After a suspenseful and trilling â28 Days Laterâ, we jump â28 Months Laterâ for one of the highly anticipated horror sequel of 2007.
â28 Weeks Laterâ takes place, well, 28 weeks after the original outbreak in the first film, â28 Days Laterâ. The outbreak was a result of a virus that caused people to turn into zombies. 28 days after the outbreak, the British Mainland was entirely evacuated, with several survivors left behind trying to fend for themselves. Soon, the infected ran out of food and all of them starved to death. 24 weeks after the initial outbreak, with the help of the Americans, District One was established as the first area in Britain that is cleared of the virus and repopulation began. 28 weeks after the initial outbreak, it all begins again.
None of the original cast returned for the sequel. The new cast, led by Robert Caryle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Imogen Poots, and Mackintosh Muggleton, put a decent enough performance in the sequel, but doesnât exceed the performance from the first film. The original cast of Cillian Murphy, Naomi Harris, and Megan Burns were one of the best acting Iâve ever seen in a modern horror movie. And of course, the zombies get the award for the most freakish and scariest characters in the film. George Romero would be proud.
Danny Boyle, who directed the first one, decided to just produce the sequel instead and handed the directing chair to Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Fresnadillo doesnât have much in his directing resume, but did a superior job behind the camera. Some may complaint his style of shaking of the camera too much, but it provides the audience a more unique look than the first film. This documentary style is also used in the critically acclaimed TV show, Battlestar Galactica. Fresnadillo also provides us with many good scenery shots of England. And if his directing style wasnât good enough, he also helped pen the screenplay. Unlike many other horror screenplays of today, this is no âchick flickâ or just a âgore festâ. There is actually drama in the film and itâs apparent the writers didnât just BS a screenplay so they can make a sequel. No doubt about it, Fresnadillo didnât treat this like how many other directors treat many of todayâs cheesy horror film. He and his crew were serious in trying to create a sequel that has some meat in it. If you like the first one or if you like Zombie/horror films, then you should enjoy â28 Weeks Laterâ. But even if you are not a fan of horror films, I would still recommend it because â28 Weeksâ is simply a good film. How many times have you seen sequels that just didnât live up to expectation? I would recommend those who havenât saw â28 Days Laterâ to see that one first and then see the sequel. But â28 Weeksâ does provide viewers a nice little timeline at the beginning of the film so new viewers wouldnât be lost in the film. Plus, unlike other silly horror films of today, â28 Weeksâ have decent enough acting, a good enough script, and a serious and motivated director behind the camera. The first half â28 Weeksâ would make you think itâs even better than the first one. In fact, the first scene along would make you think this is going to rock. Although the second half slowed down a bit and it wasnât as strong as the second half of â28 Daysâ, overall the film is superior to the first one and would leave viewers debating which one is better. Based on the ending, there is probably a sequel being planned, which I presume would be entitled â28 Months Laterâ. If they get Boyle and Fresnadillo back behind the project, this may live on to be one of the greatest horror movie trilogies ever. For those of you who enjoy this film, I would recommend checking out George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead", arguably the best horror film ever made.
PS: Oh yeah, and I simply can't get that theme song out of my head. When I first heard it at the end of the first scene in "28 Weeks", it just kept on rocking in my head throughout the movie.
