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28 Weeks Later

A bloody fine sequel to a bioterror classic

By PEG ALOI | May 17, 2007

3.0 Stars

VIDEO: Watch the trailer for 28 Weeks Later.

28 Days Later director Danny Boyle and scriptwriter Alex Garland executive-produced this sequel, handing the reins to Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intacto), who wrote the screenplay with Rowan Joffe. Inaptly described as a “zombie” flick, 28Days Later was a bloody, brainy look at bio-terror, gender tyranny, and pastoral England’s increasing vulnerability to global agriculture. Mad-cow, hoof-and-mouth, AIDS, and ebola all found metaphorical expression in the “rage virus” that transformed victims into hyperkinetic killing machines. This time, the virus is contained, and the US military is brought in to “repatriate” every Brit lucky enough to have been out of the country during the eponymous menstrual cycle. But a repeat outbreak is 20 seconds and one bloody kiss away, and the Yanks are taking no prisoners. Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty) and Catherine McCormack (Braveheart) head a fine cast, and it’s every bit as visceral and provocative as the original, but cinematographer Enrique Chediak’s deserted London can’t hold a candle to Anthony Dod Mantle’s.

Related: Sound bites, Interview: Danny Boyle, Whiz kid, More

Topics: Reviews , U.S. Armed Forces, Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, More

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