 |
||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
28 Weeks Later
A Review by Jon Walmsley - trioxin.wordpress.com
One of the classic discussions regarding the 28 days\weeks films is of
their legitimacy as Zombie films. There are numerous pseudo-zombie flicks
that I love but would not include in this Blog as they don't meet the
criteria. Cronenbergs 'Shivers' & 'Rabid' or the recent 'I Am Legend'
are such examples, and don't get me started on The Evil Dead series. (Why
people think of these as Zombie films is beyond me. They're people possessed
by evil demonic spirits, Sheesh!). With 28 days\weeks later the decision
is tougher. Yes, they're still officially alive and yes, they run and
don't shamble. Also, they apparently die of malnutrition which I don't
recall happening in any other zombie flick.
However, plenty of zombies in movie history have been created by a virus
gone wrong, and plenty of zombies race around instead of shuffling like
walking corpses. And besides, if they were bona fide zombies how would
either film be any different? They attack people without prejudice, they
can infect the living to become one of them, and the survivors have to
hide out, fight or try to escape. Pretty standard Zombie film methodology
if you ask me. Dead or undead the same would happen.
So, Zombie film credentials met, what about the quality of the film itself?
Well, it starts out with a siege in a boarded up house, people get chased
and eaten and a lone survivor flees to safety. It is then established
that the whole zombie plague had encompassed the entire UK, and once the
infected bodies have died from hunger the American army are called in
to oversee the re-population of the country. However, predictably this
doesn't go too well.
The whole film is basically a thinly veiled critique of American army politics. They treat the remaining humans as little more than cattle, part of an assignment that they have no real belief in. But hey, what else are Zombie films for if not a little satire here and there?
The gore is pretty good for such a mainstream movie - particularly the gruesome helicopter mutilation scene. The opening siege is also amazing, and the transformation scene from human-to-zombie is probably the best I've ever seen. Coupled with some quality action and decent direction this is a pretty impressive entry into the market. Whether or not it beats the first film is debatable, and personally I tend to change my mind depending on which one I've seen the most recently. This sequel is a more cohesive movie and certainly doesn't rip off as much from Day Of The Dead as the first. But heck, they are both decent movies. - They're certainly zombie films, just lacking in actual 'proper' zombies.