28 Years Later

This one's set decades on from the outbreak, far enough that the infected aren't a fresh horror any more, they're just how the world is now. There's a boy who's grown up knowing nothing else, and when his mother falls ill, he has to get her to whatever passes for medical help these days. That's the whole set-up and I'm not giving you an inch more than that.

The fear here isn't jump-scare fear, it's the slow creep of dread that comes from watching a child navigate a world that was never built with softness in mind. There's body horror, there's isolation, there's the specific ache of a kid being braver than he should ever have to be. I'd put it a solid four out of five. It gets under your skin rather than making you scream.

This is one for a night when you want horror with a broken heart underneath it, not background noise while you scroll your phone. Put the big jumper on, make the strong coffee, and give it your full attention.