Danny Boyle’s excellent 28 Days Later was such a surprise hit in 2002 that it’s little wonder that Fox wanted a sequel as soon as possible. Boyle was too busy to take the helm the second time around - having teamed up again with 28 Days Later scribe Alex Garland to make the wonderful Sunshine – and was more than happy to hand the reins over to little-known Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Despite the low expectations, Fresnadillo has managed to produce a highly entertaining, and worthy, sequel. In 28 Days Later, Cillian Murphy wakes from a coma to discover that the people of Britain have been ravaged by a strange virus called Rage, which turns Average Joe into a flesh-hungry zombie. These aren’t the type of zombies familiar to George A. Romero’s classic trilogy – lumbering around and groaning stupidly. No – these zombies are vicious, fast and powerful. In 28 Weeks Later, the action begins around the same time as the events of the first film, which saw Cillian Murphy escape to the country. Instead of Murphy, we meet Robert Carlyle’s Don who, along with his wife and a couple of others, is holed up inside an elderly couple’s country cottage. Needless to say, the Infected discover the cottage and attack with only Don making it to safety. Cut to 28 weeks later – all the Infected have died of starvation and the remaining healthy members of the British population are kept in a secure location in London under the watchful eye of the US Army. A plane of British refugees from France – including Don’s children (Mackintosh Muggleton and Imogen Poots) – arrives back in London and life seems to be back on track again. That is until Don meets a visitor from his past… To give away much more about the plot would only ruin the surprises for you – and there are a few. The twists – and action – come thick and fast. The opening scene is easily the most edge-of-your-seat, heart-thumping moment in the film – with Don being chased through a field by a few dozen ravenous Infected. Later – when the virus spreads again – we are treated to a horrific POV of one of the zombies as he goes from person to person, killing them. In another terrifying scene, when the infection has spread beyond control, the Army have no other choice but to exterminate everyone. You can’t help be reminded of recent health scares such as Mad Cow and Foot and Mouth with shots of soldiers burning heaps of Human corpses. That said, the film isn’t without its flaws. The American soldiers seem clichéd and one-dimensional – direct from a Michael Bay film. There’s also one too many handy coincidences in the plot to make perfect sense. And here’s a piece of advice – leave before the epilogue – it actually got a few chuckles in my screening. VERDICT:Despite a few shortcomings, 28 Weeks Later is a very solid piece of filmmaking. Should Fox decide to produce a third, one can only hope that it will be as good as this. Movie Trivia: Extensive filming of a "US Army Camp / Base" took place during the weekend of 21st/22nd October 2006 in the courtyard outside the Citypoint Building, Ropemaker Street, London EC2. A large number of tents with US flags, cast in military dress and vehicles were in place. Additionally access to the sub-floor car park area appears to have been given to shoot an underground scene.
Danny Boyle directed some of the second unit filming.
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