28 Weeks Later'

Plot Outline
28 Weeks Later, the follow up to the higely successful 28 Days Later, picks up six months after the rage virus has annihilated the Brtish Isles. The US Army declares that the war against infection has been won, and that reconstruction of the country can begin .. but they could not be more wrong. As the first wave of refugees arrive, and a family is reunited, a terrible secret is revealed.

Overal Impressions:
I never expected much from this, because it always looked to me like an unnecessary sequel to a pretty decent stand-alone film.

Especially when I found out that Danny Boyle has left the director's chair. My thoughts were, well he's moved on, studios have realised there's money still to be made here, let's not waste this opportunity, I may not be wrong, this may be why they did it, but I don't think so having seen it now, because the sequel is extremely good.

I've stated a few times before, I'm not big on horror, in fact I'm easily irritated by it, so to impress me with a horror in itself is quite something. What sold it to me is the beginning, we're pretty much at that 28 Days Later stage of 'the infected' who I shall refer to as Zombies, hunting down the few human survivors. The entire setup was flawless.

They introduce Don, (No, this is not why I liked the film) played by Robert Carlyle who discusses with his wife how it's been a gift to them that their children are far away from all this and safe. That they'll get through this and as expected before you can say 'you sank my battleship', their abode gets attacked by the zombies, there is a key moment here where Don has to decide whether to run for his life or try to save his almost dead wife, like most human beings would, he runs. This opening had me hooked, it seemed straight out of life & real.

As the film then moved onto 28 Weeks Later, the whole US army on the ready scenario, the return of some refugees, it was all well paced, the calm before the storm, and what a storm.

The very moment where the virus gets back into motion was a shock even though you know it has to happen. From here it's all very much what you expect and more, but for once I actually cared for the characters on-screen as opposed to hoping they'd just die miserably. The zombies are efficient, their stealth certainly adds to their 'scare' factor (which reminds me I need to get my ass to the gym more often and work up one of those 'stamina' things, currently I'd stand no chance at survival).

There is use of shaky camera around the zombie attacks, but unlike what I've heard people say, this isn't a hindrance at all, in fact its highly effective. The ending is quite predictable, but you wouldn't really have it any other way. It's what you'd expect and plausible.

One of the main things that I liked about this film is that there is more to it than a simple zombie-fest, I won't spoil it but there is a sense of depth in the narrative which I don't think you'd normally find in such horrors. Another huge plus, that I think it's be wrong not to mention is the background music, which if I'm correct was also in the original film and is highly effective.

Overall, if you haven't seen a horror in a while and fancy it or are just curious, make sure you see this one, if you're a horror fan you're certainly in for a treat, if you're squirmish and are likely to get a heart attack because you're not cut out for horrors, stay clear, this one's probably not for you.

Lives up to expectations & more. One of the best horrors I've seen. (7.5 out of 10)