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28 Years Later: That eerie poem from the trailer was used simulate stress in real-life military training

A century after its recording, the use of this particular iteration of the poem Boots, by Rudyard Kipling, is an extra creepy way to tease 28 Years Later

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Mon May 12 2025

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I don't know if it will be the year's best horror movie, but the title year's best horror trailer might have already been claimed by 28 Years Later. Though the movie is not even out yet, he Aaron Johnson, Ralph Fiennes-starring trailer is one of the more startling things to play in cinemas at this point in the year, and that's thanks to the terrifying, rhythmic poem being read aloud in the background. The title of that poem is 'Boots,' and the trailer's viewers aren't the only people who have found it to be stress inducing. According to a recent poetry analysis Substack, the poem has actually been used in real-life military training.

We'll explain in a sec, but first, here's that trailer in case you need a reminder.

Raises your blood pressure, right? That was almost certainly the intent of the author, Rudyard Kipling, who published the poem in 1903, specifically to convey the experience of British Infantrymen in the Second Boer War. However, it would be another 12 years until actor Taylor Holmes recorded the memorable reading of the poem we hear in the above trailer, and by that time, the world had on its mind the new military horrors of World War One.

But the recording's effectiveness lasts even beyond the Second World War. According to Substack PopPoetry, the recording has "been used in Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training for U.S. military personnel and other civilians who want to go to the brink of their abilities to see if they can come out on the other side."

"The so-called 'psychological effect' of the recording," continues post author Caitlin Cowan, "The creep factor, the bizarrerie of it all—was used to try to break down subjects mentally as a kind of preparation for mental torture that might be inflicted upon them if they were captured."

Typically, "mental torture" is something you'd avoid if you're responsible for making a movie trailer. But in the case of one of this year's most intense post-apocalyptic dramas, it was clearly as effective as the studio desired it to be.

28 Years Later marches into theaters June 20.

In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." We couldn't agree more, which is why we've cobbled together a couple pieces to send a chill up your spine. Join Popverse as we explore:

And much gore. Er, more. Much more.

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.