Customer Reviews

28 Weeks Later / 28 Days Later (Two-Pack)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ah, what better way to spend 3 1/2 hours than watching bloody projectile vomiting in high-def?

Perhaps inspired by Stephen King's The Stand The Stand (Signet) where a deadly virus escapes a secret government facility and obliterates the world as we know it, Director Danny Boyle Trainspotting and writer Alex Garland (rumored to be involved with the film adaptation of the video game Halo...sweeeeet!) take the killer virus theme to the next level in 2002 with 28 Days Later.

28 Days opens with what happens when animal activists go wild. In a short, violent sequence we see how a voraciously contagious virus that turns people into raging lunatics gets released into society. Flash to pre-Scarecrow Cillian Murphy Batman Begins waking up several days later in a hospital bed after most of the rest of society has been affected by the germs. (Coincidentally{?} we see this same beginning to a world gone mad in two other recent zombie-type stories: The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye and Resident Evil / Resident Evil: Apocalypse ).

Boyle does an excellent job of directing Murphy from his hospital bed into a fight for survival in a new world. And it turns out that Murphy and the folks that he bands up with need to fear more than just 'the infected'. 28 Days is frightening, suspenseful, thrilling, disgusting, realistic, emotionally-charging...all the ingredients in the Horror genre that make up a Classic.

Too bad 28 Weeks Later didn't follow suit.

28 Weeks Later is a good Horror movie, but a bad sequel. 28 Weeks (fledgling) director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo dropped the ball on several fronts...most importantly that the Rage Virus was supposed to be extremely contagious...coming into contact with just one drop of the contagion should render anyone 'infected'; part of 28 Weeks is the introduction of potentially immune people (just like in The Stand), and that was not lost on me. But there is 'infected' spatter everywhere and on everyone in this movie that seems to have no effect, and that takes away a lot of the realism and continuity that held true in 28 Days.

28 Weeks also fails in the way it delivers its scares. In Weeks there's lot's of scare moments that unnecessarily rely more on focusing on an image where one second their is nothing there and it's a deadly silent, then the next second there's a frightening image crashing into the shot accompanied by a loud "PUNG!!!" (like someone landing on the low keys of a piano). Granted, in DTS 5.1, it effectively knocked me of my chair each time, but it was quite dissimilar to 28 Days where the situations and images alone were enough to knock me out of my chair without the 'BOO!' effect. (Only Blu Ray [no 2-pack available] offers DTS; standard versions will still knock you out of your chair with the Dolby 5.1 option.)

28 Weeks also breaks down in the reality department where tight, military-secure areas are breached by civilians (including teenagers) and a Rage-infected person is not only able to breach dozens of secure areas, but also manages to appear everywhere in the movie.

It's the small (important) things like these that took a great movie in 28 Days and turned out an average sequel in 28 Weeks. So overall, Boyle's 5-star Horror/Drama goes to a 3-star Fresnadillo follow-up for me.

Final words: Buy 28 Days Later for your collection; rent 28 Weeks Later.

These 2 movies are about a virus called "Rage" that is borne by body-fluids and within 20 seconds of exposure to it you have it. The movies take place in London & surrounding area. If you like zombie movies and horror movies, this is the stuff. Not for children I wouldn't think. Lots of bloody gore, infected people chasing & eating people. Infected people being shot & blown up. Both movies are very scary in that the people who are not infected are very few, and the infected people are chasing them down all the time - very graphic and scary. I loved both movies, but I thought the second movie was done better. I couldn't wait to watch them again!

These 2 films are the best movies I've seen in many, many years. I've always been a fan of the genre, but many times I've been disappointed a few failed attempts. 28 Days Later it was surprising, and 28 Weeks Later is wonderful, even higher than the original. I pray to all the saints that a third party is involved and that people with the ability, ingenuity, creativity and professionalism of those who have been to these two (Boyle and Fresnadillo please!).
28 Weeks Later is the BEST film of 2007

I actually liked the 28 Weeks Later bettre than the original 28 Days Later. If you like gut wrenching gorey action, this is the movie for you. There seemed to be more of an overall plot with the second movie, and a little less tense gore.

Frankly, I think it's an excellent addition to Zombie lore and stands alone in some respects. Especially for the first one, the story-telling is quite well done. Didn't take long to ship, either.

PERFECT for Halloween,leave a light on while watching these mpives is my BEST advice. ; )

I have been really getting into zombie movies lately. I think some of the most well thought out post apocalyptic scenario films are zombie movies. They seem to all point to a kind of common message; like how humanities greed and raping of the environment and lust for war is ultimately unsustainable, with everyone turning into zombies for one reason or another as the result: Then lots of great killing sprees of a common enemy we can all get behind; Cool! I really think these 2 movies in particular, even better when bought together really show people facing their fears and meeting up with their inner demons and not just having some just scary situations for their shock value. The music sort of draws you into the plot and their is a decent story, that while not amazing, story it keeps things real. If you like zombie movies as a category, or if you enjoy drama with a twist, then you might enjoy 28 days Later and 28 Weeks Later.

Together, these movies are better than they are individually. Other reviews have covered the plots, so no need for me to rehash them.

"28 Days Later" could have been a great movie! This movie had a lot going for it, including a strong plot, good actors, decent effects, and interesting twists. Where it fell down was in the editing and roundabout storytelling. In short, the movie was disjointed and just too long.

"28 Weeks Later" is one of those rare sequels that is better than the first movie. This time there is less of an attempt to make a "deep" movie and switched to a standard formula of suspense and action (oh, and gore too). The film has a strong story line, good acting, good suspense, and great special effects.

Recommended for fans of the genre.

This together as a two pack was awesome! Although I must say I did like 28 weeks later better than 28 days later, but they both still rocked! It really is a great offer and I think that if vampire movies are your take then you should get these!

This pair of films offer a decent excursion into a not too impossible scenerio. How simple it really is to release a horror upon man. How will it change those that survive?

Not a big budget special effects extravaganza, but worth the watch. I say cerebral because the movie flows in such a way that it allows you to consider what just happened as well as to contemplate what will happen next.