28 Weeks Later (2007)

28 Weeks Later (2007)

28 Weeks Later is a 2007 British-Spanish post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film, structured as a sequel to the critical and commercial success, 28 Days Later (2002). 28 Weeks Later was co-written and directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, director and writer of 28 Days Later respectively, now acting as executive producers. It was released in the United Kingdom and United States on 11 May 2007. The on-location filming took place in London and 3 Mills Studios, although scenes intended to be shot at Wembley Stadium, then undergoing final stages of construction, were filmed instead in Wales, with Cardiff's Millennium Stadium used as a replacement

Storyline

28 Weeks Later picks up six months after the Rage Virus has decimated the city of London. The US Army has restored order and is repopulating the quarantined city, when a carrier of the Rage Virus enters London and unknowingly re-ignites the spread of the deadly infection and the nightmare begins

Plot

During the original outbreak of the Rage Virus, Don, his wife Alice, and four other survivors hide in a barricaded cottage on the outskirts of London. They hear a terrified boy pounding at their door, and let him in. A few minutes later, they discover that the infected have followed the boy to them. The infected attack and kill most of the survivors, while Don, Alice, and the boy are chased upstairs. Don is separated from Alice and when the boy is seen hiding in the closet. Alice rushes to get the boy, while Don tells her to just leave him. Soon the infected break into the room and after Alice pleading with Don to "help us", he decides to leave, abandoning them. Don desperately sprints to a nearby motorboat and narrowly escapes.

After the infected die of starvation, NATO forces take control of Great Britain. Twenty-eight weeks after the outbreak, an American-led force, under the command of Brigadier General Stone, brings in settlers. Among the new arrivals are Don and Alice's children, Tammy and Andy, who have apparently been out of the country at a boarding school and so missed the outbreak. They are admitted to District One, a safe zone on the Isle of Dogs guarded by the U.S. Army. Sergeant Doyle, a U.S. Delta Force Sniper and his friend, Chief Flynn, a helicopter pilot, are amongst the military presence charged with guarding the district. Tammy and Andy are reunited with their father, who was found by the U.S. Army and has become the district's caretaker. In their new flat, Don explains what happened to him and their mother.

That night, Andy dreams about forgetting his mother's face, so Tammy and Andy sneak out of the safe zone, and return to their former home, where they begin to collect family photographs and other mementos. To their shock, they find Alice in a semi-conscious state. Doyle sees Tammy and Andy leave the safe zone, and they and their mother are quickly picked up by soldiers and returned to the district. Alice is taken to a quarantine room, where she is tested and found to be an asymptomatic carrier of the rage virus. Don makes an unauthorized visit to Alice in her isolation cell, begging her to forgive him. However, when they kiss, Don is infected, savagely kills her, and goes on a rampage.

General Stone orders the building to be quarantined and District One to be put into Code Red lockdown. Civilians are herded into safe rooms, but despite the precautions, Don breaks into a room containing a large crowd and quickly causes a domino effect of attackers. Scarlet rescues Tammy and Andy as the soldiers in District One are ordered to shoot indiscriminately. Doyle, unable to bring himself to comply with the order, abandons his post and escapes with Scarlet, Tammy, Andy, and several others through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. General Stone orders District One to be firebombed, but large numbers of the infected, including Don, escape the bombardment. Scarlet informs Doyle that the children might hold the key to a cure and must be protected at all costs. Flynn arrives by helicopter to pick up Doyle, but he refuses to take anyone else, as they would be shot down for carrying possibly infected people.

Flynn contacts Doyle by radio and tells him to head to Wembley Stadium, but to leave the civilians. Doyle ignores his instructions and escorts the civilians to Wembley. He breaks into an abandoned car to escape nerve gas released to kill the infected, but is burned alive by soldiers as he tries to push start the car. Scarlet escapes an Apache gunship and drives Tammy and Andy into the London Underground, where the trio continues on foot. Don ambushes and kills Scarlet, then bites Andy. Tammy shoots Don before he can kill Andy, who remains symptom-free but an unknown carrier of the Rage virus. They continue to the stadium and are picked up by a reluctant Flynn, who flies them across the English Channel to France, as previously instructed by Doyle.

Twenty-eight days later, a French-accented voice requesting help is heard from the radio in Flynn's abandoned helicopter. A group of the infected are then seen running through a tunnel which, as they emerge into the open, is revealed to be the exit of the Paris Métro Trocadéro station with a view of the nearby Eiffel Tower.

Cast

• Further information: List of 28 Days/Weeks Later characters
• Robert Carlyle as Don
• Rose Byrne as Scarlet
• Jeremy Renner as Doyle
• Harold Perrineau as Flynn
• Catherine McCormack as Alice
• Mackintosh Muggleton as Andy
• Imogen Poots as Tammy
• Idris Elba as Stone

User Review

When I first heard there was to be a sequel to Danny Boyle's excellent 28 Days Later and that Boyle himself would not be directing it, I was less than excited.

Then the reviews began flooding in and I was surprised, shocked even, that the majority of them were positive.

It was then after the well respected film critic Mark Kermode said it was "very good" and "better than we had any right to expect" that I began to raise my expectations.

Im happy to report that they were exceeded by a sequel that surpasses the original in terms of tension and spectacle.

Boyle remained on board with the project, albeit as a producer, but also directed some second unit footage and never allows it to veer away from the look or feel of his original.

Not that he had cause to worry as the new director,Juan Carlos Fresnadillo obviously understood Boyle's vision and expands on it without getting too carried away.

The result is a faster paced, less reflective film, containing a very intelligent political subtext and some fantastic action set pieces that (and this is the most important part) delivers a large number of quality scares.

It also dwarfs 28 days later in terms of gore, meaning true horror fans have much more in the way of visceral glee to sink their teeth into (pun intended).