Several of my favorite recent horror films have something in common: their sweet turn sour shocking introductions. In particular, both The Decent and Disturbia begin with cheerful family outings that turn graphically horrible without a moments hesitation. It's like watching a Valtrex commercial followed by Baghdad footage. Keeping in mind these are scary movies, it's hard to let your guard down, especially when the film seems overly eager to sooth you. 28 Weeks Later skips making you feel cozy, yet still has a shockingly terrifying opening. And some how I dropped my guard.
The film opens in what could be a post-apocalyptic zombie infested Britain or WWII Nazi Germany. A group of people are hiding in a candle lit living space, quietly shuffling about as if to evoke images from Anne Frank's Diary. We are given no hints to where they are, but we know they are hiding from the "infected". In the previous film, 28 Days Later, we learned the infected are zombie like humans diseased with the "rage" virus. They are ravenous for human flesh, spew blood from their mouths, and coincidentally transmit their disease through bodily fluids. We know that they can attack at any moment, but as our eyes slowly adjust to the dark and we see a family gathered around a dinner table preparing to eat, the "normalcy" of the moment made me relax. I calmed my nerves just when I shouldn't have and the result was one of the best scares I've had in a while. This was followed by one of the most exhilarating chase sequences I've seen since Spielberg's War of the Worlds. And to my delight there are plenty more scares where that came from.
28 weeks after the outbreak, the virus has become "extinct" and the U.S. military (out of it's infinite wisdom and generosity) have agreed to aid Britain in repopulating a quarantined section of London. The family theme continues as Don (Robert Carlyle), the sole survivor of the opening attack meets his two children at the new London. We are also introduced to Scarlet (Rose Byrne) an army doctor who is distressed that children are now calling London home, as well as Doyle (Jeremy Renner) an disenchanted soldier who looks past his orders to see what's just. When the outbreak spreads again, which it inevitably had to do, it's up to this new family unit to make their way to safety as all hell breaks loose.
Considering that I am a huge fan of 28 Days Later, I was a little worried that 'Weeks' might be mediocre by comparison or that the "infected" would lose their bite. However, I am glad to report that 'Weeks' lives up to its predecessor. 'Weeks' continued to scare me all the way through. The frantic digital video style still works wonderfully for this type of story. It's almost as if your watching a documentary or news footage. There are also several interesting scenes that comment on the ethicality of the military's actions when critical decisions must be made in haste. For example, what do you do when you're fighting a war on virus? Shoot everything of course. One great scene incorporates the U.S. soldiers spying on the London citizens through their sniper cross-hairs. As the soldiers joke to one another it may seem humorous (almost like reality tv). Then you notice the cross-hairs resting on someone's head and the humor is replaced with disgust.
I wouldn't say that this movie is as great as 28 Days Later, but it is still one of the best recent horror films around. I did miss the close personal connection I felt with Jim, Selena, Frank and Hannah, but the new comers do as good a job as they can relating their characters with the limited one-on-one time they're given. There is such a sense of urgency in this film that we aren't given any slow moments for chitchat. Even Aliens had a few talky parts. And I will not soon forget the great scenes from 'Days' that seem missing here, like the infected priest stumbling towards Jim, Frank's tragic demise and the great climatic finale. On the other hand the film moved so fast that I was always glued to the screen and on the edge of my seat. What more could you ask of a horror picture?
B+
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