Horror Movie Review #7: 28 Weeks Later

28 WEEKS LATER
Directed By: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Release Date: 11 May 2007
Running Time: 99 minutes
Language: English
Horror Type: Zombies
Sex? - NONE
Gore? - MOST ESPECIALLY
Momel's Rating: 4/5

Let me just say that 28 Weeks Later is Scream Awards 2007's Horror Movie of the Year. That being said, let's see why.

This is what's happening so far, I mean, if we take it from it's very lame predecessor, 28 Days Later.

1. Five weeks later, The infected die due to starvation. It's referring to them Rage Zombies.
2. American forces then step in and spearhead a successful cleansing operation.
3. 21 weeks later, Great Britain is zombie free.

I prefer my zombies to be animated by some Italian or American director slash necromancer because they have the proper taste for morbid. This British zombie film totally pales in comparison, save for several remarkable massacres which probably pedestalized 28 Weeks Later as the Horror Movie to watch out for. At least according to Scream Awards 2007. We'll check the competition later. It does have several scenes with just about the right amount of gore in them to basically scratch anyone's itch for splatter.

1. Indiscriminate sniping and bullet pumping, with orders to shot anyone at ground level. This occurred after this massive infection which took place shortly after this mass evacuation after one guy gets the rage virus from kissing his wife.

2. The bombing of Great Britain. This probably appeals more to the crazed arsonist, and this is something you'd basically expect from a zombie movie as some sort of precaution. It's a panic button, really. There is some drama in armageddon, and this scene brings us closer to home. Let me say, in passing, that it reminds us of the plight of Raccoon City in the Resident Evil series, or of the bombings in Dawn of the Dead.

3. And there's this scene where this helicopter pilot pursues a mob of zombies with his vessel chasing the undead at a very wicked angle. He manoeuvres his helicopter blades to mangle the zombies at random in what might be the most morbidly tasteful scene in this movie. Or at least the one to look out for. And look out for flying severed limbs, too.

One of the advantages to its being a sequel is that it follows a very lame predecessor, 28 Days Later. That means there's no way but up for this attempt at redemption, and it does so with unrelenting daring. It's a very straightforward zombie movie which capitalizes much on gore, and specializes in massacre. It doesn't require that much cheap filler since the relentless intensity of this bloodbath overflows and tempers that specific unnecessity. Verily, it animates the corpse that is 28 Days Later and becomes this decayed carnival of genocidal proportions.

Totally changed my mind about it. Good show.