Horror Movie Reviews: 28 Weeks Later

28 Weeks Later (2007)
Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Starring: Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Imogen Poots
IMDB: 7.0
RT: 71
Box Office: $64.2 Million (Worldwide)

Summary-

 28 weeks after the outbreak the people infected with the virus have starved to death and a US led NATO force is attempting to resettle London. A carrier of the virus gets into the the facility and the virus starts to spread all over again.




Review (SPOILERS!)-

The opening sequence may be my favorite part of the whole film. It begins with Don (Robert Carlyle) and his wife who are living in a country cottage with some people. They let in a little boy who is on the run from some zombies and they quickly break into the house. There is a desperate scramble to get out of the house and Don leaves his wife and escapes out a window. He then runs across a field to a boat where another one of his group is trying to get out but is bit and turns into a zombie as well. He manages to get out and then it jumps to 28 weeks later. This scene is exhilarating and you really feel the emotions of this guy as he escapes. You see how people will do anything in order to survive, even if it means abandoning your loved ones. We then get information that explains what has occurred since the outbreak of the virus. This is where I start to have issues with this film because it seems like the people in charge are making very stupid decisions. They decide to start resettling people into London even though they have not even decontaminated the entire city let alone the country. I can't imagine the world leaders would be that stupid.

Shit they gone eat me!

We then are introduced to Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) who are kids moving into this new London settlement. It is revealed that they are the children of Don who has been living at this place for a while. He has to tell them that their mom is dead but they are going to start getting back to normal life. We are also introduced to Scarlet (Rose Byrne) who is an Army doctor and Doyle (Jeremy Renner) who is an Army Sniper. Apparently everything is safe as all of the zombies have died off but the Military has not finished getting rid of all the bodies so the citizens are kept in a confined area. Of course once this idea is established the kids instantly leave the safe area in order to find a picture of their mom from their house. They then find their mom hiding in the house and the military comes and finds them. This all seemed a bit farfetched for me. How the hell did she get out of the house in the opening sequence without getting killed? I get why she would go to the family home in London but that also seems like it would have been a long journey on foot.

Rose Byrne and Jeremy Renner

She is then brought back to the facility and Scarlet examines her and discovers she is a carrier of the disease but is immune to it. The husband comes back to apologize to her for leaving and when they kiss he is exposed to the virus and changes into a zombie. This starts another outbreak of the virus as he escapes and starts infecting other people. It becomes pure chaos and the Military enacts Code Red which means they have to exterminate the population to prevent the virus from spreading. They start killing all of the civilians and fire bomb the whole complex but the zombies still get out into the rest of the city. The rest of the film follows Scarlet, Doyle, Tammy and Andy as they attempt to survive. Doyle helicopter pilot friend gives him a location that he can be extracted and the group heads for that spot. This whole part of the film is pretty well paced and exciting. You get a lot more zombie killing and violence in this than in the original film which should appeal to some.  

Helicopter vs Zombies

The transition from 2nd to 3rd act is pretty weak as they both kind of flow together. The problem with this is that the final act feels a bit repetitive but the pace is brisk enough that the film doesn't drag. Most of the people in the group get killed but eventually they do manage to get out alive but they leave it open for a sequel as they show zombies loose in front of the Eiffel Tower before the credits roll.

Final Thoughts-

This is a much more polished looking film than the original but the story is a significant step down. The characters are very flat and there really isn't much of a message like the first film. This is a film more about getting from point A to point B and trying to cram in as much blood and scares along the way as it can. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing as the film is very entertaining, I just wish there was a bit more meat to it. I would have liked more plot development about the Military and what they where doing and more about this community they set up. Overall I still had some fun with this movie and would be intrigued to see a third installment in the franchise at some point.

MY RATING-

3 out of 5

-Chris "Da Franchize" Hart