Not as good... Not as bad...

Rating: 6/10 (18 May 2007)

One of the qualities I really enjoyed about the first movie, 28 Days Later, was the story within the story. So many great movies tell a 'human' story while a genre is being displayed around it. Shyamalan seems to be exceptional in doing this with his movies. We get to see people going through real life struggles and reaching resolutions while aliens are crawling in their back yard or in 28 Days Later zombies are ripping throats open. Watching the characters in 28 Days Later go through hell together and come out again new and changed was just as exciting as the raged undead tearing people apart.
(This Paragraph may contain spoilers)So thus not as good as 28 Days later. 28 Weeks Later starts interestingly enough introducing us to compelling characters, leading us to believe their sacrifices may lead to something, may build a meaningful outcome or a change of heart, but in the end everything every character does leads to nothing. I think movie makers especially in the horror genre are reaching that point where grunge/hippie actually becomes the Hollywood/yuppie. Its become trendy to build a masterpiece then shoot it to hell with a blunt weapon at the end just for shock value. Making a genre movie while telling a great story is no easy feat and the movies that pull it off are among the greatest of all time. This movie missed that possibility by inches and perhaps thats the worst part, how close it really was to being one of the greats.
Now if you take this movie away from its predecessor and look at it on its own two feet, then its not as bad as the average horror flick. Its a tragic horror film where dread and fear slowly build then slam you in the face without apology. Its aggressive and fast paced and at points you will need to catch your breath. Its shocking in new ways and pulls at emotions as well as nerves. A fun ride.
An interesting comparison of tragedy horror that still tells a story is Pan's Labyrinth. I hope more movie makers think about a story and characters rather than a sequel and shock value. But not all movies and their makers are meant to be great.