28 Weeks Later
Thursday, May 24, 2007 at 4:11PM 
Year: 2007
Writer: Rowan Joffe & Juan Carlos Fresnadillo & Jesus Olmo
Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Budget: ?
Domestic Gross: $20 180 401 as of May 22, 2007
i have to say i was hesitant to see 28 Weeks Later, and there are two main reasons for that. the first was that i am not a huge horror movie fan (i enjoy the good ones, but, unlike some of my horror movie geek friends, i am not one to rush out and see the latest scary movie just because it is a scary movie). the second, and probably more important reason, was that it wasn't directed by danny boyle. when i heard that the original director and writer of 28 Days Later weren't involved in this film (they got executive producer credit) it kind of turned me off (i felt the same way about T3 when i learnt that james cameron wasn't directing it). obviously, however, since i am writing about it, not only did i go see 28 Weeks Later, but i actually really enjoyed it.
The funny thing is, that, while it is technically a sequel to 28 Days Later, you don't have to have seen the first one to enjoy/understand this one. after the opening scene they basically cover the entire first movie and set the stage for this one with about 5 title cards (taking you through the progression from 15 days later to 28 weeks later). then you are all caught up and ready to go.
those expecting as complete a film as 28 Days Later should go in with less expectations. while the first film had a stronger storyline and characters, 28 Weeks Later is a different kind of film. 28 Weeks Later is a cool zombie movie. the script is kind of thin and the story is pretty typical, but the movie is scary, gory and fun. and this is coming from someone who finds zombie movies usually pretty boring after about the first 30 minutes, when it just becomes chasing and killing and screaming and more chasing... (see the remake of Dawn Of The Dead). however, with this one i didn't feel that. but don't worry, there is plenty of chasing and killing and screaming, etc...
the score is great and there are numerous times when the music would fill the screen during some sequence of zombie chasing and/or gore. a lot of it was like a cool, scary, gory, zombie rock video, which normally might be an insult to the film, but i mean it in a good way this time.
the director, juan carlos fresnadillo's first film was 2001's Intacto. this was an original and interesting film that just didn't work for me in the end. it did however show a director with promise, and while 28 Weeks Later isn't a masterpiece by any means, it does show the talent of a director that can make a film in a tired and typical genre stand out from the other recent attempts in said niche.
they picked a rough time to release the film with Spider-Man 3 doing record business and now Shrek 3 kicking ass and taking names. but, if you are looking for a solid, fun zombie movie then 28 Weeks Later is well worth the price of admission (and having seen Spider-Man 3 i can tell you that one isn't).
Reader Comments (4)
First of all I really liked "28 Days" and had the very same misgivings about "28 Weeks" for pretty much all the same reasons. However, I felt better when I learned it was being directed by Fresnadillo because I really liked "Intacto".I should mention that I really liked the plot of this one and though I was disapointed none of the original cast returned felt like this was agreat direction to take the story in. My main complaint with the movie pretty much comes down to direction. I really felt Juan took everything I liked about the first one and did it wrong.When 28 Days came out I was massively against digital 8. I felt it made movies look unbelievably cheap and took me out of flicks that I may have otherwise liked. "Pieces of April" & Spike Lee's "Bamboozled" for instance. "28 Days" however was the only film to take this deficeit and turned it into a fantastic positive. The use of digital 8 gave everything a documentarian feel of realism. The stylistic device of stutter cut zombie attacks were used sparingly enough to jar you without overwelming or confusing you.
Then comes "28 Weeks". The gritty realism is replaced by a bigger bugeted production. The hyper editing is totally over the top and literally headache inducing. I don't mind confusion when it's done right as in "Children of Men" but sequences in "28 Weeks" meant to give that sense of confusion just frustrated me. There were also several smaller plot points and moments that I don't want to give away but totally made me say "What the HELL?!?" I own "28 Days" and am willing to stand in line for "28 Months" but I gotta tell ya "28 Weeks" really dissapointed me.
P.S. I totally agree with you on Spiderman 3! I liked some of the Sandman effects and totally enjoyed Topher Grace but that was it.
The wheels have come off the cart and Spiderman is now outta control!
- actually i hear what you are saying but for me 28 Weeks later just worked.
like i mentioned in the review, i am normally not one to enjoy zombie movies that much past the first part of the film (there are exceptions of course: the Night Of The Living Dead and a few others i can't think of right now) but for some reason i really had a fun/scary/viscerally entertaining time with 28 Weeks later and i was with it right to the end. the music, that crazy fire-'bombing' sequence, the poison gaz making its way through the streets, it all worked for me enough that the 'problems' weren't problems. ya, the script is not on par with the first film and there isn't as much story or character depth, but it knows what it is and it does it well.
By the way how hard do you think it'll be for the government to try repopulate a second time?
"Ummmm...we had a few hiccups and kinda had to shoot everybody.....but uuuhhh we've worked out the bugs....Who wants to be a pioneer?....come on it'll be fun....anyone?"
since when do we trust our governments enough to believe them when they say everything is safe now just 6 months after the most destructive and violent virus in the countries history has made its way through the population.