Frenetic and Entertaining Horror Sequel.

Rating: 6/10 (1 May 2008)

This film is insane! Ditching the desolation, characterisation and sustained bleakness of the original, this worthy sequel is an adrenaline soaked thrill-ride that is dizzyingly shot and graphically nasty. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's visuals are stunning and the frenetic digital camera-work adds to the sense of paranoia and panic. The camera is always moving, using everything from extreme close-up to POV as sudden bursts of rage-induced violence burst onto the frame enhancing the need to escape. Like the original, the fear stems from a viral pandemic that takes over and this primordial fear is shown in all its glory, shunning any signs of characterisation and plot reasoning to instead deliver edge-of-your seat shocks, brutal action and unsubtle scenes of gore to great effect while seemingly taking a socially-conscious dig at the incompetence of the American military and contemporary security meltdown.
7/10