28 Weeks Later is Worth the Wait
Sequel to 28 Days Later Offers a Bloody Good Time
Picking up the story 7 months after the end of the first movie, the U.S. government allows refugees back into London, believing that the Rage virus no longer is a threat.
Sometimes it’s hard to tell how much time has passed between movie sequels, but the appropriately-named “28 Weeks Later” leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind. After a brief opening sequence, the action picks up approximately 7 months after the horrific events that took place in “28 Days Later.”
Robert Carlyle (“Trainspotting”) plays Don, who, along with a handful of other people, has managed to avoid catching Rage, the virus that has turned many London residents into insane, flesh-hungry monsters. Don, his wife Alice (Catherine McCormack) and the other survivors live quietly in a little country cottage, but their supply of uncontaminated food is quickly running out.
Lack of supplies becomes the least of their worries, however, after a group of the infected attacks their cottage. One-by-one, the survivors fall victim to the infected and, in a supreme act of cowardice, Don manages to escape the crazed mob in a speedboat, leaving Alice behind to fend for herself.
Over the next 28 weeks, all the infected people die off and the United States military, which has come to England to help with the crisis, declares that the country now is safe for civilians. The soldiers allow refugees back into London, carefully scanning everyone for any signs of disease or infection. All survivors now must live in one secure zone since the rest of the country is littered with trash, rats and dead bodies.
By this time, Don has become quite an important person in the government and uses his influence his children, Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) and Tammy (Imogen Poots), transferred from a refugee camp in Spain to his luxurious condo in London. Don tells them that their mother is now dead and, because their old house sits in a contaminated area, they can never go back there.
Being kids, though, Andy and Tammy don’t listen and break through the security barrier to go collect some personal belongings from their old place. When they get there, they are shocked to find that their mother is still alive and has someone managed to avoid infection.
London's chief medical officer (Rose Byrne) discovers that Alice's blood contains the Rage virus, but she is unaffected by it. If they can find out what makes her unique, the military can develop a vaccine.
One of the more intelligent zombie films to come along, “28 Weeks Later” is bloody, violent and extremely well-written. Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo doesn’t skimp on the gore and finds a memorable way to dispose of the crazed zombies using a military-issue helicopter in one scene.
Robert Carlyle also gives a suitably sleazy performance as Don, a supposedly devoted husband who, when given the opportunity, decides to save his own skin instead of helping his wife escape the Rage mob. Don’s actions are, in many ways, more frightening than the behavior of the Rage victims.
“28 Weeks Later” is high-class horror all the way and definitely worth the four-year wait between sequels.
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