Review of "28 Weeks Later"

See it: Yes

I loved the movie 28 Days Later. I don't remember how I coaxed my wife into seeing it with me, but I somehow managed to, and we were really surprised by how good of a movie it was. I don't just mean how good of a horror movie it was, or how scary it was, or how gruesome it was — I mean it was genuinely a great movie with a great story, great actors, and amazing cinematography.

Plain and simple, 28 Weeks Later does it again. The story overlaps 28 Days Later slightly, then jumps 28 weeks ahead to a time when all the infected were thought to be gone, and the British government (with the help of the US military) was just beginning to repopulate London. I don't think I'm giving anything away when I say it was obvious that the repopulation wasn't going to go as planned, and somehow the virus was going to find its way back into the population. This I already knew. This everyone knew. What we didn't know was how clever, intriguing, and unbelievably tense the ride was going to be.

See 28 Weeks Later. If you haven't seen 28 Days Later, see it first. They will probably be the best (and most disturbing) horror movies you have ever seen. Be prepared for the fact that they will haunt you, but not in the way you might expect. You will remember them for the characters, plots, cinematography, and even the music as much as for the gore and terror they instill.

Who knew the zombie genre could reach these heights?

Comments

[Andre Charland]

Dude! Thanks so much. I've been debating watching this days...not sure why...but now I'm going to watch tonight.

PS. Can you give us a full txt rss feed? thx.

[Christian Cantrell]

Andre,

Let me know what you think of it. Also, I'll look into changing the feed.

Christian

[simon]

not sure i agree with the sentiments expressed about 28 weeks. sure its scary but 28 days had an element of believability the 28 weeks lacks.

since when did the zombies become rational. seemingly the "father" zombie character went on a orchestrated campaign to terminate his family and used significant rational to achieve that including using his open access pass to navigate the otherwise locked down facility and hiding when the area was bombed until finally tracking down lone children whilst delicately avoiding the armed sniper.

it was the simplicity of 28 days that made it scary, 28 weeks forgot that.

[Christian Cantrell]

Simon,

You raise a good point about the slightly different "zombie rules" in 28 Weeks Later. However, I feel like taking a closer look at the virus and how it effects humans was part of the plot. At the beginning, when the medical officer sees that children are being allowed back into London, she says something along the lines of "we don't even understand how the virus works yet." Shortly after, we learn that it's possible to be a carrier of the virus, but to not suffer any symptoms. As you say, the father's determination to kill his family seems to indicate that the infected have some ability to rationalize. All of these things are new attributes that we don't see in 28 Days Later.

In fact, I'd even go one step further with the father. The fact that he brutally murders his wife rather than just trying to infect or eat her (which seems to be the motivation behind other zombie attacks) shows emotion and calculation behind his actions. I think it's obvious that part of him didn't want her to return to tell the story of how he abandoned her 28 weeks prior. The father then turns on the children seemingly as retribution for judging him after they learn that she wasn't dead, and that there is certainly more to the story than he indicated. It's as if he is driven as much by guilt as the rage virus.

So anyway, yes, the rules of zombiehood seem to changed from 28 Days to 28 Weeks, and I agree that the mindlessness of the violence is possibly more disturbing in the first one, however I also feel like the new rules add a new dimension to the sequel.

Come to think of it, there was a father/daughter relationship in the first one where one becomes a zombie. I'd have to go back and check, but I wonder if at any point, there was some recognition of the relationship.

Christian

[j]

You gotta remember the virus was named "Rage". They weren't brain eating zombies, they were lunatic-mad humans. They are alive. And if they are humans, then there is some explanation for being semi-rational.

This trilogy (remember there is another one expected with Rage spreading across the globe) is one of the best additions to the horror genre. Not a rehash of some Romero film, but truly unique.

I can't wait for the next one. Now we need a game of it. 28 Years RPG anyone?

[Eric]

I think that it was original and a good thriller, and a twist at the end.
=]

[Flüge Australien]

I totally have to agree. When I saw 28 days later I was so fascinated about story, actors and the effects. Danny Boyle really wrote an awesome story. I especially like the alternative endings on the DVD. They chose a really good date of time for releasing the movie because in the year 2002 there were virus epidemics like SARS very up-to-date. 28 weeks later was awesome too. The review on the last 28 weeks was very exciting and I couldn't stop to see the movie. I am very excited to see the third movie of the trilogy; 28 month later...I think in Germany it will be released in 2010. Do you know when it will be released in Great Britain?