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28 Weeks Later

Film // Vanessa // 9th June 2007

Robert Carlyle has already tasted human flesh in the chilling Ravenous, so his stint in the sequel to zombie movie 28 Days Later shouldn't leave him squeamish. But those who expect 28 Weeks Later to be as raw and believable as the original may be left disappointed.

The story begins, as you'd guess, 28 weeks after the Rage virus wipes out most of Britain's humans, turning them into drooling zombies. The American military (God bless 'em!) have flown in to start rebuilding London.

28 Weeks Later: Shouting, running

The opening sequence is fantastic, just as gripping as the whole of the first film. Dom (Carlyle) and his wife Alice (played by Braveheart's Catherine McCormack) are hidden away in a boarded up country house with other uninfected survivors. The atmosphere's tense, with the few sitting around the table ready for dinner jumping at every sound.

But the calm doesn't last long and soon it's a fight for survival. Lots of running and shouting feature through most of this film, as do stupid decisions you just know you wouldn't make if you were in that position - which is what makes some parts of this film quite frustrating. Especially as the first was spot on.
Carlyle doesn't really convince as the dad whose children are sent back (they were abroad when the virus hit), with thousands of others by Americans to start re-populating the capital -and his children are just plain annoying.

Americans do what they do best in this - a lot of shooting and killing. But for the first time you find yourself thinking well, what else could they do? 28 Weeks Later isn't a bad film. But what made the first one so great was the feeling of isolation it created and you could relate to the characters' determination to survive.

There was always a danger of a second film just being another zombie flick and sadly, 28 Weeks Later is on the verge of being just that.

Oh, and the ending leaves the film wide open for a 52 Weeks Later, which would turn them into a bit of a joke.