Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s *28 Years Later* is filled with spine-chilling moments, featuring instances where the conclusion seems alarmingly close.

One standout early scene is the most electrifying: Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his son Spike (Alfie Williams) come across the evolved version of the infected, known as the Alpha.

These incredibly powerful male zombies are nearly indomitable, possessing heightened speed, agility, and cunning, capable of commanding other infected beings with a mere cry. During Spike’s initial journey to the mainland, they catch sight of a massive Alpha on the horizon, resulting in a 12-hour confrontation with its infected horde.

“In the film, you’ve chosen an intriguing outing,” Taylor-Johnson told Mashable. “Father and son venture out to the mainland, aiming to show him the infected and see who they can track down and eliminate, and things escalate, making their circumstances increasingly dire, so the stakes certainly become frightening.”

The climactic chase is especially gripping, as Jamie and Spike sprint across a slender causeway to Holy Island with the Alpha hot on their heels. It’s one of the year’s most horrifying sequences, with the main characters scrambling through shallow water while the Alpha approaches, backed by Young Fathers’ gripping score.

“It was incredibly intense. When you view this film, my fatigue as Spike is authentic,” Williams remarked. “The number of takes it needed was draining, wasn’t it? You literally had to pull us through the water.”

“Terrifying, because the Alpha stands about seven feet tall, so each of his strides matched our every two,” Taylor-Johnson said.

“When we were in that scene, it genuinely felt like we *were* being hunted by the Alpha,” Williams commented.

*28 Years Later* is currently showing in theaters.