28 weeks later (spoilers)

It could have easily been just another sequel. It could have been just another zombie flick. It could have been just some awful movie that ruined the legacy of what birthed it. However, it is none of those things. In fact, it is superior to the original in pretty much every way, except maybe the ending. In 28 days later, a virus unleashed on Britain and suddenly the entire country was turned into flesh eating creatures. You can't really call them zombies, because they can think, they seem to have memories and they are incredibly fast, but they were essentially zombies. The movie was a break out hit and so naturally we get the sequel. Now it is 28 weeks after the initial infection and we are to believe 6 months ago the last of the infected has died.


Before that though, we have the opening scene. It takes place during the outbreak and we get 6 people who are hiding from the zombies. I just figured it was night time during this scene, but when they open the door to let a child in, we get a giant ray of sunshine that nearly blinds these hiding people and suddenly the zombies are there. They enter in true zombie fashion, crashing windows and breaking the wood down. The Director has strapped a camera on the backs of a few of these creatures, so we get the action from their view and hear their growls and heavy breathing. It is incredibly effective and then we get a gut wrenching moment between two people and we are left to wonder what we would have done in that place. Cut to 28 weeks later and a man is reunited with his two children. Britain is thought to be safe and the American government is there to help get Britain up and running. Obviously things don't work out so well and all hell is unleashed all over the screen. There are a few underlying plots but this is a chase film and with fast zombies that makes the chase awesome.


First off, this movie is a zombie flick, but it is also an interesting commentary on Human arrogance. Am I looking too deep into this, possibly, but hear me out. A virus wipes out all of a country and in a matter months humans believe everything is just fine. It is not an American thing, or a military thing, it is a human thing to believe we rule the planet and we are bigger, badder and better than everything else. The initial chaos that ensues here is brutal, but not really in the way one would think. Watching a ton of people herded into a courtyard only to be picked off by the military because they cannot determine who is infected and who isn't is difficult to watch, but the way it is cut with an innocent child trying to find his sister and cut even more with an American solider unable to continue picking off innocent people is truly an effective piece of cinema. Yes there are actors in this movie, but it doesn't really matter, just know that there are some great gory moments, especially when we first see the virus make a comeback (sooo much blood!), we get a helicopter and zombie face off, that ousts anything Robert Rodriguez did in Grindhouse and then we get the crowning moment in this film: We get a scene shot through the scope of a rifle. The scene is pitch black, but we see bits of the screen through the night vision and wow does it ever work! Will a zombie jump out, will the children trip and fall, who knows but wow what a freaking great concept!


I went in not expecting too much, except I knew there was a ton of screaming and that was enough to spark my interest. Is this possibly an allegory to how America's military brand of fear only breeds more fear? I guess it is possible, but in the end this is a great zombie chase film, with some interesting camera tricks, a few great gore sequences and some kick ass music!