28 Weeks Later

UK Release Date. 11 May 2007
Certification. 18
Running Time. 1 hour 39 mins
Director. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Cast. Rose Byrne, Robert Carlyle, Idris Elba, Catherine McCormack, Mackintosh Muggleton, Imogen Poots, Jeremy Renner.
Rating. 69%

Review.

Set six months after the initial outbreak, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s 28 Weeks Later sees a Britain under NATO occupation, with a quarantine zone established in Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs. Outside of the nation’s capital, the virus is believed to have run its course and the infected have died out. The process of rehabilitation and resettlement can begin. Among the first citizens to return are two children, Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton), whose presence reintroduces a fragile sense of family, and, ultimately, the virus itself.

Where 28 Days Later ended with a “five-minute nerve-shredding action sequence in torrential rain and with a berserk, red-eyed infected rampaging through the country mansion”, 28 Weeks Later opens with an equally bravura five-minute sequence. We are introduced to a small group of characters, including Don (Robert Carlyle) and Alice (Catherine McCormack), hiding out in a small, rural farmhouse, which almost immediately comes under siege. From this explosive opening sequence alone, it is clear Fresnadillo understands what made the first film so potent - urgency. A chaotic, kinetic and jaw-dropping opening, including frenetic editing and a tracking shot of Don running for his life harks back to the distinctive camerawork employed in 28 Days Later. Don, caught between a horde of infected and a split-second moral choice, becomes the film’s symbol of moral failure. His cowardice sets the tone for a narrative that isn’t interested in heroism, so much as consequence.

Given the impressive opening, the remainder of Fresnadillo’s 28 Weeks Later is slightly disappointing, hampered by a weaker narrative and unfathomable plot decisions. Instead of characterisation, 28 Weeks Later relies heavily on explosions and action sequences. If you can embrace 28 Weeks Later as more of an action film than a sharp political allegory like the first film, then these issues soon dissipate. For example, John Murphy’s returning score pulses with dread, creating an atmosphere that feels unstable even in quieter scenes.

The film is ruthless and not only in the way it spares no one from the plague or bullet. But where Boyle’s 28 Days Later considered human connection and emotional repair, 28 Weeks Later is much colder. 28 Days Later built terror out of silence and isolation, 28 Weeks Later trades in chaos and failure. 

Fresnadillo’s film paints a bleak portrait of survival.