28 Weeks Later (2007)

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.

Director:

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Writers:

Rowan Joffe (screenplay), Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (screenplay),

Stars:

Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner

2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Carlyle	...	Don
Rose Byrne	...	Scarlet
Jeremy Renner	...	Doyle
Harold Perrineau	...	Flynn
Catherine McCormack	...	Alice
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

Storyline

28 Weeks Later picks up six months after the Rage Virus has decimated the city of London. The US Army has restored order and is repopulating the quarantined city, when a carrier of the Rage Virus enters London and unknowingly re-ignites the spread of the deadly infection and the nightmare begins... again.

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Plot Keywords:

rage | u.s. army | infection | paris france | spanish horror | 

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Taglines:

When days turn to weeks, the horror returns.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox [ru]

Country:

UK Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 May 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

28 semaines plus tard

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£1,575,620 (UK) (11 May 2007)

Gross:

$28,637,507 (USA) (10 August 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Atomic, DNA Films, UK Film Council

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Most of the filming of the US Army Camp took place during the weekend of 21st/22nd October 2006 in the courtyard outside the Citypoint Building, Ropemaker Street, London EC2. A large number of tents with US flags, cast in military dress and vehicles were in place. Additionally access to the sub-floor car park area appears to have been given to shoot an underground scene.

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Goofs

The route the survivors took around London, and the distances involved, would not be possible in the time frame as shown in the film.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Like the first film, there are no opening credits of any kind once the company logos have appeared. Also like the first film, the title of the film appears only as a descriptive subtitle.

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Connections

References Demons 2 (1986)

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Soundtracks

"In The House - In A Heartbeat"
Written and Performed by John Murphy
Courtesy of XL Recordings

User Reviews

a good sequel of a decent horror movie

European horror movies used to be theatrical, low-budget and suffering from it, and badly edited. Like its predecessor, 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later is nothing like that. I must say this is one of the best horror movies I have seen (and I have seen hundreds), for a number of reasons. Although the movie does juggle many clichés, it does so kind of skillfully, so that you can really expect to be surprised. Most importantly, however, the sequel is as good as the original, which is the greatest surprise of all in the horror genre.

The main gimmick here, like in the original, is a mix of the zombie theme and the killer virus theme. The zombies here are extremely hyped-up, not doped, and instead of being bent on eating the flesh of the living, they behave like rage-driven human beings stripped completely of their superego and ego, and left with the instinct to fight (and yes, as it's the result of a scientific experiment gone bad, the movie can be considered sci-fi). Perhaps due to the fact that this is an European movie, we get something markedly different from the Resident Evil franchise - here, in placed of Resident Evil's focus on showcasing pretty actresses and made-up high-tech, we are treated to a foreboding feeling of isolation and powerlessness in face of helplessness and doom. We get to see normal, everyday people and faces struggling to survive, when practically everyone around them can quickly become the embodiment of evil and destruction. 28 Weeks Later focuses a little more on some action elements than, say, on the question of how long people can uphold their morality and respect for their fellow woman in such peril, but still, this movie stands proudly as a horror flick. And, like I said, it is different - with its crisp visuals (unlike the music-video lushness of a lot of Hollywood film scare), haunting and memorable music and unaffected performances. There are some loopholes in the plot, of course (e.g. really not enough few safety precautions on the part of the military for such a dangerous epidemic potential), but the movie runs smoothly throughout, and even the child actors deliver.

There are better movies with a similar feel (such as Children of Men), but as a sequel to a decent horror movie, 28 Weeks Later certainly stands out. By the way, I think that watching 28 Weeks Later will be an especially scary experience for Londoners, as most of it is set in London. Londoners, beware.