The internet is buzzing with hype for Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later, and with the long-awaited third movie in the shuffling zombie series tipped to kickstart a new trilogy, horror fans couldn't be happier.
Boyle reinvented the stagnating zombie genre in 2002, as 28 Days Later is credited with spawning the 'fast' zombies trope.
With everything from Resident Evil to World War Z enjoying the zombie resurgence, 28 Days Later really helped zombies take a bite out of the box office.
Despite making a modest $84.7 million on an $8 million budget, 28 Days Later led into Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's more action-packed 28 Weeks Later in 2007.
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There was plenty of talk about 28 Months Later that never materialized, but despite it only being 22 years since the original, 28 Years Later hopes to get the franchise back on track. Unfortunately, if you want to catch up on the story before heading into cinemas to watch 28 Years Later on June 20, 2025, the OG is dead and buried.
As pointed out by Discussing Film, 28 Days Later isn't available on any streaming service for VOD platforms.
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If that wasn't enough, DVD and Blu-Ray versions are out of print, leaving wannabe watchers trawling second-hand stores to find a copy.
Things are slightly better with 28 Weeks Later thanks to it being available on Hulu, but that's not much use when you want to know how the story started.
With 28 Days Later being something of a rarity, there are worries about a spike in viewers pirating it online or physical copies soaring in price on auction sites like eBay.
A quick scan of eBay.com shows a Blu-Ray listing for a copy that's currently up for a shocking $85.
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Others were disappointed with the news, and in the replies, one horror hound cheered: "Proud to be a weirdo who’s always been in favor of physical media!"
Another added, "Luckily I still have my copies. I remember getting them years ago for dirt cheap in Blockbuster's pre-owned section," and a third said, "Never get rid of physical media."
It represents a wider problem with physical media, with gaming fans also complaining that a move into the digital space is severely harming the way we play our video games.
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The problem seems to be that 28 Days Later is caught in a licensing limbo between 20th Century Pictures, its new owners at Disney, and the fact the first movie moved from Fox Searchlight Pictures to Fox Atomic for the sequel.
There's a chance that things could change when Sony Pictures Releasing (confusingly) releases 28 Years Later, but to be honest, we'll have to keep our fingers crossed on that one. In the meantime, keep your eyes out for lucrative copies of 28 Days Later hanging around in bargain bins at thrift shops.