Strong sequel to the original, which it's fresh and different.

Rating: 8/10 (11 October 2007)

Donald (Robert Carlyle) and his wife Alice (Catherine McCormack) are hiding in a farmhouse, somewhere in the south of England. They are hiding with a group of people (Amanda Walker, Shadid Ahmed, Garfield Morgan and Emily Beecham) until a mysterious little boy (Beans El-Balawi) comes running from these strange, infected people. Which these infected people are incredible violent, strong and they could turn into one of them by vomiting blood on you or biting. But these "people" tracked down the little boy and they enter violently in the house to affect other normal people. When Donald leaves his wife out of fear and he escapes by using the boat from hiding these "people". Months has passed... Now London is controlled by the U.S. Army. Which the Army are cleaning up the city and they are bringing people back to the city, hundreds people at the time. Donald is waiting for his two children... Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) are entering back to the city life. Andy is youngest child back in London. Their father is now working security in the city.
Several soldiers are snipers in the city, which they are looking out for people in rooftops. Sergent Boyle (Jeremy Renner) is one of them looking out for the city and also becoming a voyeur, watching these survivors in the building with his scope in the night. Andy is been having nightmare and he fears, he cannot remembers his mother. Andy and his sister escapes from the security zone. They are going to the unsecured zone to their old home. Tammy gives her brother a picture of their mother, they found in the house. But Andy sees her mother hiding upstairs and she's not what she seems to be. Alice is infected but she seems perfectly normal and she's talking as well. She's carrier of the virus, she could infected people by biting or kissing as well. Major Scarlet (Rose Byrne), who's also a scientist. She thinks that Alice has a cure in her as well but General Stone (Idris Elda) wants to know nothing from hiding the cure or the situation of Alice as well. But when Donald goes sees his wife without thinking that she could be danger as well. When he kisses her passionately and he realized that his kiss to her wife becomes poison. He becomes one of the infected "people" and then he kills his wife from becoming a monster himself and from anger as well. Now he becomes an new carrier from the disease and he's infecting many people as well. Now the Army are up to no good and they have no other choice by going Code Red by killing infected "people" and civilians as well. Boyle figures that it's wrong to kill innocent people, he denies the orders and he goes to help the remaining survivors. Now Boyle, Scarlet, Tammy and Andy are trying to hide from the infected. Which they try to find a way to go away from the city and Which Boyle tries to convinced his helicopter pilot buddy (Harold Perrineau) to pick up him up along with the three survivors before it's too late.
Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intacto) made an thrilling sequel to Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. Fresnadillo's remains being faithful to Boyle's vision on the first film but he also makes it his own. Fresnadillo made it creepy, scary, stylish, suspenseful with some terrific action sequences as well. The characters in the film are well-written and the actors made their roles extremely likable. You do care for these characters, if they make it or not. Sadly, this well received film didn't exactly pay off at the box office. But it will certainly do much better on DVD and it will have an big cult following as the original did.
DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an strong Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD also has an running commentary track from the screenwriter/director and screenwriter Enrique Lopez Lavigne. Which it's a solid commentary track, they give many trivia of the movie and as well for how technical the filming was. DVD also has three featurettes, two deleted scenes with optional commentary by the filmmakers and more. This is one of the strongest sequels i seen in a while. Fresnadillo did a terrific job with making this sequel. There's some jolts, some strong pay-offs, good performances by the cast and an unexpected coda as well. Which it's a great set-up for a promising third picture. Good cinematography by Enrique Chediak (Down in the Valley, The Faculty, Turistas) and an strong score by John Murphy (Basic Instinct 2, Miami Vice, Snatch.) highlights this sequel as well. Which Murphy did the rich score of the original as well. Don't miss this sequel. Screenplay by Rowan Joffe, director:Fresnadillo, Jesus Olmo and Enrique Lopez Lavigne. (****/*****).