As such, it's not really the kind of material tailor-made for high-def. The film was shot on a variety of stocks, including Super 16, Super 35, and HD video. I wish it had served up a more satisfying climax, but '28 Weeks Later' remains one of the better recent entries in the genre.įox presents '28 Weeks Later' in 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video in the film's original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio. Even if you didn't love '28 Days Later' (or haven't even seen it), this sequel is one of the few that legitimately worksĪs a stand-alone film. Still, '28 Weeks Later' offers enough ambitious ideas and truly scary moments that it's well worth seeing. As such, the last 20 minutes are all action, as we stumble to the film's cliched gory conclusion. After setting up such a potent vision of the future, and a genuinely intriguing family of three-dimensional characters, the conventions of the genre would seem to demand that intelligence take a back seat to visceral shock. Unfortunately, the film falters as it nears its conclusion. When '28 Weeks Later' is able to successfully merge its more high-minded thematic ambitions with its technique, it's downright invigorating. The second act turning-point, the infamous "lockdown" sequence, is particularly impressive, both as a expertly-staged example of cinematic horror and as a brutal critique of the what has, historically, been the ineptitude of a military response '28 Weeks Later' makes many allusions to the current Iraq war (most oblique, a few heavy-handed), and stages such horrifying setpieces that at times it's as effective as any of the greatest war films. In shades of gray, '28 Weeks Later' also shares another key trait with the best films in zombie genre in that its underlying tension is often derived from the question of who's the bigger monster - the zombies, or us? ' Land of the Dead.' Likewise, in painting its human heroes (and the military forces meant to protect them) George Romero has made a career out of it, and 'Weeks' certainly owes more than a passing nod to the city-under-siege scenario of Romero's recent Needless to say, this turf will not be unfamiliar to any zombie movie fan. But when the clan's presumably deceased mother returns, seemingly immune to the zombie virus, some unpleasant family dynamics erupt, and soon all hell will once again break loose. Surviving members of a local English family (including 'World is Not Enough' Bond villain Robert Carlyle), who have been relocated to London. Now 28 weeks beyond the events of 'Days,' and most of the major cities have been quarantined, turned into virtual walled fortresses meant to keep the uninfected people in, and the drooling zombies out. Simply put, 'Weeks' jettisons all of theĬharacters from 'Days,' and creates a plausible scenario for where the world might have gone following the events of the first film. It's a delicate tight-wire act for any sequel to attempt, and even if '28 Weeks Later' is not a superior film to '28 Days Later,' it's certainly one of the better follow-ups in recent memory.Īs the sequel's plot takes quite a few twists and turns, I won't spoil much of it with plot recap. But how do you continue a story that saw just about the entire world overrun by infected zombies? It says a great deal about '28 Weeks Later' that it manages to both extend the original's storyline in a fairly believable, coherent way, but also expand the depth and scope of its themes. Rare for a genre film, '28 Days Later' was also well-received both critically and commercially, and the film - shot for a paltry $8 million - went on to gross nearly $85 million worldwide.Īlthough '28 Days Later' worked just fine as a self-contained, one-shot deal, given its tidy gross, a sequel was probably inevitable. It was a bloody, violent, scary little sleeper, and finally zombie fans had reason to celebrate. Instead, the film re-imagined the concept for a post-9/11 world flush with fears of terrorism, military imperialism and medical technology run amok. Danny Boyle's tense and kinetic action-horror fest was one of the few post-George Romero zombie flicks to successfully jettison the long-stale formula of shuffling corpses attacking dumb suburbanites in farmhouses. Released in 2003, ' 28 Days Later' was a breath of fresh air for the zombie genre.
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