’28 Years Later’s Alpha Zombie Is the Sequel’s Biggest Swing (Pun Intended)

More than two decades after 28 Days Later helped reinvigorate the zombie genre (and ignited an insufferable debate about what constitutes a zombie movie), Sony has released the long-awaited sequel, 28 Years Later. As they did in 2002, director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland are redefining the boundaries of the genre as the rage virus evolves and produces new iterations of infected. While the post-opening weekend discourse is largely focused on whether the film’s insane final scene – in which Jack O’Connell leads a sinister gang of acrobatic “Jimmys” styled like disgraced British TV personality/known sex offender Jimmy Savile – is good or bad (it’s good, you fools), not enough attention is being paid to the biggest swing in 28 Years Later: the Alpha Zombie. And yes, that pun was most definitely intended.

In addition to the usual assortment of fast-moving, rage-fueled zombies, 28 Years Later introduces two new iterations: the fat, ground-dwelling infected who munch on anything they can get their muddy little hands on (worms, mostly) are sort of cute, like mole rats in a BBC nature documentary narrated by David Attenborough. More notable are the aforementioned Alpha Zombies, though we only spend time with one in particular. Dubbed “Samson” by the good Dr. Kelson (bald daddy Ralph Fiennes), the Alpha is oversized and overpowered, perhaps due to the rage virus’ unexpected steroidal effect on certain members – hold your horses – of society.

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Set in an alternate timeline where England has been forcibly quarantined with the help of neighboring military forces, the remaining infected have been left to run feral across the island. Inevitably, most are nude and skeletal; the need for clothing a distant echo drowned out by relentless, senseless rage. But Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) is different: Not only is he extremely tall and physically formidable, but he also seems to have retained the ability to reason and scheme. Those skills haven’t made him any less violent; his go-to finishing move is yanking heads from bodies, spines and all, like the classic Sub-Zero fatality in Mortal Kombat.

Oh, and his penis is gigantic.

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Alfie Williams Ralph Fiennes 28 Years Later — Sony Pictures

The existence of Samson – whom the internet has lovingly dubbed “hung zombie” – raises several questions: What makes the average infected an Alpha? Is it hormonal, as the throwaway line about the steroidal effect of the rage virus suggests? Are tall, ripped guys more likely to become Alphas when infected? Do all the Alphas have big ol’ dongers? If so, were the Alphas already well-endowed before they became infected, or does the rage virus give you an upgrade? Much to consider.

These questions are underlined and emphasized when young protagonist Spike (Alfie Williams) and his mother Isla (Jodie Comer) encounter a pregnant infected in the process of giving birth to a surprisingly uninfected infant. When Isla later dies, Spike decides to take the weirdly unfussy baby back to his community, safely isolated at the other end of a causeway that floods at high tide. It’s unclear if the baby is Samson’s offspring, but that seems likely given the natural hierarchy we observe among the Alpha and his gang of smaller, thinner infected and Samson’s interest in pursuing Spike through Dr. Kelson’s temple of bones – his memento mori to countless dead.

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If Samson is cognizant of his own offspring, that raises another question: to what end? Earlier in the film, during Spike’s first outing on the mainland with his dad, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), when they encounter the ground-dwellers, we see a child among them – it doesn’t seem like the child is infected, and despite being dirty and disheveled, the kid walks around upright and appears okay, all things considered, indicating that the infected might not attack their own children. And if they’re aware of this much, what else are they aware of?

Samson actor Chi Lewis-Parry confirmed in a recent interview that the Alpha’s massive penis was achieved through the use of a prosthetic – a legal requirement for filming nudity with children on set. The actor stops short of explaining why such a large prosthetic was chosen, only cheekily noting his height – 6’8″ – as if to suggest the prosthetic’s size is appropriately proportional. You have to imagine that Danny Boyle discussed the prosthetic’s size and shape with the crew; like props and set design and costuming, even a prosthetic penis conveys information about the movie you’re watching. That Boyle chose such a big one feels meaningful, especially when so much of 28 Years Later is concerned with masculinity, as Spike navigates coming of age amid competing paternalistic forces, each with their own ideologies. Some, like Dr. Kelson, are more benevolent than others. But as the film’s unhinged final scene reminds us, most are predatory and violent, locked in a cyclical death march in which they’re not merely doomed to repeat our failed history – they worship it.