Run Before You See the Red of Their Eyes (28 Weeks Later)

28 Weeks Later should have had quite a bit going for it. Everyone knew that it couldn't end with Jim and Selena surviving and everything being okay. I mean zombie movies just don't have happy endings - unless it's Shawn of the Dead. So here it is - we knew that people had to be hiding out. We knew that there had to be a few intelligent humans that would lock their doors and keep quiet and just hide out. Eventually the zombies would starve and civilization revived - or so they thought. Apparently, the survivors hiding out have never seen a zombie movie before. Enter Don (Robert Carlyle) and a his wife - hiding out with a group of survivors. When faced with his own mortality - and his wife's nurturing nature for a young boy - he turns tail and runs - I'm reminded of the old joke about the two men being chased by a bear in the woods - as one says to the other, "All I have to do is out run you." That's just what Don does - he leaves wife and random boy to raging zombies.

I suppose I wasn't watching this and considering the zombie movie rules. I liked the happy ending of 28 Days Later and, quite frankly, I wasn't concerned with what happened 28 Weeks Later (or 28 minutes later.) I didn't think there was a need to follow up this story with a clearly mediocre sequel. This could have been a completely different movie that was not tied to 28 Days Later and I would've been happier with the result. 28 Weeks Later did not have the visual appeal or retain my interest as its predecessor.

What can I say that Alicia didn't in her previous paragraph? I think the movie is a fine continuation for those of you that wanted to see the fate of mankind. However, 28 Days Later is really a story about Jim and Selena - we don't care what happened to the rest of mankind unless it has something to do with Jim and Selena. 28 Weeks Later are for all you zombie fans that want to see just how widespread this rage thing really was. I've believed - for quite some time that a good horror movie is about what is not shown. Suspense is the key to good horror. This movie is excessive in gore and violence - which is what appeals to those that have a different opinion than mine of what good horror is. That said, I can't help but argue there's something interesting about the second installment of this franchise. I think that in the sub-genre zombie movies - this does what others have done. First there's the character and social study of mankind (28 Days Later). Then there's the study of the arrogance of man - which is this - the belief that man can control the unnatural. From Night of the Living Dead to Dawn of the Dead - we see a significant change in the focus of what we care about as an audience, and the transition from Days to Weeks follows the same formula. I would say this is worth a watch if you're into zombie movies or believe that the 28 Days/Weeks world is one worth looking in on to see what's next. I'd even say that if you're Jonesing for a 28 Months Later that you should probably have it's two predicessors on your movie shelf. I, myself bought the movie blind - but would not recommend doing so to anyone but the most die-hard 28 Minutes/Days/Weeks/Years/Decades fans.