28 Weeks Later with Jeremy Renner.- 28 Weeks Later (movie 2007) review: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s effective zombie flick serves its flesh-eating gore with a side of disturbing sociopolitical commentary.
Darkness and suspense prevail in 28 Weeks Later, the terrifying 2007 sequel to Danny Boyle’s 2002 hit 28 Days Later.
Six months after the outbreak of the Rage virus – which converts people into flesh-eating zombies – ripped through the U.K., the crisis has been contained. With the infection apparently eliminated, the U.S. Army, under the command of NATO, steps in to supervise the reconstruction of London so repopulation can begin.
Among the refugees returning to the safe zone are 12-year-old Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) and his older sister Tammy (Imogen Poots), who were separated during the outbreak but have since been reunited with their father (Robert Carlyle). But the kids’ longing for their missing mother soon leads to a security breach that causes the virus to reappear.
Unable to stop the reinfection, the military executes Code Red and decides to kill everyone, whether or not they have been infected.
Nonstop mayhem
The unsettling 28 Weeks Later almost lives up to the level of its predecessor.
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo directs with style, insisting on the constant use of unsteady camera work and of as little lighting as possible. That provokes a sense of disorientation that often makes it hard to distinguish who – or what – is attacking whom, as the viewer is pulled into the nonstop mayhem.
Iraq War parallels
The film, however, does not serve the exclusive purpose of dishing out scare after scare.
Its amount of splattered blood notwithstanding, 28 Weeks Later offers some disturbing social commentary. Images of American armed forces choosing to shoot an entire populace so as to eradicate a deadly virus is a clear analogy to the ongoing war in Iraq.
Admittedly, the screenplay by Fresnadillo, Jesús Olmo, Enrique López Lavigne, and Rowan Joffe occasionally lapses into absurdity, while several acts of heroism feel phony. That said, the filmmakers perfectly succeed in plunging their audience into their world of chaos.
As a plus, Fresnadillo gets an excellent performance out of newcomer Mackintosh Muggleton.
Upper-echelon zombie flick
Some zombie flicks engage viewers through a combination of satire, dark humor, and gore, a formula that – if well executed – can work just fine. 28 Weeks Later aims a little higher.
The result will haunt audiences long after the film’s clever final shot gives way to the end credits.
28 Weeks Later (movie 2007) cast & crew
Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.
Screenplay: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Jesús Olmo, Enrique López Lavigne, and Rowan Joffe.
Cast: Jeremy Renner. Rose Byrne. Robert Carlyle. Catherine McCormack. Imogen Poots. Mackintosh Muggleton. Harold Perrineau. Idris Elba.
“28 Weeks Later (Movie 2007): Disturbing Iraq War Parallels” review text © Franck Tabouring; excerpt, image captions, bullet point introduction, and notes © Alt Film Guide.
“28 Weeks Later (Movie 2007): Disturbing Iraq War Parallels” notes
Jeremy Renner 28 Weeks Later movie image: Fox Atomic | 20th Century Fox.
“28 Weeks Later (Movie 2007): Disturbing Iraq War Parallels” last updated in April 2023.