Jodie Comer reveals what enticed her to horror for first time in 28 Years Later

But now, like one of the undead, the franchise has risen with 28 Years Later, with the original creatives joined by a new cast. Among them, Jodie Comer, playing Isla – a survivor living on Holy Island, in Britain’s northeast, among a community that has managed to fend off the infected – which are now running riot on the mainland.

Comer, the Liverpool-born star of Killing Eve, knew exactly why she wanted to sign on to play Isla. "I think the opportunity to work with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland," she told RadioTimes.com.

"I’d never done a genre piece before, and it feels like if you’re going to delve into a world like this, to be led by them, it was a kind of dream." The two decades between the two Boyle-directed films was also a big draw. "[I wanted] to see how [the] filmmakers have utilised that and continued the story."

The actress admitted she felt "exhilaration" when she saw a screening of 28 Years Later just a couple of weeks ago. “There’s the terror, but there’s the intimacy and the emotion, and the levity, there’s the humour. You kind of go through this washing machine of emotions and then come out feeling energised and affected in some way. And I guess people are hungry for that sensation when they view something."

In 28 Years Later, Comer’s ailing character must leave it to her husband Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) to take their young son Spike (Alfie Williams) on his first trip to the mainland – separated from the island they live on by a causeway that’s only accessible in low tide. There, Spike will gain his first kill as he sees the infected close up – though, needless to say, things don’t go to plan.

Comer was impressed by the Newcastle-born Williams, who previously featured in a small role in BBC show His Dark Materials. "He’s very confident," she said. "He has a lot of instincts. And it was interesting because our dynamic is nuanced in a sense [that] he’s often having to play the parental figure in our relationship." Williams – who is now aged 14 – will also take centre stage in the next instalment, the Garland-scripted 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, directed by Nia DaCosta (Candyman) and due out in January 2026.

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Joining him will be actor Ralph Fiennes, who features in 28 Years Later as Dr Kelson, a survivor on the mainland who builds a tower of skulls – the Bone Temple – which he collects from those who have died from this terrible virus. "He strikes me as a combination of priest and installation artist,” said Fiennes.

"This requirement to create a monument to the dead, witness all the souls that have passed… it’s a bit like an artist... I mean, there are artists who want to recognise suffering and loss of lives, and we know things occur where names and people who we’ve lost are put on monuments, even veterans’ monuments. So I think it’s in that tradition of honouring the dead."

Intriguingly, Fiennes had not seen the original 28 Days Later but did his “homework” ahead of meeting with Boyle. “I thought the first film was fantastic. I thought he and Alex are such a great team, and their screenplays are so smart. So I think it transcends the notion of a genre horror movie with so many ideas in it about violence and humanity and parental care and love and the sense of who we are as an island. I think the theme of England in it is very strong in an interesting way.”

The Bone Tower itself was built in North Yorkshire, alongside the River Ure. "It was a very special place to be in," added Fiennes. “The choice of location was full of a spirit that really supported what the actual designs was about.” If that helped the actors get into character, so did the fact that the ‘infected’ felt very real. These were far more than just extras.

"When you’re being chased by them, they’re in full prosthetic and makeup,” said Comer, “which is helpful, because you’re having to use your imagination a little less and just kind of react."

28 Years Later is in cinemas from Friday 20th June.

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