The original 28 Days Later was just about everything I expect from a good horror film.   Frighteningly bleak imagery, genuinely tense moments, and interesting characters helped to make Danny Boyle’s film an unexpected and most welcome nasty pleasure.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought so and the film turned out to be a critical and commercial success.  A follow-up was pretty much inevitable, and those of us who enjoyed the first film could only hope that it wasn’t a mindless cash-in.  Thankfully, 28 Weeks Later does not do the original a disservice.

Here’s the story...

It’s six months later and the rage virus that has plagued London appears to have eradicated itself.  The infected have died of starvation and the US government have moved in to clean up and repopulate the area inside a safe zone. 

One of those who is a part of this new repopulation is Don (Robert Carlyle), a man who lost his wife but managed to survive the infected attacks.  He is soon reunited with his children Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) who weren’t in the area and were safe when the infection spread.

Soon after arriving the kids make the head-shaking decision to go outside the safe zone so they can see their old home and collect some of their possessions that were left behind.  When they arrive, they make quite an unexpected discovery that will not only put strains on their family but eventually put the entire settlement in mortal danger.

As I mentioned earlier, I thoroughly enjoyed 28 Days Later and while this film doesn’t quite manage to provide that level of discomfort and disorientation, it is a very enjoyable horror flick in its own right.  There are a few nice twists and turns which I didn’t see coming (ALWAYS a good thing) and a level of unease and tension that kept me on edge for the majority of the film.

The cast all provide solid performances (including the beautiful Rose Byrne), while the visual style stays faithful to the original.  Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo in his first English language film proves to be quite adept behind the camera.

That being said, it’s certainly not perfect.  Character development is a little rough around the edges and I personally couldn’t stand the two main child characters at all.  This is no knock against the actors themselves (both do a really good job), but it was their characters incredibly selfish actions that brought about all the trouble in the first place, and while I SHOULD have been hoping that they managed to get out safely, I was REALLY eager to see the infected knock them off in the nastiest way possible.

And the films conclusion isn’t exactly the most satisfying either.  The pay off couldn’t match the lead up unfortunately.

But overall I was pleasantly surprised with 28 Weeks Later.  As we all know by now, movie sequels almost always disappoint so it’s a rare pleasure to find one that’s actually a good film in its own right.

28 Weeks Later is presented at its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and has been compressed with the AVC codec at a resolution of 1080p.

The original 28 Days Later used all sorts of unimpressive source material (8mm film, video, etc.) to create its unique grimy look and its one that definitely isn’t suited to HD.  The source material just isn’t capable of providing the sort of image detail and depth that HD can reproduce.

28 Weeks Later on the other hand tries to retain the spirit of the original while creating its own unique visual style, and I think the director and cinematographer managed to find a pretty good balance between the dingy first film and the Hollywood blockbuster sheen with this film.

It’s certainly far more HD friendly than its predecessor often containing impressive levels of detail especially with a few of the wonderful aerial shots.  But keeping to the spirit of the original there was a lot of 16mm handheld stuff here, which produces a gritty, grainy image and a restrained (and slightly muted) colour palette.  As a result black levels aren’t exactly rock solid but they aren’t what you’d call poor either.  I never thought grain got too excessive.

28 Weeks Later has the sort of visual style that was never going to blow you away in high definition, but this is still a definite step above DVD and a transfer I’m more than happy with.

28 Weeks Later has been provided with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, an English Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1 track at 384kbps, a German DTS 5.1 track at 768kbps and a Spanish DTS 5.1 track at 768kbps.

Due to a limitation of the PS3, I was only able to extract the 1.5mbps core out of the DTS-HD track but there is no doubt this is a very good audio presentation.

Dialogue is nice and clear while the music is strong, menacing and bass heavy.  The subwoofer rumbles and thumps often which helps to add to the tension of the infected attacks quite nicely.

Most of the action takes place in the front soundstage with the music quite loud and even overpowering the action at times.  The track also features great dynamic range with easily audible whispers that can quickly be followed by an almost deafening wall of sound as the infected attack.

Overall, I really enjoyed this soundtrack and it made me jump in my seat more than once.

The director along with the writer/producer provide a decent commentary here as they talk about creating 28 Weeks Later and what they were trying to achieve with it overall.  The track does feel a little disjointed and bland though and can be a difficult listen at times even with both participants providing interesting information on the film.  I think the rather heavy accents don’t make it easy either.   It may not be the most technical or the most enjoyable track I’ve heard but it’s far from a waste of time either.

• 28 Days Later: The Aftermath: Stage 1 “Development” (480i) (7.36)

A graphic novel brought to life on screen, this stylish little piece tells the story of the origins of the Rage virus and its creators.  Presented 4:3 and not 16:9 enhanced.

• 28 Days Later: The Aftermath: Stage 3 “Decimation” (480i) (4.44)

This one acts more of a lead up to the events in 28 Weeks Later as we follow a slightly insane vigilante roaming the streets of London who doesn’t take kindly to anyone (even the non-infected) stepping on to his turf.  Also presented 4:3 without 16:9 enhancement.

• Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and Enrique López Lavigne (480i) (5.14)

Only two scenes are present here but they are (especially the first one) quite interesting and contain elements (such as Scarlet emphasising to the kids that London is now safe) that I would have liked to see included in the final cut somehow.  Still, nice to see them here though.   The scenes are not 16:9 enhanced.

• Code Red: The Making of 28 Weeks Later (480i) (13.06)

Undoubtedly the best of the featurette supplements, this plays like your average EPK piece but contains some interesting information on the creation of the story, the cast, as well as behind-the-scenes moments.  Has nice contributions from cast, crew and even Danny Boyle himself chimes in numerous times.  It is 16:9 enhanced.

• The Infected (480i) (6.57)

Obviously this piece concentrates on the rage infected actors in the film, and we get to see how their movements were created and the makeup they had to wear along with contributions from cast and crew.  Almost surreal to hear that all the infected had some type of movement/dance background.  16:9 enhanced.

• Getting Into The Action (480i) (7.13)

Since 28 Weeks Later is more action orientated than its predecessor, this rather bland and superficial featurette focuses on the challenges of creating fast paced sequences realistically on a reasonably small budget.  It is also 16:9 enhanced.

• Trailers (1080p)

Included here are various high quality trailers for 28 Weeks Later Theatrical (2.14),
28 Days Later (2.07), Sunshine (1.30), Pathfinder (2.26), and Die Hard 4.0 (2.14).

All are provided with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.

Also included are links to www.fox.co.uk and www.foxinternational.com

The video presentation is very good considering the source material while the audio is also of a high standard.  The extras are pretty decent too to be honest, even if they are a bit EPK in nature.

There seems to be quite a few people out there who love the first movie and hate this one which I find rather perplexing.  28 Weeks Later is really quite a good film and as a Blu-ray release for fans it’s one that I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending.