Zombie (1932) marked the inception of the zombie film, while George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) established the framework for the modern genre. The release of 28 Days Later in 2002 reinvigorated interest in zombies.