28 Years Later brought the franchise back after around two decades, but added some very significant developments, including new and scarier variants of the zombies like the Alphas and the Slow-Lows. The movie depicted how the virus has mutated and evolved over the past years, giving rise to new forms and types of zombies that did not exist in the previous movies.
List of all types of Zombies in 28 Years Later, including Alpha
First-generation infected
The most basic kind of zombies in the universe, the first-generation infected are the ones who were infected in the first wave of the virus, or simply did not go through mutation. They are zombies, seemingly without any intelligence or sense of community. They only appear to follow others and often engage in acts of violence.
In the movie, they are often depicted naked, perhaps because their clothes disintegrated over the years. They also have veins that protrude from their body in revolting knots.
Slow-Lows
As the name suggests, these are zombies that are slow and low. They crawl around on the ground on all fours and are generally very big. Their movement and behavior are quite contrasting from other variants like Alphas. As explained in 28 Years Later, Slow-Lows are easily avoidable and do not pose much risk to humans, as they can fight them off.
Alphas
The primary threat in 28 Years Later, the Alphas are the most evolved zombies in the film’s universe. They are fast, intelligent, violent, and very strong, making them a very difficult obstacle throughout. Apart from their physical gift, the Alphas also seem to have a lot of self-control and planning ability, making them much more dangerous to humans.
Director Danny Boyle said about the developments of the Alphas in an IndieWire podcast, “To hunt without weapons, you would need to organize. It’s a natural human instinct that we organize as a pack, which can then hunt together and eat together. The evolution of that is a leader emerges out of that, an ‘Alpha,’”
The mysterious thin zombies and the pregnant infected
Apart from the clearly defined zombies, 28 Years Later provides a glimpse at a few cryptic ones. One of the most interesting introductions in the film is a pregnant infected woman, who gives birth to a child that is not infected.
There is also a thin variant of zombies that Danny Boyle refused to elaborate on in his podcast appearance. These skinny zombies are also seen in the trailers.
Perhaps the upcoming movie, 28 Years Later: Bone Temple, will delve into some of these more mysterious zombie developments. Currently, 28 Years Later is playing in theatres.
