Horror stories about viral infections have become a cornerstone of the genre in recent years. Zombie fiction in particular has evolved, and the storytelling style has offered up several instantly-iconic post-apocalyptic landscapes. One such horrifying environment is the one created by Danny Boyle in 28 Days Later, and Netflix's upcoming original series The Rain looks like its going to carry that terrifying torch. Check out the new trailer for The Rain, below.
If you have seen Danny Boyle's pseudo-zombie horror thriller, then there's quite a bit that will look familiar in The Rain. The trailer indicates that the Danish series focuses its story on a group of survivors trying to navigate a post-apocalyptic landscape in the wake of a horrifying viral outbreak, and it captures a very similar bleak atmosphere that juxtaposes the spurts of intense horror with the desolate isolation of the calmer scenes. However, unlike 28 Days Later, the virus is not merely a bloodborne pathogen transferred through bites or splatters. What appears to be happening here (and we're sure the full show will flesh this out further) is that the virus seems to be carried through the rain and infect those it touches. Is this a Dawn of the Dead-style zombie apocalypse, or is nature fighting back a la The Happening? We will have to wait and see.
The similarities to 28 Days Later don't stop there. It's difficult to deny the shared DNA of two properties in which a character gets infected by droplets of a virus that unexpectedly fall from the sky.
However, there are some other visual and narrative qualities that seem to set The Rain apart from its zombie contemporaries as well. One of the key differences (aside from the aforementioned use of rain to carry the virus) is that the show appears to start its story on a pair of bunker-dwelling siblings who have developed something resembling a life underground. This seems to show that The Rain is leaning slightly harder into its sci-fi qualities, which should make for an exciting change of pace when the Danish series finally premieres later this year.
Make sure to stay tuned for more updates related to The Rain as new information is made available to us here at CinemaBlend. The Danish sci-fi/horror series is currently aiming for a Spring 2018 premiere on Netflix, which means that it should join many of the other highly-anticipated TV shows currently on our midseason premiere guide. You can also listen to our most recent episode of The Cord Cutter Podcast to hear everything else that we have to say about the world of streaming content! Our 2018 Netflix premiere guide is worth a look as well.
This poll is no longer available.
