28 Weeks Later (film review; opens May 11)
Mother’s Day weekend seems an exceedingly strange time to release “28 Weeks Later,” a bloody apocalyptic thriller about a “rage” virus transforming adults into flesh-eating beings in London, a doomed city with only one known child still in existence. The grisly and grim sequel to “28 Days Later” (2002) packs a surprisingly powerful punch simply because the situation on screen seems so believable and frighteningly easy to accept.
As “28 Weeks Later” begins six months after the original, London has been transformed into a war zone populated by rampaging mutants suffering from a rage outbreak that causes them to attack and contaminate any person in their path. It’s suddenly survival of the fastest with every encounter resulting in humans trying to outrun the energized creatures and seeking a safe haven.
Things initially seem better in England when the United States military arrives, secures the perimeter of the dangerous area and believes that it now controls the spread of the rage virus. That quickly changes once an infected person slips through the security zone and soldiers start to shoot anyone – human or mutant – in an effort to regain control of the situation as quickly as possible.
The result turns the area into a killing field in which greatly outnumbered members of the fighting forces quickly learn that their mission may never be accomplished due to the relentless enemy they face.
Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (“Intacto”) captures the paranoia of such a landscape and also inserts some unsettling family dynamics. Robert Carlyle (“Eragon”) plays a husband-father who runs as his wife (Catherine McCormack of “Braveheart”) is attacked by the zombie-like beings.
After being reunited with his teenage daughter (Imogen Poots of “V For Vendetta”) and 12-year-old son (newcomer Mackintosh Muggleton), who were away in a safe area during the carnage, the parent misleads them about the fate of their mother, a lie that haunts him.
As the story progresses, the two children become part of a bigger family as they’re protected by a military doctor (Rose Byrne of “Marie Antoinette”), who believes that the boy may have an immunity to the rage virus and offer a way to stop it, and a professional soldier (Jeremy Renner of “Lords of Dogtown”), who devotes himself to the welfare of the two young people despite the personal jeopardy such a noble choice represents.
Certainly those looking beneath the surface of the R-rated “28 Weeks Later” may feel it echoes some aspects of the war in Iraq as brave soldiers do their best despite intensely dangerous circumstances and fight frightening foes with no intention of surrender or retreat.
FILM REVIEW
“28 Weeks Later”
Grade: B
Starring: Robert Carlyle, Catherine McCormack, Mackintosh Muggleton, Imogen Poots, Rose Byrne and Jeremy Renner; screenplay by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Rowan Joffe, Jesus Olmo and Enrique Lopez Lavigne; directed by Fresnadillo.
Running Time: 100 minutes.
Parental Guide: R rating (very strong violence, harsh four-letter profanity, sex, adult themes).
Watch the trailer!