28 Years Later Must Bring Back 1 Important Tradition From The Previous 2 Movies

While 28 Years Later may not be closely connected to the earlier movies in the series, there is one element of the franchise that the sequel needs to bring back. 28 Days Later was an incredibly influential movie. Many elements of the British horror movie’s formula became commonplace in later zombie movies, with 2004’s Dawn of the Dead and 2009’s Zombieland both borrowing 28 Days Later’s fast zombies. Meanwhile, 28 Days Later’s lethally dangerous disease that turned its victims into rage-crazed monsters inspired the viral Taiwanese horror movie The Sadness, which offered an even darker spin on the premise.

However, some of the most influential elements of the movie’s success have little to do with its plot. 28 Days Later kickstarted the careers of both Naomie Harris and Cillian Murphy, turning the emerging actors into Hollywood stars. Meanwhile, the upcoming sequel 28 Years Later can prove just how influential the original movie’s score was by bringing back one iconic theme from its soundtrack. At the time of its release, 28 Days Later’s shaky, handheld camera aesthetic and the downbeat, spare score both proved hugely popular. Although shakycam fell out of fashion in the decades that followed, the music of 28 Days Later didn’t.

28 Years Later Must Use The Original Movie’s Theme (Like 28 Weeks Did)

The sequel needs John Murphy’s iconic theme music

Composer John Murphy’s piece “In the House – In a Heartbeat” has become an iconic part of 28 Days Later and its sequel, 28 Weeks Later, in the years following their release. Reused in Kick-Ass and its 2013 sequel Kick-Ass 2, “In the House – In a Heartbeat” originally played in the climax of 28 Days Later when Jim searches the mansion for Selena. Although 28 Days Later’s ending was surprisingly optimistic, this brutal sequence was one of the movie’s darkest moments, as Jim’s animalistic fury led Selena to mistake him for a member of the Infected and nearly kill him.

28 Weeks Later utilized Murphy’s theme throughout the sequel, and 28 Years Later must bring back Murphy’s theme to ensure the sequel feels like a legitimate follow-up. Since it is unclear whether 28 Years Later will include any of the original movie’s characters, reviving Murphy’s score would allow the sequel to establish a connection to its franchise predecessors. This approach worked for 28 Weeks Later, which felt like a continuation of the original movie’s story despite featuring no overlapping characters precisely because of its similar camerawork and the presence of Murphy’s famous score.

How 28 Days Later’s Theme Became Iconic In Its Own Right

“In The House – In A Heartbeat” is instantly recognizable

Not only did Kick-Ass use “In the House – In a Heartbeat” for one of its best action sequences, but the theme has cropped up in numerous other movies and TV shows referencing 28 Days Later. Murphy’s “In the House – In a Heartbeat” is closely associated with the series, with one upload of the song having over 28 million views on YouTube. Bands like The Rotted, Eldritch, and Tucandeo have produced cover versions, remixes, and new takes on the piece, while many video game trailers have used Murphy’s most famous piece in their promotional materials.

As such, 28 Years Later‘s story must find room for this iconic music. While 28 Weeks Later utilized “In the House – In a Heartbeat” as early as its terrifying opening scenes, 28 Years Later may wait until later in the sequel’s storyline to bring back the iconic piece. After all, the original movie didn’t feature this part of the score until its finale, and the slow build-up of “In the House – In a Heartbeat” contributed to the unbearable tension of the mansion search sequence. 28 Years Later could recapture this intensity by bringing back the iconic piece once its characters and stakes are well-established.

28 Days Later’s Theme Music Can Subtly Connect All 3 Movies

Music can be the connective tissue between the franchise’s unrelated outings

Although Murphy’s music helps to bridge the lengthy gap between the two movies, there is no denying that 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later were barely connected in terms of plot and characters. Since the belated sequel 28 Years Later is arriving a long time after 28 Weeks Later, using the franchise’s best-known piece of music would be a neat way to thread all three together. Even if 28 Years Later has a totally new cast or opts to ignore the story of 28 Weeks Later altogether, the series could feel more tonally cohesive if the sequel brings back this recognizable music.

This is doubly true since 28 Years Later is unlikely to revive the visual aesthetic of the franchise’s earlier outings. While shakycam was massively popular in the ‘00s thanks to directors like 28 Days Later’s Danny Boyle, The Hurt Locker’s Kathryn Bigelow, and The Bourne Supremacy’s Paul Greengrass, the aesthetic grew less popular in the 2010s. Directors like Matthew Vaughn, David Leitch, and Chad Stahelski pioneered a smoother, slicker action filmmaking style that soon rendered shakycam outdated. As such, 28 Years Later needs Murphy’s music more than ever since the sequel is unlikely to revive the visual appearance of its predecessors.