Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Pigeonhole: Horror / Apocalyptic / Thriller
In Summary: This movie builds on some plot elements from its predecessor 28 Days Later, but none of the original characters returned. At the end of the previous movie the characters saw a plane flying overhead, implying that the infection may not have spread to the rest of the world as they had believed.
Early in this film we learn that 5 weeks after the initial outbreak all of the infected have died of starvation. A U.S. led NATO force comes to take control of Great Britain at "11 weeks", where it will remain under strict quarantine; at "18 weeks" it is declared relatively safe, and then 28 weeks after the initial spread of the Rage virus people are brought back (folks who either hid out, were abroad, or found their way to a protected area) with the assistance of the NATO force, to repopulate and resettle the London area.
A woman carrying the virus, but without the "rage" symptoms is soon found and brought to the quarantine. Predictably the virus is, once again, quickly spread through the people there and decisions have to be made who lives and who won't.
Recommendation: I think 28 Weeks Later is a pretty good sequel; it looks and feels like a bigger budget film compared to its predecessor. While there are some very cliche horror movie moments, and a fairly predictable plot unfolding, it is entertaining to watch. 'R' rating is for language, violence, and gore.My Take: **spoiler alert** This movie opens during the original Rage virus outbreak. Don (Carlyle), his wife Alice (Catherine McCormack) and several others are hiding out in a cottage. A group of "infected" break into the cottage to attack; the group runs upstairs and Don goes in a different direction than the rest of them . He dives out of a window leaving his wife and the other to become infected.
Now at 28 weeks later people are being admitted back into London to repopulate the area, but under the watchful eye of American military and medical supervision. Among this group of "settlers" are Tammy and Andy - Don and Alice's children - that were traveling in Spain during the outbreak. Don is now a service engineer, and after reuniting with his kids he explains that he survived by making his way to a military area after the attack on the cottage, but that Alice did not make it.
One day later the kids predictably break protocol and leave their "safe zone" on a scooter to go back to their house, in an "unsafe area", to collect some of their personal effects. An Army Sergeant named Doyle (Renner) sees them leaving and follows. Tammy and Andy arrive, and after going through the house to pick through belongings, find their mother still alive sitting in her bedroom in a near catatonic state. The soldiers arrive and take everyone back to their district. Alice is quickly quarantined in a biohazard area, and the doctor discovers that she is carrying the Rage virus - also still highly infectious - but she is displaying no symptoms (other than the red eyes the infected have), which is encouraging because now the doctor may be able to work on a cure.
However, in an extreme stupid horror movie moment, Don sneaks through security to see Alice in the biohazard area. He apologizes for leaving her behind and kisses her. Oops. Don becomes immediately infected, kills her and goes on an Rage virus spreading rampage. Almost every civilian in the district becomes either infected as they have contact any newly infected person or is killed immediately during the attack. I think this was another slight disconnect I had with this film - that these "highly trained experts" (medical and military) did not seem to account for what might happen if an infected person got into the district, and how they would react/respond. On the plus side, it did really highlight the panic that would ensue if a virus like this one were to ever spread, but there was a supposition of ignorance, again, considering the circumstances that was a reach.
As the chaos is taking hold, a doctor named Scarlet (Rose Byrne) grabs the two kids to escape just as the Army is being order to shoot at will to contain the outbreak. Doyle, ignoring his execution orders, grabs the three to escape, as well. He radios a friend of his named Flynn, who flies a helicopter, to assist in their evacuation. Flynn states to meet at Wembley stadium, where he will be able to land. It is now a scary cat and mouse chase through the deserted streets of London between the four protagonists, the newly infected, and the Army trying to extinguish anything moving because they are considered risks. Doyle is soon killed, and while Scarlet and the kids are making their way through the London Underground, Don emerges, kills Scarlet and bites Andy. Tammy then shoots Don, while we see Andy's eyes turn red, but he does not display any other rage symptoms, just like his mother. The two get the stadium and Flynn takes them France, per the pre-arranged instructions.
In the final scene, it is noted to be 28 days later; we see the now abandoned helicopter and hear a voice shouting for help over the radio. The city is Paris, and a group of about a dozen infected people are witnessed running amok.
In Conclusion: Other than the 2 colossal acts of stupidity - the kids leaving the safe zone, and Don being able to get to his wife causing the new outbreak - I really like this film, and it is a great complimentor to 28 Days Later. The environment is tense and foreboding, the actors were all well cast, and the action kept up at a good pace. Plus, the movie's conclusion was congruent with previous 96 minutes and did not feel forced or improbable (both huge pet peeves of mine with endings). If this is the new face of the "zombie genre" as were Danny Boyle's stated intentions, then I am on board.
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