322: 28 Days Later, with Maverick Haenze (long cut)

This is the unedited version for backers only.

Following last episode's look at zombies, we're delving into a classic of the genre. Sure, the folks behind 28 Days Later have said that it's not a zombie film, but we're ignoring that. This has all the hallmarks of a zombie apocalypse, and the various films that have borrowed from it over the years since release haven't been shy about using the 'z' word.

But what is it that made 28 Days Later such a strong entry in the zombie canon? How well has it stood up in the not-quite 28 years since its release? And, most importantly, what can we steal for our games?

Our Guest Host

We are delighted to welcome Maverick Haenze back to The Good Friends of Jackson Elias! Mav is a prolific actual play performer and scenario author. You can find them as the Head of Mythos Horror on The Old Ways podcast, as a regular cast member on Ain't Slayed Nobody's Bleeker Trails, and in many guest spots on other podcasts, including How We Roll. Under the name Rina Haenze, they wrote the Mythos slasher romp Saturday the 14th, the historical LGBTQ+ scenario Friends of Dorothy, and many others on the Miskatonic Repository. They also edited the fairy tale-inspired collection Cthulhu Once Upon a Time, which is now available on DriveThruRPG.

Blasphemous Tomes Latest Updates:

Blasphemous Tome Fanzines Update for $1 backers (April 2025)

Blasphemous Tome Fanzines Update for $3+ backers (April 2025)

Matt at the Innsmouth Literary Festival

Matt will be attending the Innsmouth Literary Festival in Bedford on the 27th of September. If you do find him there, please respect our catch-and-release policy after getting him to sign your books.

The Blasphemous Tome issue 14

Unfortunately, ill health and other life pressures are still getting in the way of completing issue 14 of The Blasphemous Tome. Rather than keeping on pushing it back, we're going to release a bumper issue of the Tome this December with two full Call of Cthulhu scenarios. One is a new modern scenario from Matt, and the other is Scott's loose sequel to Blackwater Creek.

We will be honouring our pledge to send out print copies to everyone who was backing us at the $5 level or higher end of June, so don't worry if you've dropped yours since then.

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

• 28 Weeks Later (2007)

• 28 Years Later (2025)

• Trainspotting (1996)

• Intacto (2001)

• "Plaything" from Black Mirror

• "Time Enough at Last" from The Twilight Zone

• The Walking Dead

• Burlington

• Kelvedon Hatch

• Threads (1984)

• Domain by James Herbert

• Blake's 7

• Maslow's hierarchy of needs

• Wind-up radio

• Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman

• The Stand by Stephen King

• Swan Song by Robert McCammon

• Supermarket Sweep

• Jessica Jones

• Cracker

• Return of the Living Dead (1985)

• Night of the Living Dead (1968)

• The Crazies (1973)

• Rabid (1977)

• The Fog by James Herbert

• '48 by James Herbert

• The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers

• The King in Yellow (2022)

• Roll Your Own Mythos

• "Saturday the 14th"

• "The Murder Shack" from The Blasphemous Tome issue 5.5