28 Weeks Later

28 Weeks Later
File:28weekslater2 large.jpg
Directed by	Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Written by	Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Enrique Lopez-Lavigne Rowan Joffe Jesús Olmo
Produced by	Andrew Macdonald Allon Reich Enrique Lopez-Lavigne Danny Boyle Alex Garland
Starring	Robert Carlyle Rose Byrne Jeremy Renner Harold Perrineau Catherine McCormack Idris Elba Imogen Poots Mackintosh Muggleton Amanda Walker
Cinematography	Enrique Chediak
Edited by	Chris Gill
Music by	John Murphy
Distributed by	Fox Atomic
Release dates	11 May 2007 7 September 2007
Running time	99 min.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

28 Weeks Later is a 2007 British post-apocalyptic horror film, and sequel to the 2002 film 28 Days Later. The film was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, and was released in the United Kingdom and in the United States on May 11, 2007.

Plot

Don and his wife Alice prepare dinner for their group of survivors in a heavily reinforced cottage somewhere in rural Rage-infected Britain. As they eat their meal, they hear a young boy approach outside. Alice opens the door to let the child inside, who says he has been fleeing the Infected. Moments later, a pack of the Infected discover the hideout and break in, quickly overwhelming the group. Alice refuses to leave without the boy and is abandoned by Don, who escapes down a river in a boat, emerging as the sole survivor.

Over the course of 28 weeks, Britain is declared relatively safe again and an American-led NATO force begins repopulating the country. Chief medical officer Major Scarlet Ross (Rose Byrne) is startled by the sudden arrival of children in the green zone. Among the children are Tammy and Gandhi, Don and Alice's children who were in Spain during the initial outbreak. At only 12 years of age, Gandhi is the youngest person in Britain. During their subsequent medical inspection, Scarlet notes Gandhi's heterochromia, a trait he inherited from his mother. Gandhi and Tammy are subsequently admitted to District 1, a heavily-reinforced, fully functional section of London in the Docklands guarded by the United States Army, including Sergeant Doyle (Jeremy Renner) and helicopter pilot Flynn (Harold Perrineau). They are reunited with their father Don, who is now head caretaker of the district. Inside their new penthouse, Don tearfully recounts his escape, revealing that Alice was killed by the Infected. The next day, the two children slip out of the safe zone to return to their old home, where Gandhi discovers Alice, disheveled but alive. Gandhi and Tammy are recaptured by the US Army while Alice is decontaminated. A blood test reveals that she is infected with the Rage virus, but not displaying any symptoms, labeling her a carrier, as evidenced by her bloodshot eye. Though Scarlet wants to keep Alice alive to seek a cure, she is overruled by her superior.

Don visits his children in a holding room, where they question him about Alice being alive. He then visits Alice in her isolation cell, and asks for forgiveness. After they kiss, the Rage virus in her saliva infects him. Now an Infected, he brutally kills her and goes on the prowl in District 1, attacking and infecting soldiers. The outbreak forces the area into lockdown, but not in time to prevent Don from forcing his way into the safe room, where he begins to kill and infect the confined civilians. Scarlet rescues Tammy and Gandhi from containment, fleeing together as chaos spreads to the streets. Doyle and the soldiers are ordered to shoot the Infected, but the chaos escalates into an extermination of the populace. He abandons his post and escapes with Scarlet and the children as District 1 is incinerated by napalm. Meanwhile, large numbers of the Infected escape the bombardment, occupying the city.

Stopping at the derelict remains of Regent's Park, Scarlet informs Doyle that the key to curing infection is in the children, who may have the same immune system as their mother. Flynn arrives by helicopter to pick up Doyle, but refuses to take anyone else. The infected appear and pursue the group, forcing them to flee. To aid their escape, Flynn uses his helicopter rotor blades to kill dozens of Infected before leaving, designating Wembley Stadium as the new rendezvous point. The group breaks into an abandoned car to escape the infected and the clouds of poisonous gas being vented into the city. In the process of starting the car, Doyle is killed by soldiers with NBC suits and flamethrowers. Scarlet drives into the London Underground to evade a pursuing helicopter, where she and the children continue on foot, guiding their way with the night-vision scope on Doyle's rifle. When they are separated, Scarlet is raped and killed by Don, who attacks Gandhi and bites him. Tammy shoots Don and saves Gandhi, who remains symptom-free like his mother. The children continue to Wembley Stadium and are picked up by a reluctant Flynn, who flies them across the English Channel and out of Britain, to France.

Another 28 days later, a group of Infected run through a subway tunnel through the Palais de Chaillot towards the Eiffel Tower.

Cast

• Robert Carlyle ... Donald "Don" Harris
• Jeremy Renner ... Sergeant Doyle
• Rose Byrne ... Major Scarlet Ross
• Idris Elba ... Brigadier General Stone
• Catherine McCormack ... Alice Harris
• Harold Perrineau ... Flynn
• Imogen Poots ... Tammy Harris
• Mackintosh Muggleton ... Gandhi Harris
• Shahid Ahmed ... Jacob
• Emily Beecham ... Karen
• Garfield Morgan ... Geoff
• Amanda Walker ... Sally

Production

Pre-production

"We were quite taken aback by the phenomenal success of the first film, particularly in America, We saw an opportunity to make a second film that already had a built in audience. We thought it would be a great idea to try and satisfy that audience again".

— Danny Boyle on 28 Weeks Later.

In 2003, plans for the film were conceived after the enormous international success of 28 Days Later. Danny Boyle, Andrew Macdonald and Alex Garland stated that they felt the time was right to make a sequel.

In March 2005, Boyle said in an interview that he would not direct the sequel due to commitments to Sunshine, but he would serve as executive producer. He also revealed that the film would deal with a great deal of the aftermath from the first movie. It was also revealed that the film would revolve around the "US Army declaring the war against infection had been won, and that the reconstruction of the country could begin." Boyle hired Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to helm the project after seeing Fresnadillo's 2001 film Intacto. Fresnadillo stated that he was "thrilled working on his first English language film alongside such an exciting international cast and talented production team."

Both Fresnadillo and Lopez-Lavigne were involved in writing the script, which revolved around a family and what happened to them in the aftermath of the original film, which the producers "liked a lot".

Casting details

Boyle said in March 2005 that the sequel would feature a new cast, since previous cast members Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris were occupied with their own projects. On 23 August 2006, Jeremy Renner was announced to portray Doyle, one of the principal characters for 28 Weeks Later. On 31 August 2006, Harold Perrineau was announced to portray a US Special Forces pilot for the film.

Filming

On September 1, 2006, principal photography for 28 Weeks Later began in London. Locations used in London include: Isle of Dogs, Canary Wharf, Charing Cross, Charing Cross tube station, CityPoint, Greenwich Foot Tunnel, Hyde Park, Wembley Stadium, Millennium Stadium, Parliament Square, Shaftesbury Avenue, Therapia Road and Three Mills Island Studios and also the white cliffs of Dover. The film's final scene was filmed on Palais de Chaillot in Paris.

The film was shot on 35mm film and concluded late November 2006. Scenes involving Gandhi and Tammy running away from District 1 were filmed early in the morning. Stand-in actor for Gandhi, Jamie Simes. He took part in filming from late September to early November.

Promotion

File:295082.jpg

Promotional poster

Biohazard warning

On April 13, 2007, 28 days before the release of the film in UK cinemas, a huge biohazard warning sign was projected against the White Cliffs of Dover. The sign contained the international biological hazard symbol, as well as stating that Britain was "contaminated, keep out!".

Graphic novel

In July 2006, Fox Atomic Comics and publisher HarperCollins announced that they were publishing a graphic novel titled 28 Days Later: The Aftermath in early 2007 to bridge the gap between 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later.

Viral advertising

Removable graffiti was sprayed in locations around London featuring the web address 'ragevirus.com'. However, the web address was found to be unregistered and quickly snapped up by a b3ta reader. The advertising agency who made the mistake agreed to purchase the rights to the domain for an undisclosed sum.

Prop giveaway

In April 2007, Bloody-Disgusting.com promoted the film by giving readers a chance to win a prop from the film. The props were included in a "District 1 Welcome Pack”, which featured an actual ID card and an Evening Standard newspaper with an evacuation headline. The giveaway was only open for North American residents and entries closed on May 9, 2007.

Reception

Prior to the film's opening the MPAA gave 28 Weeks Later an R for strong violence and gore, language and some nudity. The film has been rated 18 in the UK. The film has opened in 2,000 cinemas across the United States.

28 Weeks Later garnered generally positive reviews. The film has been called an "exciting, action-packed and superbly directed thriller that more than lives up to the original film". Another critic wrote that "28 Weeks Later is brutal and almost exhaustingly terrifying. It is also bracingly smart, both in its ideas and in its techniques", as well as "best horror film of the year". The film has generated a rating of 71 percent on Rotten Tomatoes with 98 positive reviews and 42 negative reviews. The film made $9.8 million in its opening weekend, coming in second place at the box office. The film has grossed $28,638,916 in the U.S. and $26,572,472 in other countries, bringing the worldwide total to $55,211,388.

Reviewers have commented on parallels between the film's plot and the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Sequel

"Well, I didn't want to do the second one, because I was involved in "Sunshine." But I went out and I helped them [with 28 Weeks Later]. I did some second-unit shooting on it. And I really enjoyed it, actually. There's something about doing something trashy that's great. Where basically you just come in the door and you just kill them. That was rather refreshing."

— Danny Boyle on directing.

In March 2007, Boyle announced plans to create a third chapter of the film franchise, which will be given the title 28 Months Later with a 2009 release date, thus creating a trilogy. Boyle has stated that his thoughts are to set the movie in Russia.

In June 2007, it was announced that if DVD sales of the film did well Fox Atomic would consider producing the third film.

In July 2007, while promoting the film Sunshine, Boyle revealed that he has a story formulating for the next film "There is an idea for the next one, something which would move [the story] on. I've got to think about it, whether it's right or not." Boyle also revealed that he would return as the director. Alex Garland might be considered in writing the story with Boyle, but no announcements have been made.

DVD and Blu-ray

The film was released on DVD on September 10, 2007 in Region 2 territories, and on October 9, 2007 in Region 1 territories. The film was made available in anamorphic widescreen and includes deleted scenes with optional commentary, and theatrical trailers. Other extras include audio commentary and various featurettes including: Making Of 28 Weeks Later, Make-Up Effects, Getting Into The Action and a 28 Days Later: The Aftermath Flash-Animated Graphic Novel.

The Blu-ray release includes a AVC MPEG-4 encode as well as DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 surround audio on a BD-50 disk.

Soundtrack

Main article: 28 Weeks Later Soundtrack

External links

• Official Site
• 28 Weeks Later at IMDb
• 28 Weeks Later at Rotten Tomatoes
• 28 Weeks Later... at MetaCritic
• 28 Weeks Later Trailer at Apple.com
• Production photos at Yahoo!