What Is the Significance of 28 Years Later’s Boots Poem?

The first trailer for 28 Years Later is downright terrifying. While the eerie undead creatures of the series have always unsettled, the poem backing the trailer has disturbed viewers. Here’s the significance of the “Boots” poem in 28 Years Later.

28 Years Later’s ‘Boots’ Poem, Explained

The poem in the trailer sets a perfect tone, as the dramatic reading builds tension and crescendos in intensity alongside the trailer’s imagery. The poem was written by Rudyard Kipling and published over a century ago in 1903. Per the text’s Wikipedia page, the poem “imagines the repetitive thoughts of a British Army infantryman” as he marches through South Africa in the Second Boer War. The poem is supposed to be read off at the rate these British soldiers marched and simulate the madness some soldiers experienced as a result of seemingly aimless marching for days – if not weeks – as Britain colonized South Africa.

The reading used in the trailer for 28 Years Later is a 1915 recording of “Boots” by Taylor Holmes, an American actor. But recordings of this poem have a disturbing history of their own.

Related: ‘Sickening’: Cillian Murphy’s Haunting 28 Years Later Appearance Is Creeping Everyone Out

Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Boots’ Poem Has a Disturbing Military History

Due to the unsettling and grading nature of the poem, it has been used to condition military personnel to resist conditioning and torture. This particular version has been used in Military Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape programs (SERE), which is used to prepare Western soldiers to survive and escape capture and torture.

On a YouTube Video showing a 78 rpm recording of Taylor Holmes’ “Boots” recording, commenters shared memories of having to endure the poem as part of military training. One user shares, “When I was in the Army and was in a simulated POW camp called Ecape [sic] and Evasion they played this nonstop. I can barely stand to listen to it here.”

If you are a fan of other zombie media in pop culture, it’s possible you’ve heard this poem read elsewhere. In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies, the poem features in the map Terminus’ cinematic trailer, where it is used to torture prisoners. It is such a strange coincidence that two zombie projects would feature the century-old poem so close. However, it makes sense considering both series have a strong military focus.

28 Years Later hits theaters on June 20, 2025.