28 Weeks Later

Dir: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. 2007.

I was looking forward to this one because I liked the first. The idea was better and more realistic than a straight up zombie film, and thus more frightening. Personally I've never understood the fascination with zombies. The idea of a plague of fleshing eating corpses might hold up for one or two films, but for a whole genre to pivot on the idea seems to indicate something deeper and more profound than I can identify. Due to my friends collection of zombie films, I've seen more than a few and I've never really liked them. '28 Days Later' seemed to provide the same post apocolyptic ambience but without the need to suspend ones disbelief so far that it defeated the purpose of enjoying the movie.

'28 weeks later' takes place as the US military attempts to recolonise the UK and already here we run into problems. First, why are they based in the middle of London? The UK is full of area's more suited to recolonisation than the Isle of Dogs. This just doesn't make sense to me.

Second, the plot hinges on two returning children and their parents who survived the initial onslaught. Without giving too much away, I can only say that I found the notion that Carlyle's character, essentially a janitor, would have security access to the very heart of the US military's medical facility, to be a rather ridiculous.

I didn't think too much of ithis film to be honest. Compared to 'Quartermass and the Pit', this just loses itself in the blur of back ground imagery. The original concept of the first film is not really expanded upon and there is no point to this film except to dispel the 'happy ending' of the first. The hand held camera work was really annoying and the whole Green-Zone-going-out-of-control equally so. I don't know what it is about these types of films, but I've yet to see a sci fi film where military commanders are any thing but clueless morons. Military incompetence appears to be a staple of western popular culture and this film was no exception.