Zombies are scary in general. They are living reminders of death, they are death on its way to kill you, stalking you, hunting you. (Which is, of course, what death is doing.)
28 Years Later... has some good scares, too.
The film’s main intertext is Hamlet, I think (despite all the clips of Olivier’s Henry V throughout the film). Not that 28 Years Later... is a revenge tale or a search for a murdered father, but the central character here has a mother whom he loves, as well as a stepfather and a missing father. More important is the memento mori aspect that is so essential to Hamlet: the respect for the dead and the reminder always that we too must die. This devotion to Hamlet (and Hamlet's stoicism) explains, too, the wry stoic quality that is essential to the way 28 Years Later… works.
The Danny Boyle flourishes in this movie really make it sing, I think. I liked the “Jimmy” puzzle and I am very curious about the WWI references. I’ll wait for the sequel.
I'm not sure Spike has a stepfather. We see his dad Jamie at the beginning as a kid (SPOILER) where Spike's grandfather is a minister and and gets devoured by zombies. Then we flash forward and Jamie is an adult with an ailing wife and their son Spike. I don't recall any hints otherwise, though of course I could be wrong. I didn't get the Jimmy Saville ref at the end until I read up on it. I found the whole thing interesting if not quite satisfying. But I thought the Ralph Fiennes stuff was v good and will watch the next one.
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