Britflix: 28 Weeks Later

In the previous Britflix retrospective, I looked at one of my favourite British horror films, 28 Days Later. So, it seemed fair to look at the sequel that’s celebrating its 15^th anniversary.

28 weeks after the rage virus outbreak the American military declare Britain is safe for repatriation and the Isle of Dogs is declared a safe zone. Two people who are repatriated are Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) and Tammy (Imogen Poots), brother and sister and they become the youngest people in Britain. When the siblings break out of the safe zone, they discover their mother (Catherine McCormack) had survived the apocalypse and her appearance could bring salvation or disaster.

28 Days Later was a surprise hit when it was released in America. It made $45 million in the USA on a limited release. It was released in June 2003 in the USA, making it a summer film. These factors had an influence on the sequel since it was released in May 2007, made to be more like a summer blockbuster, and gave American characters prominent roles.

28 Weeks Later saw a change in the creative team. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland were busy making Sunshine, but they stayed on as executive producers. Spanish filmmaker, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, took on the directing duties. This meant 28 Weeks Later was a different beast from the original.

28 Weeks Later was a special kind of sequel. It was a continuation of the events in 28 Days Later but focused on a new set of characters. This decision made 28 Weeks Later a film that fans of the original can enjoy as a follow-up, whilst newcomers don’t need to see the first film. It was like George A. Romero’s Living Dead series since all those films were standalone films that were set during the zombie apocalypse.

28 Weeks Later was a politically charged film. It was released in 2007 during the height of the Iraq War and the events in 28 Weeks Later reflected this. In 28 Weeks Later the American military made the Isle of Dogs into a green zone. It was a highly fortified island in a sea of danger. This was a thinly veiled reference to the Green Zone in Baghdad where the American officials were safe whilst the rest of the city was falling into anarchy.

The parallels with the Iraq War come in other ways. There was a criticism of American arrogance with the Americans declaring victory way too early. In real life, George W. Bush declared ‘Mission Accomplished’ on the USS Abraham Lincoln, whilst in 28 Weeks Later the Americans were trying to repopulate London. The American military had a reputation for being gung-ho and this happened in 28 Weeks Later when there was another breakout as the Americans just shot at and blew up everything.

At the time of 28 Weeks Later’s release there were a few major films that were influenced by contemporary events. V for Vendetta was a thinly veiled criticism of George W. Bush’s presidency and the War on Terror, Children of Men acted as a commentary on the War on Terror and used imagery from the Iraq War, and The Bourne Ultimatum was a criticism of American policy during this period.

Comparisons with the Bourne franchise are fitting since 28 Weeks Later had a Paul Greengrass quality to it. 28 Weeks Later had a handheld style of cinematography that Greengrass used in his films. Scenes showing the American officers interacting and the military in action felt like they would have fitted in a Greengrass film.

When the infected appeared it was hectic because of the use of shaky cam and quick-cut editing. This is a style of filmmaking I usually dislike, but it worked for 28 Weeks Later. The infected attacks were frantic and chaotic and from the perspective of the characters, it was confusing. This led to some terrific sequences like when the infected attacked the house in the prologue, and an infected person infiltrated a safe room for residents. Whilst for gore hounds there was plenty of violence. A highlight was when a helicopter blade sliced through a horde of infected.

28 Weeks Later also had an unintended comparison to the Covid Pandemic, like its predecessor. The Americans’ attempt to repopulate Britain too early felt like some government lifting Covid restrictions too early which ended up making things worse.

Whilst the political commentary was interesting, 28 Weeks Later was also a family drama. 28 Weeks Later centred on a broken family because of the Outbreak. Don (Robert Carlyle) was the most interesting character because his cowardice was the catalyst for the film. He left his wife and a young boy to die and when Don tried to apologise to her, he ended up restarting the Outbreak. Tammy and Andy’s roles in the film meant there was an immediate sympathy factor because of their young ages.

28 Weeks Later had an impressive cast of actors who would become big stars. 28 Weeks Later gave Poots her first leading role in a feature film, Rose Byrne was an up-and-comer who was in films like Troy and Marie Antoinette and Idris Elba was best known at the time for his role in The Wire. This was a film made before Jeremy Renner’s breakout role in The Hurt Runner. At the time the most recognisable actors were Carlyle and Harold Perrineau.

28 Weeks Later was a worthy follow-up to a British classic. It told a different story that helped the follow-up to stand out and it was an intense action-horror flick.