Day 74: 28 Weeks Later

Welcome to my Friday the 13th edition of Halloween 365. Today another sequel popped up on the old "random horror list." For a long time, I told people I liked 28 Weeks Later more than 28 Days Later, even though the latter is widely thought to be a revolutionary horror movie. I think the reason I claimed 28 Weeks and maybe still do, is the emotional heft of the characters. As thrilling as 28 Days Later was, I never felt much emotional attachment to Cillian Murphy's main guy. By making a family the center of the action in the sequel, I cared more about what was going on.

Oh, in case you don't know, this is the follow up to the movie that gave us "fast zombies" for the first time. They aren't technically undead in these movies but rather, infected with the Rage virus that makes them want to tear other people apart. 28 Weeks Later picks up after the military has regained control of Britain by sectioning off whole neighborhoods and letting the infected die out from starvation.

After a widely hailed opening sequence where Robert Carlyle has to abandon his wife to the infected, the movie becomes one of those "can you take these kids?" endurance tests. Carlyle's son and daughter want to go back into the infected zone to search their old house. Doing so creates a chain reaction that endangers all of the world. I didn't mind the kids in this, probably because they are from the UK and that goes a long way.

Idris Elba, Jeremy Renner, Imogen Poots and Rose Byrne are quite good in this. It caught quite a few people during the upswing of their careers. The director hasn't been very prolific but I think he did a fine job taking over for Danny Boyle. Exciting and moving, I would say this is worth a watch.