Modern Mondays: 28 Weeks Later (2007)

28 Weeks Later (2007)

Released: May 11th, 2007

Genre: Horror, Science Fiction

Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Writers: Rowan Joffee, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Enrique López Lavigne, Jesús Olmo

Cast: Jeremy Renner, Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Idris Elba, Imogen Poots

Opening Thoughts:

Surprised I never wrote about this film, but here we are! I’ve long been annoyed by the use of zombies in this film. Because it isn’t exactly the same as the zombies we are familiar with. Where recently deceased people rise from the grave or wherever they may be to feast on the organs and flesh of their living counterparts. Instead, we have living people with a catastrophic virus (rage-virus) that overtakes their system almost instantly and makes them hyper-violent and completely lose their sense of self.

Plot:

The continuation of the pandemic. A mere 28 weeks after the events of 28 Days (2002)

Dislikes:

I dislike it when horror movies force certain things. That horror movie logic kicks in and it pulls me from the movie. The best horror films for me are those that I see as more reasonable and shocking. That being said, I know how some people are and common sense is not a feature. So there are people very much like this.

I can hate a character or I can love them. Or perhaps I can relate to a character. The worst thing is when you have nobody to connect with. Nobody to support or root against. You have one-dimensional characters that do not grow throughout your story. These characters are unlikeable and unreasonable. They do intensely stupid things that make no sense. How they survived this long in such an environment is a wonder.

Likes:

For the hardcore horror fanatic, the film has some Intense and sometimes gory action sequences. There is an underlying sense of tension that builds throughout the film. Things become worse and worse as the characters create and then react to new problems thanks to their actions.

It provides a semi-realistic interpretation of zombies. A virus that infects the brain and shuts down rationality is actually more possible than most other forms of zombies.

In the state of a terrible disaster, human emotion and sentimentality can be the destruction fo all things. I don’t care if it was a family member, they are dead now. I don’t care if you don’t have a photo, survive long enough, and maybe you get that back. You don’t break quarantine rules during a “zombie apocalypse”. This film shows how human emotion can take an already terrible situation and make it far worse.

Closing Thoughts:

28 Weeks Later successfully builds upon the original’s premise and features a strong cast and plenty of gruesome sequences to satiate your bloodlust. That said, the film relies on various conveniences and plenty of horror movie logic to work out the way it does.