A Delta sniper named Doyle, positioned high above on a parallel rooftop, witnesses these hopeful moments through the viewfinder of his riflescope. The joy of their reconnection is initially palpable as the children run through their new penthouse apartment, appreciating the opportunity to start fresh. Don, now a high-level city works manager, is reunited with his children, Tammy and Andy, who were away in Spain when the rage virus hit. led NATO coalition force has instilled some semblance of safety and normalcy to London in the guise of a makeshift section of the city labeled The Green Zone. Flash forward six months after the initial outbreak the virus has been quarantined and all infected victims have died. This terrifying prologue reveals the act of separation as a key theme in 28 Weeks Later, not just in a physical sense, but also emotionally and politically. Seconds later, Alice is pulled into the darkness by her attackers. That Don keeps running without blinking an eye clues us in to what type of movie this will be. The uncomplicated heroism of 28 Days Later is destroyed in one perfectly composed shot: Don runs through an open field, only to look back at the upstairs room and see Alice banging on the window. The devastating sequence ends with Don escaping rather than sacrificing himself for the endangered Alice. Sharp beams of light flood the space as panic and violence physically divides one couple at a time. Before we get to know these characters, rampaging zombies crash through boarded up doors and windows and snuff out their individuality. They join a larger group at the dinner table and begin talking about the glum prospects beyond the walls of their self-inscribed prison. Husband Don and wife Alice talk softly in the dark, sharing a kiss before getting interrupted by another occupant. An opening attack sequence inside a dimly lit farmhouse is a perfect example of how Fresnadillo deconstructs Boyle’s clear-cut vision of humanity. If 28 Days Later focuses intensely on the way individual decisions can transcend moments of panic, Fresnadillo’s 28 Weeks Later shows the futility of that approach. By sidestepping traditional tropes like emotional connection and desire, Fresnadillo accomplishes what few horror directors can claim: he deftly politicizes the personal. Fresnadillo’s film grows increasingly chaotic even as its framework becomes less character-driven and more about massive societal failure. As if to mirror the infinite and fated spread of the rage virus, 28 Weeks Later ambitiously expands the temporal and thematic concerns of its predecessor. But 28 Weeks Later is not a rushed exhumation of Danny Boyle’s wildly popular zombie film 28 Days Later, nor a simple continuation of that movie’s hand-held vision of the apocalypse. Released in 2007 as an early summer blockbuster, the film was seen as creatively unnecessary, a cash grab offshoot of its bulletproof original pandering to the mass’s desire for more of the same. This rush to the finish line usually produces an inferior product, and there’s nothing like a shitty horror sequel to get cinephile’s riled up.Īll this potential for disappointment makes the case of Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s frenetic action/horror hybrid 28 Weeks Later all the more fascinating and relevant. For every Saw, Blair Witch Project, and Paranormal Activity, there’s a small window of time Hollywood has to capitalize on audience recognition and branding. It all comes down to the pressure of supply and demand. Artistic dilution is always a concern when a big-budget sequel is released, especially within the highly scrutinized realm of the horror film. A tough task for sure, sometimes nearly impossible considering the other social and economic factors surrounding the production. Movie sequels often face a double standard: they are expected to recycle characters and twists made popular by the original film yet stand alone on their own merits.
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