Most of the usual mob, minus Andy who’s apparently testing a lift in Rome, went to see 28 Weeks Later on Thursday night. I remember seeing the original in a packed cinema, with our group stuck at the front in row 2 – not the best seats for a fast-paced horror film shot in relatively low-res DV. This time we nabbed the prime locations as we were first in a very short queue (and consequently there was a slight lack of atmosphere, sadly).
I’d seen the trailer and was worried that the plot would revolve around the USA saving Britain from the insurgentsinfected – a thinly veiled allegory combined with yo’ da man star-spangled chest-thumping. I was pleased to discover that my concerns were unwarranted. The plot is a little thin, of course – run away! – but hey, it’s zombies in London.
The shots of the deserted city are surreal and amazing. The POV-shots of the infected, the quick cutting, the gore, all very effective.
The gore, yes. I think it’s fair to say that Heinz had a run on tomato ketchup during filming. There is one sequence – if you’ve seen it you’ll know the one I mean – that is just outstandingly, gloriously gory. You have to laugh, really.
I do have a criticism. Yes, I do. Coincidences. That’s all I’ll say. (I have another criticism but it veers towards spoilishness, so I’ll keep quiet. Oh, I could say “but it doesn’t look like that!” I guess.)
I was reading a thread on t’Internet about the film earlier. Londoners on the thread huffed and puffed that in one sequence some characters took an implausible route through the city. It was as if the thread had suddenly been invaded by taxi drivers: “Oof, via Shaftesbury Avenue? You’re ‘avin a larf, aincha? Talk about rage, I’ll give ’em rage. Nah, I don’t go sarf of the river, mate, full of infected. I ‘ad that Danny Boyle in the back of the cab once.”
There was also much shaking of heads regarding the timeline: some buildings, such as the Gherkin, appear in the new film but weren’t built at the time of the first film. These picky-picky comments were hushed with “it’s a film about zombies“.
I must have enjoyed the film. When I got home I boarded up all my doors and windows, turned off the electric and cooked a tin of hoops over a candle.
Avaragado’s rating: 28 leeks
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