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Herald rating: * * *
When the woman sitting behind me exclaimed "it wasn't really that scary" I wondered whether we had been watching the same film. I'm known for jumping in my seat no matter how telegraphed a fright is, so I'm not well-suited to dealing with zombie-infested horror films like 28 Weeks Later, particularly as it is a comprehensive effort at creating a hellish nightmare.
28 Weeks Later is the sequel to Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, a film about a virus called Rage, which spread uncontrollably through the British mainland, turning inhabitants who were infected into bloodthirsty zombies.
Twenty eight weeks later there are a whole new cast of potential victims.
The story picks up with the United States military having starved the last of the zombies, eradicated the virus, and begun the reconstruction of London and the repatriation of its citizens, including the first two children to return, Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton), whose father Don (Robert Carlyle) is one of the few remaining survivors.
In Spain on a school trip when the outbreak occurred, on their return to Britain the children learn their mother is dead, and breach security rules to return home to collect a photo of her.
Sneaking out of the safety zone instigates a chain of events that reignites the virus, leaving the population trying to survive the zombies and a military which is brutal in its virus containment policy.
This time around, 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle is on board as an executive producer and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intacto) takes over the directing role.
Fresnadillo stays with Boyle's gritty urban look, amping up the desperation with chaotic handheld camera action and the desolation with eerily still and calm moments.
Unlike most big-screen horror films these days, 28 Weeks Later has a half-decent premise, a credible cast, including noteworthy performances by newcomers Muggleton and Poots, and an edgy musical score.
Despite this, and successfully making London look deserted, you can't help thinking that it's a case of been there, done that.
Cast: Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Catherine McCormack
Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Running Time: 99 mins
Rating: R18, contains graphic violence and offensive language
Screening: SkyCity, Hoyts and Berkeley
Verdict: A gruesome but good cheap thrill
