The return of 'The Rage'.

Rating: 8/10 (8 May 2007)

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's sequel to 28 Days Later is a scary, white-knuckle roller-coaster ride of a horror movie that is nightmarish, extremely nihilistic, gory and very grim. And to the director's credit, despite a few silly plot turns (which, with a little more thought could probably have been avoided) and the over-use of a cinéma vérité style which at times makes following the action very difficult, the film is still hugely enjoyable.
In the opening scenes, set during the original outbreak of 'The Rage', we meet Don (Robert Carlyle) who, along with his wife and a few other survivors, are barricaded inside a cottage. When the infected finally smash their way in, Don makes a break for it, abandoning his wife, believing her to be a goner.
28 weeks later, with all the victims of the virus now dead through starvation, Don (now in London) is reunited with his two children, who are back in the UK after being evacuated to Spain. However, his kids (in silly plot development number one) break out of a supposedly secure area in order to visit their old home to retrieve some belongings. Whilst there, they meet their mother, who (in silly plot development number two) has somehow not only survived multiple bites from the infected, but has also made it to London in one piece.
The kids and their mum are rounded up and returned to the 'safe' area, where a doctor, Scarlet (Rose Byrne), believes the mother to be carrying genes which make her immune to the virus. Unfortunately, although she is not a slavering killer lunatic, she is now a carrier for the virus; when she is reunited with her husband and (after forgiving him for bailing out on her) gives him a kiss...well, all hell breaks loose!
From here on in, the film is totally nerve-wracking stuff. With a new outbreak of 'the Rage' causing havoc, the military have orders to exterminate everyone in the area, including Don's son, Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton), and daughter, Tammy (Imogen Poots). Together with Doyle (Jeremy Renner), a sniper who has abandoned his post, Scarlet (who realises that Andy may also have the immune gene), and a couple of other survivors, Andy and Tammy attempt to escape both the army and the 'zombies' (including, in silly plot development number three, an infected Don, who seems to be somehow tracking his kids) and plan to rendezvous with Doyle's pal Flynn (Lost's Harold Perrineau), a helicopter pilot.
28 Weeks Later is cracking entertainment, with exciting car chases, scenes of excessive gore, and a genuine feeling of pathos (helped immensely by great use of the terrific score). Yes, it is let down somewhat by Fresnadillo's frantic, wobbly documentary style (which I appreciate was an attempt to fully immerse the viewer in the situation, but I would've liked to have seen it used a touch more sparingly) and the aforementioned 'silly' moments, but it is still a very effective shocker.
Even with its flaws, I give 28 Weeks Later a very admirable 7.5/10 (rounded up to 8 for IMDb) for being such a blast (and for having 'that' helicopter scene!).