28 Weeks Later [DVD] [2007]

Danny Boyle directed 28 Days Later, and he exec-produced this sequel as part of his burgeoning partnership with Alex Garland. Directing duties fell to Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, creator of 2001's ingenious Intacto. He stamps his authority on the picture with a startling opening sequence: a dizzying attack on a country farmhouse, which not only violently reminds us that these are far from George Romero's shambling knuckle-draggers, but also that anyone - man or woman, young or old - is fair game. It sets the tone. It sets the rules.

Next we're thrown into a grimy, semi-deserted London (reminiscent of another Spanish-speaking director's apocalyptic vision, Children of Men). It's here that Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) arrive to meet their father, Don (Robert Carlyle). But something is rotten as a corpse within the family unit, and the kids take it upon themselves to sneak out of the militarised zone to put a full-stop on their unfinished childhood. What they discover unleashes hell, and it's up to the US occupying forces, led by a stolid Idris Elba, to quash the infected insurgency.

The film's early sequences contain some creepy, classical horror imagery, usually concerning Catherine McCormack's stricken Alice, before the film gives way to a series of expansive, logic-be-damned action set-pieces. As a marriage of styles it's not quite as broken as Alice and Don's, but it makes the film feel lopsided.

While The Walking Dead proves that the zombie holocaust genre hasn't really the flesh to fill a whole series, an extra 20 minutes wouldn't have gone amiss from 28 Weeks, just to add a little meat to the bony characters - particularly Jeremy Renner's pragmatic Doyle, who seems to be riding on a kind of Hurt Locker zephyr, but with hints of a heart. Rose Byrne, likewise, as Scarlet, can only show a glimmer of the utilitarian behind the perma-frown.

There's no profundity on offer here, just basic moral dilemmas as fleeting as a moving target in a gun sight. At a push there's a veiled allegory about post-war Britain's reliance on the US; and moreover, particularly in one barmy sniper sequence, a crack at repeated "friendly fire" debacles in the theatres of madness mired in the Middle East. But it's really about the visceral thrills. Like its predecessor, budget restraints are a blessing not a curse, forcing imaginative film-craft and rabid performances into the space that, one fears, CGI excess will occupy when the infection extends to 28 Months.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS
I enjoyed the 1st film, but found this one a let down.
The plot didn't feel remotely convincing - the idea that a well-organised military set-up would leave the only known immune carrier of the virus completely unattended and that her husband (not in the military) would be allowed to have unrestricted access to just about anywhere within the military containment area, so he could sneak in to see her (and end up getting infected and start the whole outbreak off) is hard to take seriously - not to mention a supposedly well-organised military containment of a deadly humankind-threatening virus that is so useless that even 2 teenagers can easily slip through it unnoticed.
And when the outbreak happens, why is there such a panic? It has already been established that Britain has been evacutated apart from the small group of people in the containment area - and that the infected die out naturally without other non-infected people to pass it on to - so at worst it would just mean letting the outbreak die out again (only far far quicker since there's nobody else in Britain to keep passing it on this time.)
Having the Robery Carlisle zombie miraculously appear at exactly the right point in London for an chance meeting with his kids seems riduculously unlikely too.
There are a few good bits in the film, the opening sequence is really well done, but after that it's let down by such an unconvincing plot full of implausible events that it's hard to feel drawn in and take it seriously at all.

I wasn't a fan of the first film. After a promising opening the story became laboured & I lost interest towards the end. With expectations fairly low I was caught off balance by how much I enjoyed this.

Whilst the build up is slow it's never boring. The main characters & interplay in the first half are interesting enough to draw you in & there is always a subtle sense of unease hinting that bad things are going to happen.

When the action finally kicks into gear there's a noticable shift in pace. This isn't just a series of jump scares & jolts for laughs, the objective is clearly to unsettle the viewer. There's a genuine feeling of panic. When things do turn nasty any restraint evidenced early on goes out of the window - be warned, this is not for the squeamish!

Both the performances from the actors & the script are excellent & the reactions given to the escalating horror are truly believable. It doesn't insult your intelligence by shoehorning the story elements. This feels like a genuine continuation from where the first movie left off.

A genuine surprise. A rare horror sequel that builds on the original & broadens the story rather than a lazy retread inspired by pound signs [a stigma many sequels have failed to overcome]. Highly recommended - to horror fans with a strong stomach!!