Stage 3: Extermination

Rating: 6/10 (26 June 2007)

A wild zombie style movie, with blood and gore galore, boasting some uniquely grotesquely ways the "Infected" and the non-infected find to exterminate each other. Keep an eye out for the pilot, who gets the award for the most creative way. The movie borrows the theme from such classics as The Thing, Body Snatchers and many others: the victims transform into killers, too.
This movie is set some six months after "28 Days," and subtly works in to the story a little background for those who did not see the original. The virus is believed dead (ok, allow poetic license on that one), and although this is an obvious set up for its return, the story works in some character development and subplots to spark the disaster. I liked the contamination/riot sequence, spiced by manic camera movement that increases the level of chaos. These camera movements sometimes make the fates of individuals difficult to see, however. Pivotal characters to the plot, such as Rose Byrne's (the finest actor in the cast), could have been on screen more. The children were fairly good actors, but some of their scripted actions (like deliberately visiting a quarantined area) were contrived. The "Blair Witch" style sequence, although obviously just for fun, was clever.
This movie guarantees more "28" sequels, since several story arcs are left wide open for further use. Overall, if you can overlook the movie's plot holes, it's a good horror story, where the action never lets up.