28 Weeks Later (DVD)

Wow, let's talk about bad movies and an incredibly uninspired attempt to create a sequel. I was not a big fan of Danny Boyle's 2003 horror/thriller 28 Days Later, but it was made on a mini budget and scored well at the box-office managing $45 million here in the states and $82 million worldwide. On a budget of $8 million I would say all parties were quite happy. On top of that it was our first major introduction to Cillian Murphy, so even though I didn't like it that much I am thankful for that last little piece. However, if anyone is wondering why Fox Atomic is shitting the bed from the outset it is because big brother Fox is dumping all their waste all over them. It started with a couple films that actually weren't that bad in Turistas and The Hills Have Eyes II, but oh boy were the flood gates opened with 28 Weeks Later.

The film starts off good and I was digging it as we are introduced to this small group of people hidden away during the final days of the Rage virus introduced in 28 Days. Out of the group of about six or seven people the central focus is placed on Don and Alice (Robert Carlyle and Catherine McCormack). Yeah, if you were wondering what happened to William Wallace's wife from Braveheart she has resigned herself to playing in shitty horror sequels.

Anyway, this group is soon running from a bunch of Rage victims as their little hideout has finally been found, during the escape everyone is killed except for Don, Alice and this little kid that just joined the party as they reach a room at the top of the house. The kid hides in the corner and Don breaks for the door, the people eaters bust in the room and long story short Don bolts leaving his wife and the kid behind. Next up is montage time. The Americans come in to save the day and 28 weeks later they begin re-populating Britain a few folks at a time.

We all know that the beginning is going to come back to haunt us. How will the Rage virus be re-introduced? Well, guess what, Don's wife, Alice, yeah - she isn't exactly immune to the virus because she can get infected, but it doesn't turn her into a raging lunatic that hisses and eats people. So, it's a give and take. She turns up alive and everything is happy, until... from that point I think you know where it is all going. It is a lot of running and a ton of stupid human tricks, stupid human tricks that are all cliché and all stupid.

I could really go on and on about all the ridiculous things that go on in this flick, but I will spare you. Instead I will just tell you to never watch it, and I can only assume those that enjoyed the first film will dislike it even more. The problem here is not the gory good times that are to be had it is all the stupid moments that make it what it so bad. The acting is fine and the effects are good, and even if you can get over the poor excuse to create a sequel you can only be upset at the silly movie tricks used to move the story along.

As for the DVD you get an audio commentary with director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and co-writer Enrique Lopez Lavigne, a making-of featurette, a make-up featurette, an action featurette, some deleted scenes and a couple of flash-animated teasers for the graphic novel "28 Days Later: The Aftermath" based on the film. Truly, the best thing on this DVD is the graphic novel teasers. I would rather have watched a flash-animated version of the entire graphic novel than watch this movie. This is because the movie is bad, yes, but these little teasers actually were pretty good. You can watch an example for yourself right here.

If you need any more proof not to see this movie take it from producer Andrew Macdonald who describes it by saying it has "more action", "more jumps" and here's the best one, "less suspense than the first one." He blames the last part on the fact that we now know what is going on whereas in the first one it was a bit of a mystery, but that is just lazy if you don't bother to try to make your horror/thriller suspenseful. Why does everyone think sequels have to be "bigger" to be better. Just make a good movie and people will come to watch it.

Unfortunately there isn't anything good to say about this movie. While that makes my job easier it doesn't provide you with a fun flick to look forward to. Instead just rewatch 28 Days Later if you are a fan; it has enough blood to go along with a much more intelligent story.