28 WEEKS LATER ...: DVD

SYNOPSIS:
Six months after the rage virus has annihilated mainland Britain, the US Army declares it safe to begin reconstruction of the country. Among the first of the refugees returning to a deserted and demarcated London, are Don (Robert Carlyle) - reunited with his young son Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) and daughter Tammy (Imogen Poots). Don had barely escaped with his life when the infected attacked their hiding place, and he had to leave his wife Alice (Catherine McCormack) to the marauding murderers. But the relative calm is shattered when the rage virus again manifests itself - via the most surprising carrier, whose blood may contain a natural antidote, as Chief Medical Officer Scarlet (Rose Byrne) discovers. The Army invokes Code Red, the ultimate solution, and the children's lives are again at great risk.

Review by Andrew L. Urban:
A bloody and ugly mutation of 28 Days Later, this film is a gross error of judgement for all concerned, from the predictably repetitive plot resting on the freaky premise of its progenitor to the anti-cinematic whiz-blur-cam that passes for cinematography to the nihilistic execution (literally). Hundreds if not thousands of bodies are sacrificed in an orgy of blood letting that really by-passes the genre essentials and go(r)es straight into the old video nasty bucket. What a sordid little surprise from the Danny Boyles (originator of the premise and here as Exec Prod) and Juan Carlos Fresnadillos (director) of this world.

A blistering, faux heavy metal soundtrack works like a wall of sound, meshed with the found sound of the action, to obliterate any possibility of escape from the ambiance of a London made even more hideously sombre than it is in reality.

Performances are largely hidden behind prosthetics and blood or effects, except for the two children who manage to maintain their dignity while all about them the adults are losing theirs. But that's about all one can say for them. Danny Boyle gives a gargoyle performance once infected, managing to pop up in the vicinity of his escaping kids whenever the plot needs a burst of blood.

The infected masses are never seen for more than a nanosecond and usually in a whirr of hand held camera movement, so it is ironic to read in the production notes how much effort went into training them. I don't think I can recommend 28 Weeks Later to anyone, not even genuine horror fans.

Published October 25, 2007