28 Weeks Later (2007)

Director:

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Writers:

Rowan Joffe (screenplay) &
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 May 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

It All Begins Again

Plot:

Six months after the rage virus was inflicted on the population of Great Britain, the US Army helps to secure a small area of London for the survivors to repopulate and start again. But not everything goes to plan.

Plot Keywords:

Extreme Gore | Hetero Chromia | Flamethrower | Ventilation Shaft | Eye Gouging

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Aug. 23	8:15 PM	MAX
Thur. Aug. 28	4:20 PM	MAX

Cast

Robert Carlyle	...	Don
Catherine McCormack	...	Alice
Rose Byrne	...	Scarlet
Jeremy Renner	...	Doyle
Harold Perrineau	...	Flynn
Idris Elba	...	Stone
Imogen Poots	...	Tammy
Mackintosh Muggleton	...	Andy
Amanda Walker	...	Sally
Shahid Ahmed	...	Jacob
Garfield Morgan	...	Geoff
Emily Beecham	...	Karen
Beans El-Balawi	...	Boy in Cottage (as Beans Balawi)
Meghan Popiel	...	DLR Soldier
Stewart Alexander	...	Military Officer

Also Known As:

28 semanas después (Spain)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, language and some sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK | Spain

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Chile:14 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | Brazil:18 | Norway:18 | Germany:18 | Finland:K-18 | Ireland:18 | Singapore:R21 | New Zealand:R18 | Mexico:C | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | France:-12 (with warning) | Argentina:16 | Philippines:R-13 | Japan:R-15 | UK:18 | Ireland:16 | South Africa:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Malaysia:18SG | Hong Kong:IIB | Taiwan:R-12 (original rating) | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | USA:R (certificate #43475) | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Aldwych Underground Station, Aldwych, Holborn, London, England, UK

Company:

Fox Atomic

Trivia:

When Danny Boyle, Alex Garland and Andrew Macdonald first began to consider a sequel to 28 Days Later... (2002), their initial idea was to do 29 Days Later, possibly using the characters of Jim (Cillian Murphy), Selena (Naomi Harris) and Hannah (Megan Burns) from the first film. This idea was dropped in favor of doing a film set within the time-frame of 28 Days Later..., focusing on an SAS team sent into London to retrieve either the Prime Minister or the Queen. Finally, it was suggested to set the film some time after the events of the initial film, and to deal with the impact Rage has had on society in general.

Goofs:

As a result of inconsistent computer editing, throughout the film, the logos on top of the HSBC and Citigroup buildings vary from being nonexistent to clearly visible.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Donald Harris: What are you going to cook?
Alice: Your favorite.
Donald Harris: What, again?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 28 Weeks Later: The Rage Is Back (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

In The House - In A Heartbeat

Nothing (read NOTHING) is held back...

...Not this time.

I believe 28 Weeks Later did appreciate as a sequel (with only a couple very minor depreciative concepts), and that was a surprise.

I'm admittedly a zombie film fan (especially the serious, non A-Team variety). And although the Rage virus in these two films does not produce an 'undead' zombie, the 'infected' nevertheless present a similarly formidable and threatening antagonist. If you haven't seen either film, Boyle's 'infected' are far less like the traditional lumbering Romero zombies, and closer to the Zack Snyder zombies of 2004's Dawn of the Dead. Note that if you were able to get away with seeing 28 Days Later as a date movie, you may not pull it off with 28 Weeks. There is very little breathing room, and some of it is more disturbing and far less bridled than you might be expecting, especially if you are used to the character-based 'safety' of most films.

Unlike 28 Days, a flashpan start to 28 Weeks Later sets the tone for the entire film... Which although short in running time (at just over 1:30) with quite a fast pace, still seemed very much long enough to be perfectly enjoyable, especially for any fan of the genre. Other than a brief, but informative back-story conversation near the beginning, there is almost no down time spent (wasted?) on emerging relationships or overly granular side-stories. Overall the most powerful element of the film isn't really character based, but rather the theme of a terrible pandemic that, besides a small twist, isn't much changed from the first movie.

There is one facet of the film that I did not really appreciate, but can't really detail without a spoiler warning. Let's just say that London is a fairly large playground for certain (coincidental?) events to happen (and not just once). However, there's a possibility I may be missing some concept that made these events intentional--I hope it's some twist of the virus and isn't just star power.

I'll be purchasing the DVD, but probably won't offer to watch it with any of my family and couldn't recommend it as a party movie :)

Post Script: If you had ever wondered why the rest of the world was not affected by this virus, consider the geographically isolating nature of the British Isles and the extremely short incubation period of this virus. A truly viable pandemic must have a longer incubation period and optimally be airborne or at least infect multiple disparate species. So the Rage virus, while perfectly suited in close quarters would likely not travel much farther than a pair of human legs could travel.