FIRST UP I chose.............
28 WEEKS LATER (2007)
Directed by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (say that 3 times fast)
Written by: A whole bunch of people I am too lazy to list.
Starring: Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, and Jeremy Renner
NOW....anyone that knows me knows that I like my horror straight forward, with little to no genre bending. I like em' serious. I like em' dark. And I like em' scary. This film delivers the goods. It's a gory, fun ride that is almost too intense to handle in places. It's sort of a zombie film (more on that in a bit)...but mostly just a kick ass survival story.
This film is a sequel to the 2002 film 28 Days Later, which I am sort of ashamed to admit I was not a huge fan of. I thought it played too heavily on the military subplot and failed to deliver what I expected would revitalize the zombie genre....although it sort of did. The "zombies" in these films are not zombies at all, yet normal, everyday folks who are inflicted with a "Rage" virus that turns them into monsters. Once infected they are maniacal, fast, and hunt alone and in packs. This virus is passed through bites, saliva, etc. In the original film a man wakes up from a coma to find the city of London deserted in a sort of post apocalyptic haze. Upon investigation he is soon attacked by raving maniacs and must fend them off with other survivors in a remote house....a la Night of the Living Dead.
In the sequel we learn that 28 weeks after the original events London has been virtually wiped out by quarantining the rage virus to the main island. The infected have officially starved and are all dead. The island is proclaimed safe yet still quarantined. Survivors are now herded back to London but are forbidden by the military to cross into the quarantined zones, even if they lived there. They are to find new homes and rebuild.
A father who escaped a farmhouse after a major attack is reunited with his 2 children (a younger brother and teenage sister) during their return to London. Upon their reunion he tells them the events which eventually led to the death of their mother. The children, devastated decide to sneak out of the safe zone and into the quarantined zone to retrieve a picture of their late mother at their home. Upon arriving they find their mother alive and disoriented. Turns out she is infected with the virus but has a special immunity. Scientists take her in to study her in hopes of finding a cure. During her stay her husband is made aware she is alive and sneaks in to see her, whereupon he kisses her....and turns into this......
The coolest part of this story is the humanity. The lengths at which the sister will go to protect her brother, along with a female scientist who must also protect the brother due to his hereditary immunity of the virus is really the heart of the film. There is also a soldier who goes against orders to protect the family. These human stories tie very nicely into the action which is itself unrelenting.
There are sequences of violence in this film that made me entirely uncomfortable....especially the untimely fate of the mother. This sucker NEVER lets up and before you know it body parts are a' flyin'. The gore quotient is rather high here as well, but not overdone. This ultra-violent universe is created almost perfectly by the director and writers.
I definitely recommend this movie even if you weren't a fan of the original. I give it 3 "ooooh girls" and 4 "no she betta don'ts."
Stay tuned for more Random Reviews!!!!
Big, gay bear hugs!
Ahh man, such intense violence in this film. I loved 28 Weeks Later though. I liked 28 Days Later better, but this is the scarier film for me. Gotta say, I love your rating system :) haha
ReplyDeleteIf I were to rate this film the way you do, I'd give it 4 "oh hellll no's" and 4 "gurl i'mma have to leave the room's". ;)