Aaron Taylor-Johnson leads the stars at the after party for 28 Years Later, as the first reviews land

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Aaron Taylor-Johnson held hands with his stylish wife Sam as they left the 28 Years Later after party together on Wednesday night following the glitzy premiere.

The actor, 35, and the director, 58, looked as loved-up as ever as they departed hand-in-hand.

He looked stylish in a striped suit with a pinstriped vest and matching pants, while she was in a white halter neck dress with a flowing A-line skirt as she covered up in a black leather jacket as they headed home.

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Stylish: Aaron Taylor-Johnson held hands with his wife Sam as they left the 28 Years Later after party together on Wednesday night following the glitzy premiere

Smiles: The actor and the director looked as loved-up as ever as they departed hand-in-hand

The two leading stars were also joined on the red carpet by Alfie Williams, who plays their son in the film, as he opted for a sharp red and black paisley suit.

The release of 28 Years Later has been long-anticipated, as fans have waited nearly two decades to discover the next instalment in the series.

And with the nation devastated by the Rage virus nearly three decades ago, this new film will show how humanity has adapted to survive.

For one such community, this means complete isolation from the outside world, and in a new clip ahead of the film's premiere.

Based on Holy Island, they are self-sufficient, and only leave the community to hunt on the mainland, when the tide is low. Aaron plays Jamie a scavenger who is training his son Spike to survive in the wilderness, before they embark on a deadly mission to the mainland.

Role: The actor plays scavenger Jamie in the latest film in the franchise

Sharp: He looked stylish in a striped suit with a pinstriped vest and matching pants

Chic: Sam was in a plunging halter neck dress that featured a flowing A-line skirt

Shining: Leading lady Jodie Comer wore a silver dress as she left the after party

Shimmering: The actress earlier wore the eye-catching dress to the premiere

Stylish: She boosted her height with strappy heels as she headed home

Details: She accessorized with silver jewelry and wore her blonde hair in a straight style

Snap: Emma Laird also opted for a metallic silver dress at the event

Wow factor: Her gown featured a dramatic thigh split

Smiles: She beamed for the cameras as she left the after party

Young: Alfie Williams plays the son of Jodie and Aaron in the film

Shocking: Edvin Ryding stood out from the crowd in a bright red ensemble

Finally: The release of 28 Years Later has been long-anticipated, as fans have waited nearly two decades to discover the next instalment

Meanwhile, DailyMail.com's Brian Viner has given the movie a five-star rating.

He writes: With the terrifying and electrifying 28 Years Later, director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland have delivered the best post-apocalyptic survivalist horror-thriller film I have ever seen.

Which sounds like limited praise, yet it's a much more crowded field than you might think.

Boyle also made the 2002 film 28 Days Later, setting up the story (written by Garland) of a terrible virus rampaging through Britain, which in those days was more the stuff of science-fiction than it seems now.

There was a sequel, 28 Weeks Later (2007), but that had a different director and writer.

Now, Boyle and Garland have reunited to mighty effect.

There's no need to have seen the first two films – this one stands alone.

Brian Viner writes: 'With the terrifying and electrifying 28 Years Later, director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland have delivered the best post-apocalyptic survivalist horror-thriller film I have ever seen'

'Which sounds like limited praise, yet it's a much more crowded field than you might think'

Previous: Boyle also made the 2002 film 28 Days Later, setting up the story (written by Garland) of a terrible virus rampaging through Britain

It begins with a crowd of kids watching Teletubbies, who I must say always seemed a bit creepy to me, not that Tinky Winky and co deserve the shrieking dissonance of what comes next, as a gang of the 'infected' burst in.

Unlike Covid, this virus turns its victims into zombie-like creatures, sending them mad with hunger and murderous rage.

We are then whisked forward 28 years to Holy Island off the coast of Northumberland, where 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) lives with his macho father, Jamie (Aaron Taylor Johnson), and terribly sick and bedridden mother, Isla (Jodie Comer).

The mainland, across the causeway, is rife with the disease, but this place is still free of it.

Although it's the near future, the small community on the island has been plunged back into a medieval way of life; Spike doesn't recognize an iPhone or a frisbee.

Although Spike is not really old enough, Jamie is certain the boy is ready to experience his first kill.

So, equipped with bows and arrows, father and son cross to the mainland where, scavenging and slaughtering, the infected roam.

Boyle choreographs this perilous mission superbly, ingeniously splicing it with eclectic clips of old newsreel footage and long-ago movies, such as Laurence Olivier as Henry V leading his archers into battle at Agincourt.

Strange: It begins with a crowd of kids watching Teletubbies... as a gang of the 'infected' burst in'

Unlike Covid: This virus turns its victims into zombie-like creatures, sending them mad with hunger and murderous rage

Family: Spike (Alfie Williams) lives with his macho father, Jamie (Aaron Taylor Johnson), and terribly sick and bedridden mother, Isla (Jodie Comer)

Arrows in those days were meant for the French. Now the enemy is within.

All this will be too gruesome and scary for some, but it is propulsive, edge-of-the-seatstory-telling at its finest, and only gets more gripping when Spike later returns to the mainland with his ailing mum, searching for the eccentric doctor (Ralph Fiennes) he has heard about, who might have the right medicine for her.

Boyle is wonderfully served by his cast. Taylor-Johnson, Comer and Fiennes are all marvellous, as, briefly at the end, setting up the next film, is Jack O'Connell.

But if anyone steals the show it's young Williams, a feature-film newcomer not outplayed for one second by his illustrious elders.

28 YEARS LATER - THE REVIEWS

The Daily Mail (FIVE STARS)

Rating:

With the terrifying and electrifying 28 Years Later, director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland have delivered the best post-apocalyptic horror-thrill I have ever seen.

The Times (FIVE STARS)

Rating:

Jodie Comer is impressive as always in the latest instalment of the post-apocalyptic series

The Telegraph (FIVE STARS)

Rating:

This transfixingly nasty zombie horror sequel, starring Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes, is Danny Boyle's best film in 15 years

The Evening Standard (FIVE STARS)

Rating:

Jodie Comer, young Alfie Williams and Ralph Fiennes have a monsters' ball in this supercharged third outing for the 28 Days Later series

BBC Culture (FOUR STARS)

Rating:

Alex Garland and Danny Boyle have reunited for a follow-up to their 2002 classic. It has visual flair, terrifying adversaries and scene-stealing performance from Ralph Fiennes.

Empire (FOUR STARS)

Rating:

The sequel we needed is both the film you expect, and the one you don't. There's blood, but also real guts and brain and heart - visceral cinema soaked in viscera.

The Guardian (THREE STARS)

Rating:

This tonally uncertain revival mixes folk horror and little-England satire as an island lad seeks help for his sick mum on the undead-infested mainland.

The Independent (THREE STARS)

Rating:

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland return to the zombie-infested world of 28 Days Later with interested, if mixed, results.