How '28 Years Later' was shot on an iPhone

You're looking at a $75 million zombie movie shot, in part, on iPhones

Yeah, actual scenes from Danny Boyle's upcoming film, 28 Years Later, were recorded on the iPhone 15 Pro Max

So, what happens when a big-budget Hollywood movie ditches traditional cinema cameras and shoots on a smartphone

And how does this tie back to a franchise that has a history of pushing visual boundaries? Hello

Let's talk about how it hits. Now, if you're not familiar, 28 Years Later is a sequel to 28 Days Later

a 2002 cult classic that pretty much redefined the zombie genre. And it wasn't just the sprinting, rage-fueled infected that made it stand out

I can see them, they're coming! It was also director Danny Boyle's raw, gritty approach to how it looked

So what was his approach? Well, 28 days later was shot on a Canon XL1, a consumer-grade digital camcorder that recorded

in standard definition on many DV tapes That might not sound like a big deal now but in 2002 it was pretty much unheard of Big Hollywood movies were still shooting almost exclusively on 35mm film and digital video

was mostly reserved for home movies or low-budget indie films. The only other film dabbling in

digital that year was... Yeah, Attack of the Clones. And even that production used, like

custom-built prototype HD cameras built by Sony and Panavision. So, not a $4,000 consumer-grade

camcorder. At the time, Hollywood was still big on glossy, pristine imagery. But Boyle and his

longtime cinematographer, Anthony Dodd-Mantle, wanted grit. And maybe a bit of chaos. The low-res

grainy footage gave the movie this raw, almost documentary-style feel, like it could have been

found footage. And it worked. It made the zombie apocalypse feel real. And now, two decades later

they're doing it again, but with newer tools. This time, instead of a grainy camcorder

it's the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Filming took place over the summer of 2024, and while most people

assumed the movie was being shot on the usual cinema gear, ARRI cameras, REDs, whatever, it turns

out a lot of that was just camouflage Here zoom into some paparazzi set photos and you might see the giveaway A professional lens mounted to what looks like a traditional rig But what inside the cage What in the box

That's not a camera. It's a phone. To be clear, not the whole movie was shot on an iPhone

There's still a mix of traditional cinema cameras and drones. But key scenes, including some high-intensity sequences

used smartphones and custom-built rigs. One setup even mounted 20 iPhones at once

to capture a sort of matrix-style bullet time effect. But why go through all this effort

Well, partly for cost, iPhones are cheaper and more portable than high-end cinema gear

but that's not really the point here. This is about texture, about style, about pushing how the apocalypse looks and feels

The iPhone 15 Pro Max can shoot in ProRes log format, which is basically like a super flat professional-level video profile

that's great for color grading in post. And when you mount it in a metal cage with a DSLR lens

using an adapter, suddenly you've got this weird hybrid. A phone capturing cinema quality footage

with the freedom of something like a GoPro. Small cameras means you can squeeze into tight spaces

move through more chaotic scenes, or strap the thing onto weird angles without needing a giant

crew It opens up visual possibilities So it not just a gimmick it a tool And a pretty practical one But what makes this extra cool is that it completes a kind of tech circle

28 Days Later helped redefine horror using a janky, low-res camcorder. Now, 28 Years Later is trying something equally bold

using cutting-edge phones in creative, unorthodox ways. They used early digital cameras in the 2000s

and now they're using the world's most popular camera. The one in your pocket

To shoot a zombie epic. 28 Years Later is the first in a brand new trilogy

all written by Alex Garland, who also wrote the original. So this is a full circle moment for the entire team

They're not just telling the story of the apocalypse, they're rethinking how we see it

Whether that's with iPhones or with camcorder throwbacks, with whatever tools help them break the rules

of what a zombie movie is supposed to look like. What do you think? Does shooting a big budget movie on a smartphone make it feel more real

or does it break the illusion? Let us know in the comments

And for more breakdowns like this one, head on over to Mashable.com

This is a glorious day. A day of judgment. My children! There's no discharge in the war