Not as bad as you may have heard, but *not* the first

Rating: 7/10 (18 July 2010)

When you start this up, it doesn't take long before you realize that it's different than the original. That doesn't have to be a negative, and there are good qualities to this. The Infected are still shot in a manner unlike that of the regular humans, and the visual style is nice. It becomes evident from early on that this discounts two rules for them as established before, both increasing how aggressive they come off at the cost of some of the pathos. With that said, there are interesting emotional situations in this, and I found the opening ten, fifteen minutes or so to be terrifying and chilling. This goes for intensity over atmosphere, and depth is lost. The action leans towards the chaotic, we can't keep track of what's going on, and we're not meant to. Think the initial half hour of Saving Private Ryan. I'd say this one is louder than the last one, and less both about the loss of loved ones(without abandoning it entirely). It is claustrophobic and unpleasant when it means to be. The characters are credible and psychologically accurate, the dialog natural. Acting tends to be good, including that of the kids. The concept is great, and part of the way, the idea of the quarantine with the military being in control(I can't be the only one sick of the presence of "the big, evil, heartless corporation" in recent films and shows) is dealt with well, in spite of the dumb soldier types. Then the annoying and obvious plot holes began cropping up. I realized how much of the trouble in this was on account of children. And how Americanized this is probably also got to me, because by the third act, I no longer particularly cared. 90 minutes of mostly adrenaline... I don't know, I think we require more substance along with it, especially when the previous entry set a standard for such. FX are well-done. There are a lot of jump-scares in this. This is the only thing I've seen by Fresnadillo, and it won't necessarily remain so. The creepiness and post-apocalyptic mood are effective, when this goes for them. Maybe "Months" will put this series back on track. There is a lot of bloody, brutal, gory violence and disturbing content, a little sexuality/near-nudity and occasional strong language in this. The DVD comes with an informational commentary track(by director and writer, who also offer their thoughts on the 2 deleted scenes), three short featurettes and two animated chapters of the graphic novel(I will review all five of them on their individual pages here on the site) and a theatrical trailer. I recommend this to those looking for fast-paced horror. 7/10