After being near-impossible to watch for years, one of the greatest horror movies ever made is streaming free - just in time to watch the sequel

As 28 Years Later keeps leaving its mark at the box office, the original 28 Days Later is finally available to stream. Danny Boyle's beloved 2002 classic, considered one of the best horror movies of all time, can be found on Pluto TV (or BBC iPlayer in the UK) right now, and the timing couldn't be better.

As fans of the zombie saga know, 28 Days Later hasn't been easy to find over the years. Through several periods it was near impossible to find on any streaming platforms and on-demand, so the only way to watch it was to get hold of a physical copy in second-hand stores.

With the long-awaited sequel around the corner, the film was finally made available for digital purchase at the end of last year, and now you can watch it on Pluto TV, a free streaming service with ads owned by Paramount.

You don't really need to watch the original film in order to enjoy 28 Years Later, but you should. Over two decades ago, Danny Boyle's grimy horror 28 Days Later set a new standard for zombie apocalypse movies, blending inspirations from John Wyndham's sci-fi horror novel The Day of the Triffids and the sharp social commentary of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead.

Written by Ex Machina and Annihilation director Alex Garland, the film follows a courier (played by the now Oscar winner Cillian Murphy) who wakes up from a coma in a London hospital 28 days after a deadly virus breaks out. Soon he discovers that said virus has turned almost everyone into killer zombies, and his reality has become one of pure survival.

After the forgettable 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later, Boyle and Garland reunited to helm the recently released 28 Years Later, which stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes. The story picks up almost three decades after the outbreak and follows those still living amongst the infected.

Murphy is set to reprise his role in the upcoming sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which continues the story with the newcomer star Alfie Williams.

28 Years Later is now out in cinemas. For more, check out our list for the most exciting upcoming horror movies, and fill out your watchlist with the best zombie movies of all time.