REVIEW - 28 WEEKS LATER

by Mr Blunderson

45 minutes into 28 weeks Later I had to check the DVD case. I seriously had to make sure I was watching the sequel to one of the best horror movies made in recent years as opposed to a Roger Corman knockoff. This movie was that painful to watch.

For those not in the know, let's back track. 28 Days Later... was a spectacular film. Beyond being frightening, beyond breathing life back into the zombie flick, it was a movie about people in a horrific situation. It was a character drama dressed as a horror film and it worked because the audience could relate to the characters.

Another reason I love the first movie is that it is basically Day of the Triffids without the plants. While you may not be familiar with that book or it's author (sci fi god John Wyndham) I can promise you've felt it's influence in the genre. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland keyed on many of the important ideas put forward by the book in a tiny guerrilla film shot on digital video that tossed the industry on it's ear.

Back to the sequel - bigger ain't better. The film looks great. When the camera sits still the shot composition is pretty amazing, and there are a number of genuine scares in this movie (not to mention the single creepiest shot of a statue I've ever seen). But the script is horrible. The only interesting character (played by Robert Carlyle) is reduced to a cliche before the middle of the second act, the undeveloped characters make one stupid decision after another, and I will probably vomit up my lower intestine all over my area rug if I see one more movie where 2 kids outsmart the military contingent. Of course they were British kids and the soldiers were American and education overseas may be far superior but that still seems like a bit of a stretch. It's one of those plot devices that would get you laughed out of your freshman English writing class.

I also have to wonder if the people who made this movie have ever seen the first one. I only ask because every thing the first film did so right was thrown out of the window and ignored. Since I can read I see that Danny Boyle and Alex Garland were executive producers on this flick and can only imagine they had little actual involvement with this film. If they were involved I will find them and kick them after I've taken care of Neil (bitchpants) LaBute for what he did to Wicker Man.

There were so many wasted opportunities here. If only we could have seen more of the commanding officer who is forced to exterminate the repopulated London. If only the father, haunted by his recent past, had been developed into anything else. If only we could have had anyone besides the "sniper with a heart of gold" who comes across as just a little NAMBLA at times (did you have to stroke the kids hair? really?!).

It's also sad that one of the coolest, kick ass moments was done better and with no MTV herky-jerky camera work in Planet Terror.

You could hide all of the bodies under Dick Cheney's house in the plot holes in the last half of the movie but by then if you are still buying into 28 Weeks Later maybe you're the zombie. It would have been a decent movie if it they had used a phone book instead of this script. The fact that 4 different people are credited for the screenplay is never a good sign.

It looks good but that's about it. Take it or leave it, as for me I'll just try to forget I saw it. For that it registers a don't bother on the Mr. Blunderson scale.

afterthought - I regret that I never mentioned how cool the John Murphy score was. It was spot on which only makes me more perplexed as to how this movie went so wrong when it had so much going for it.