One of the very first films to set off the early 2000s zombie craze (perhaps best epitomized by the long-running series “The Walking Dead”) was the 2002 film “28 Days Later,” written by Alex Garland, directed by Danny Boyle, and starring Cillian Murphy. The film reinvigorated the long-running horror genre, and flipped the zombie tropes on horror fans (zombies could be fast?).

While a 2007 sequel “28 Weeks Later” followed, directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Boyle and Garland have once again reinvigorated the franchise, with “28 Years Later,” which hits theaters this weekend, some 23 years after their original foray into zombieland.

It occasions a rewatch of the two previous films ("Days" is available to rent on iTunes and Amazon, while "Weeks" is streaming on Hulu and Tubi), but also, if you’re ambitious, the entire, widely varied Boyle filmography — or at least the highlights. It features multiple collaborations with Garland as a writer (he’s gone on to direct some of our most daring films in recent years), including “The Beach” (2000), streaming on the Criterion Channel, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and the underrated sci-fi film “Sunshine” (2007), starring Chris Evans (among others), available to rent on iTunes and Amazon.

No Boyle list would be complete without his iconic 1996 film “Trainspotting,” based on the novel by Irvine Welsh, about a group of absolutely disastrous Scottish heroin addicts. It catapulted Ewan McGregor and the ensemble cast to stardom, and established Boyle as one of the foremost directors of the 1990s (stream “Trainspotting” on Kanopy or rent it elsewhere). But real Danny Boyle fans know that his true breakout was the 1994 thriller “Shallow Grave,” which won the BAFTA for best British film, and was the most commercially successful British film the year it was released. Also starring McGregor, future Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston and Kerry Fox, the film centers around a group of roommates who decide to dispose of a renter’s body and keep his stash of cash. Rent “Shallow Grave” on iTunes or Amazon.

While his 1997 follow-up with McGregor and Cameron Diaz, “A Life Less Ordinary” (for purchase only on iTunes) was less successful, he moved on to “The Beach,” “28 Days Later” and “Sunshine” with Garland, before directing his smash hit, the Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008), which made Dev Patel a star. Written by Simon Beaufoy and based on a novel by Vikas Swarup, it followed an impoverished kid from Mumbai who wins a cash prize on a game show. Rent “Slumdog Millionaire” on iTunes.

Boyle then turned to more traditional biopic fare with “127 Hours” (2010), the story of Aron Ralston, who was trapped while bouldering and had to cut off his own arm to survive. James Franco starred as Ralston, and the film earned six Oscar nominations (rent it on iTunes or Amazon). Boyle then directed Michael Fassbender in the title role of his film “Steve Jobs” (2015), about the Apple founder, written by Aaron Sorkin (rent it on iTunes or Amazon).

He returned to the world of “Trainspotting” with a sequel written by John Hodge, “T2 Trainspotting” (2017) — a project that sounds misguided but is far more interesting than it seems on paper. His 2019 film “Yesterday,” is a strange curio, written by Richard Curtis, starring Himesh Patel and Lily James, about a world without the Beatles. It’s a bit of an odd one, but worth watching if you love the music. Rent both films on iTunes or Amazon.

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