28 Weeks Later (2007) - DVD Review

The Infected Return in the Sequel to 28 Days Later

Jul 24, 2009 Ian Terry

Britain has been decimated by an aggressive virus, turning most of the population into frenzied lunatics. But a month later, the carriers have died of starvation.

This leaves an American-led NATO operation to secure the country, starting with London. As the film opens, an area of the Docklands is soon made habitable. A brilliantly tense opening prologue takes us back to the moments before this was possible.

28 Weeks Later's Inspired Opening

Don (Robert Carlyle) and Alice (Catherine McCormack) are a married couple, sheltered in a cottage somewhere in the rural outskirts of the capital. An elderly couple have apparently taken them in, along with a handful of other survivors.

Don and Alice have two children - mercifully, they were abroad on a school trip when the outbreak occured. So the pair have to bide their time and hope for some kind of rescue; trying not to think about what's happened to their existing family, they cling to the possibility of one day reuniting with their kids.

Inevitably, the guard is dropped for one dreadful moment. Defences are quickly breached; as soon as the infected hordes sense survivors inside, the cottage is quickly overrun.

In a frenzied, breathless sequence, Don and Alice become separated in the house. He has to make a sudden choice - to try and save his wife, or to save himself and make a break for the river. He chooses the latter option - a decision that will haunt him later, especially when, looking over his shoulder as he flees, he sees Alice, still alive in the cottage, beating at the window.

It's an interesting premise for a central character, asking the question: what would you have done in Don's position?

Disinfecting London, US-Style

A month later and Don is amongst the first survivors to be granted entrance into the safety of the Green Zone, a heavily defended, decontaminated area inside the Docklands. CCTV watches every corner; snipers are positioned on every rooftop.

With the Americans short of civilian manpower, Don gets a job as caretaker of a large office complex, turned over for accommodation. Soon, he is reunited with his children, given them a rather selective version of what happened to their mother.

Some kind of normality begins to return. As troops cleanse houses, street by street, more supplies are flown in. The virus has died with the last of the infected.

Well, perhaps not.

Part of the fun is trying to guess how another outbreak will occur - because naturally, it will. There's a clever kink in what's known about the Rage virus, but before the brass can understand it, we're soon back up to our necks in gory vomit and (in one very uncomfortable scene) deep eye gouging.

Events soon spiral out of control, resulting in some very poor tactical decisions. Without giving too much away, those survivors might be wise to worry more about bullets than bites - once the brass decide they can't tell the infected from the clean, it's open season.

What follows is a tense race against the clock as the children take flight, assisted by sympathetic military figures gone rogue.

In Summary

In many ways, 28 Weeks Later surpasses it's predecessor, 28 Days Later (2002). The budget is bigger, for a start - meaning more elaborate effects, a larger scope and greater ambition. The story is a more linear affair, avoiding the jarring change in tone that blighted the first movie.

As with any Sci-Fi or horror, suspension of disbelief is paramount - and this is where problems begin.

Some viewers balk at what appears to be lapses in logic, although almost all of these issues are adequately explained - but only if you listen to the director's commentary audio track.

Without benefit of dialogue exposition, some developments seem baffling. We shouldn't really have to require study notes to understand why some things happen the way they do in the movie.

Less explainable is the continual re-appearance of one key character, seemingly defying the rules already laid down for the Infected. Unlike the others, he appears to make tactical choices, knows his way around London, and can use a weapon if he has to. Unfortunately, the commentary track doesn't explain why this is (although we can hazard a guess - it's a sophistication of the virus strain).

Zombies vs. Helicopters

It's best not to apply too much thought to these issues, otherwise it gets in the way of what is otherwise an enjoyable zombie movie (this time around, its pretty clear they are zombies - as witnessed when one of the infected staggers across a park, half his upper chest missing).

There's some great photography and a nice directorial style that references Danny Boyle's earlier entry without ripping it off entirely. One scene stands out as a nod to the zombie genre; any fan will know the uncomfortable relationship between the living dead and helicopter blades. This movie provides the best example of mass execution yet, and if it's a little silly, we can forgive it for the sheer delight the crew have in committing it to film.

The acting standard is good, with special notice to Imogen Poots as Tammy, Don's daughter. She's headed for bigger things.

Overall, it's a decent (and very gory) instalment. Get ready for the rumoured third part!

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