28 Weeks Later (2007)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Writers:

Rowan Joffe (screenplay) &
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 May 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

It All Begins Again

Plot:

Six months after the rage virus was inflicted on the population of Great Britain, the US Army helps to secure a small area of London for the survivors to repopulate and start again. But not everything goes to plan.

Plot Keywords:

London | Rage | U.S. Army | Infection | Blood

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 18

4:10 AM

HBO

Cast

Robert Carlyle	...	Don
Catherine McCormack	...	Alice
Rose Byrne	...	Scarlet
Jeremy Renner	...	Doyle
Harold Perrineau	...	Flynn
Idris Elba	...	Stone
Imogen Poots	...	Tammy
Mackintosh Muggleton	...	Andy
Amanda Walker	...	Sally
Shahid Ahmed	...	Jacob
Garfield Morgan	...	Geoff
Emily Beecham	...	Karen
Beans El-Balawi	...	Boy in Cottage (as Beans Balawi)
Meghan Popiel	...	DLR Soldier
Stewart Alexander	...	Military Officer

Also Known As:

28 semanas después (Spain)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, language and some sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK | Spain

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:16 (theatrical rating) | UK:18 | Singapore:R21 | Hong Kong:IIB | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Australia:MA | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | Malaysia:18SG | USA:R (certificate #43475) | New Zealand:R18 | Germany:18 | Argentina:16 | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Mexico:C | Norway:18 | Brazil:18 | France:-12 (with warning) | South Africa:18 | Finland:K-18 | Chile:14 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Taiwan:R-12 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-13 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 | India:A (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Aldwych Underground Station, Aldwych, Holborn, London, England, UK

Company:

Fox Atomic

Trivia:

All of the night scenes involving Andy, Tammy, Scarlet, Doyle and Sam's journey across London to escape the bombs were shot day-for-night using a new technique created specifically for the film by director of photography Enrique Chediak. The scenes were shot day-for-night for three reasons. Firstly, because the filmmakers weren't allowed to use Mackintosh Muggleton (Andy) at night time. Secondly, because there is supposed to be a total shut down of all power in London, hence every building must appear light-less. However, if one were to actually shoot at night time in London, this would be impossible to capture photo-realistically and would hence involve complex post-production work removing all of the lights. By shooting during the day time however, there are few lights on in most buildings anyway, and as such, when the day-for-night treatment is applied to the film stock, everything in the image darkens equally, thus giving the impression that all of the buildings are in total darkness. Thirdly, director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has always been a big fan of the 'ghostly' quality day-for-night shooting has, and he felt it would create the perfect sense of unease for the film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: About halfway into the movie, the "infected" charge frantically down the dark tunnel. When they reach the stairs, they all slow down, take small steps, and grab the side rails to avoid falling.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Donald Harris: What are you going to cook?
Alice: Your favorite.
Donald Harris: What, again?

Movie Connections:

References Jaws (1975)

Soundtrack:

Kiss of Death

Rip roaring, Genre explosion, takes the series to a whole new level

28 Weeks Later, the sequel to the Danny Boyle art-house horror cult smash, was at the bottom of the list of movies one would look forward to. The first film was, in my opinion, an overlooked classic, it was raw, realistic and the performances from Cillian Murphy and troop where tour-DE-force. The thought of American's invading a British horror film made many worried, and it was quite distracting throughout the film, but it doesn't suffer much from it, and the film-makers wisely don't take it too far. Very much like Aliens (the action packed sequel to Alien) 28 Weeks Later is much more action orientated, and elevates the mythology of the first film to a whole new level. There are some truly thrilling moments in the film, some of the highlights being the napalm detonations, and night vision sequence in the subway, the night vision sequence is easily one of the most terrifying moments in cinema this year. The script is of high caliber, but is does have some frustrating moments, particularly the fact that most of the problems the characters face, are due to lack of communication between the characters. But these quibs are minor. Other impressive mensionables is the two young leads, who have the almighty task of carrying the film, they do a fantastic job. The film also smartly re-uses God Speed You Black Emperor and John Murphy's superb rock score, and the all round style of the first film is maintained, the only difference being the first film was shot on DV, this one on film. If your a fan of the first film, you'll go ga ga over 28 Week's, it's the quintessential blood soaked adrenaline rush, and one of the best sequels i've seen in a long time.

Verdict: Bring a seat to hide under.