| 28 Weeks Later | |
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UK promotional film poster |
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| Directed by | Juan Carlos Fresnadillo |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Music by | John Murphy |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | 11 May 2007 |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
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| Language | English |
| Box office | $64,238,440 |
28 Weeks Later is a 2007 British/Spanish film sequel to the 2002 post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later. 28 Weeks Later was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and released in the United Kingdom and United States on 11 May 2007. The on-location filming took place in London and 3 Mills Studios, although scenes intended to be shot at Wembley Stadium, then undergoing final stages of construction, were filmed instead in Wales, with Cardiff's Millennium Stadium used as a replacement.[1]
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During the outbreak of the Rage Virus, Donald Harris (Robert Carlyle) and his wife Alice are hiding in a farmhouse somewhere in rural England. They are living with four other survivors, who are growing increasingly depressed and as they debate about the possibility of other survivors, a terrified boy bangs on the cottage door, demanding entrance. Donald is hesitant, but complies. Inside the house, the boy tells the group that he was being chased by his parents, who had been Infected by the virus. He tells them that there was an entire pack of Infected chasing him too. Moments later, the horde of Infected attack the cottage, and in the chaos many of the survivors succumb to the Infection. Alice Harris desperately calls for her husband to help her and the boy, but Donald sprints towards a motorboat where he fights off the Infected and barely makes it out alive as the sole survivor.
Over the course of twenty-eight weeks after the outbreak, all the Infected have died of starvation and Britain is declared to be relatively safe. An American-led NATO force, under the command of Brigadier General Stone (Idris Elba), begins bringing in settlers to repopulate the area. Amongst the new arrivals are Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton), Don and Alice's children, who were in Spain during the initial outbreak. They are subsequently admitted to District One, a heavily patrolled safe zone of London guarded by the US Army, on the Isle of Dogs. As they are examined by Major Scarlet Ross (Rose Byrne), the district's chief medical officer, she notes Andy's differently coloured eyes, a trait inherited from his mother. Sergeant Doyle (Jeremy Renner) and his friend, Flynn (Harold Perrineau), a helicopter pilot, are amongst the military presence charged with guarding the district. The children are reunited with their father who has become one of the district's senior caretakers.
The next day, Tammy and Andy, mournful over the loss of their mother, slip out of the safe zone and walk to a depopulated London neighborhood where, in their former house, they hope to find a photograph of her but, to their joyful astonishment, discover her still alive, although in a semi-conscious and dishevelled state. Doyle had seen the two children leave the safe zone; they and their mother are thus subsequently picked-up by the US Army and returned to the district where Alice is tested and found to be infected with the rage virus, but displaying no symptoms, which categorises her as a rare asymptomatic carrier. Using his all-access caretaker pass card to bypass security, Don makes an unauthorised visit to Alice in her isolation cell and asks forgiveness for abandoning her at the cottage. When they kiss, however, the Rage Virus in her saliva immediately Infects Don, who savagely kills her and goes on a rampage, killing and Infecting soldiers in the building.
District One is put into Code Red Lock-down, and civilians are herded into safe rooms. Despite the precautions, Don breaks into a room containing a large crowd and begins killing and Infecting them, quickly causing a domino effect of attackers. Scarlet manages to rescue Tammy and Andy from containment as soldiers surrounding the building, who were initially ordered to shoot only the Infected, are now, as the wave of Infection grows, ordered to kill all civilians. Doyle, unable to bring himself to comply with the order, abandons his post and escapes with Scarlet, the children and others through the Greenwich foot tunnel. Stone then orders that District One be firebombed, but large numbers of the infected, including Don, escape the bombardment. Scarlet informs Doyle that the children may hold the key to a cure and must be protected at all costs. Flynn arrives by helicopter to pick up Doyle, but refuses to take anyone else as they would be shot down if carrying possibly Infected people.
Flynn contacts Doyle by radio and tells him to head to Wembley Stadium, but to leave the civilians. Doyle ignores his instructions and begins escorting the civilians to Wembley, breaking into an abandoned car to escape nerve gas released to kill the infected. However, after the infected are dead, a group of soldiers, one of them carrying a flamethrower, are patrolling and nearing the car. The car will not start, but just as Doyle manages to jolt it into movement with a strong push, he is incinerated by the flamethrower. Scarlet drives the car into the London Underground where, as the trio continue on foot, she is ambushed and killed by Don who then attacks and bites Andy. Tammy shoots Don before he can kill Andy who remains symptom-free, but with darker, bloodier eyes, like his mother. The children continue to the Stadium and are picked up by a reluctant Flynn, who flies them across the English Channel to France, as previously instructed by Doyle.
Twenty-eight days later, a voice calling for help is heard from the radio in Flynn's abandoned helicopter. A group of Infected are seen running through a tunnel which, as they emerge into the open, is revealed to be the exit of the Paris Métro Trocadéro station with a view of the nearby Eiffel Tower.
CastFurther information: List of 28 Days/Weeks Later characters
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Cast in order of appearance
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We were quite taken aback by the phenomenal success of the first film, particularly in America. We saw an opportunity to make a second film that already had a built in audience. We thought it would be a great idea to try and satisfy that audience again.—Danny Boyle on 28 Weeks Later, [2]
In 2003, plans for the film were conceived after the international success of 28 Days Later. Danny Boyle, Andrew Macdonald and Alex Garland stated that they felt the time was right to make a sequel.[2]
In March 2005, Boyle said in an interview that he would not direct the sequel due to commitments to Sunshine, but he would serve as executive producer. He also revealed that the film would revolve around a great deal of the aftermath from the first movie.[3] It was also revealed that the film would include the "US Army declaring the war against infection had been won, and that the reconstruction of the country could begin."[4] Boyle hired Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to helm the project after seeing Fresnadillo's 2001 film Intacto.[5] Fresnadillo stated that he was "thrilled working on his first English language film alongside such an exciting international cast and talented production team."[6]
Both Fresnadillo and Lopez-Lavigne were involved in writing the script, which revolved around a family and what happened to them in the aftermath of the original film, which the producers "liked a lot".[7]
Boyle said in March 2005 that the sequel would feature a new cast, since previous cast members Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris were occupied with their own projects.[3] On 23 August 2006, Jeremy Renner was announced to portray Doyle, one of the principal characters for 28 Weeks Later.[8] On 31 August 2006, Harold Perrineau was announced to portray a US Special Forces pilot in the film.[9]
On 1 September 2006, principal photography for 28 Weeks Later began in London[10] with much of the filming taking place at Canary Wharf.[11]
On 13 April 2007, 28 days before the release of the film in UK cinemas, a huge biohazard warning sign was projected against the White Cliffs of Dover.[12] The sign contained the international biological hazard symbol, along with the admonition that Britain was "contaminated, keep out!".
In July 2006, Fox Atomic Comics and publisher HarperCollins announced the publication, in early 2007, of 28 Days Later: The Aftermath, a graphic novel bridging the gap between 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later.[13] Motion comics of two segments of the graphic novel were added to the DVD & Blu-ray release of 28 Weeks Later.[14]
Removable chalk-powder graffiti was sprayed in locations around London and Birmingham featuring the web address 'ragevirus.com'. However, the web address was found to be unregistered and was quickly snapped up. The advertising agency who made the mistake agreed to purchase the rights to the domain name for an undisclosed sum.[15]
In April 2007, the horror/science-fiction film website Bloody Disgusting promoted 28 Weeks Later by giving readers a chance to win a prop from the film. The props were included in a "District 1 Welcome Pack", which featured an actual ID card and an edition of the London newspaper Evening Standard newspaper with a headline proclaiming the evacuation. The giveaway was only open to residents of North America and entries closed on 9 May 2007.[16]
In May 2007, 20th Century Fox posted a free 28 Weeks Later-themed flash game on their international website, foxinternational.com.[17] In the game, the player can play one of the infected in three parts of the city.
28 Weeks Later gained generally positive reviews.[18] The film has generated a "fresh" rating of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 182 reviews (128 fresh, 54 rotten).[19] View London called the film an "exciting, action-packed and superbly directed thriller that more than lives up to the original film".[20] The New York Times's A. O. Scott wrote that "28 Weeks Later is brutal and almost exhaustingly terrifying, as any respectable zombie movie should be. It is also bracingly smart, both in its ideas and in its techniques."[21]
The film opened in 2,000 cinemas across the United States.[22] It made $9.8 million in its opening weekend, coming in second place at the box office, behind Spider-Man 3. The film has grossed $28.6 million in the US and $35.6 million in other countries, bringing the worldwide total to $64.2 million.[23]
1.3 million DVD units have been sold in the United States, gathering a revenue of $24.3 million, as of July 2010.[24] The film has been released as its own DVD and as a double feature with 28 Days Later.
28 Weeks Later: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was composed, written and performed by John Murphy. The score was released exclusively to iTunes on the 12 June 2007. The theme of the first film, "In the House - In a Heartbeat",[25] is a reoccurring motif throughout the second film, varying in tone and speed. On 2 June 2009, a limited edition soundtrack was released by La-La Land Records. Only 1500 copies were made.[26]
The film's theatrical trailer featured the songs "Want" (Witchman) and "Shrinking Universe" (Muse).
In June 2007, it was announced that if DVD sales of the film did well, Fox Atomic would consider producing a third film.[27] In July 2007, while promoting Sunshine, Boyle revealed that he has a story forming for the next film. "There is an idea for the next one, something which would move the story on. I've got to think about it, whether it's right or not."[28]
In October 2008, Boyle discussed with KarmaLoopTV the possibility of 28 Months Later.[29]
In October 2010, when Alex Garland was asked what was happening with 28 Months Later, he declared: "I'll answer that completely honestly. When we made 28 Days Later, the rights were frozen between a group of people who are no longer talking to each other. And so, the film is never going to happen unless those people start talking to each other again. There is no script as far as I'm aware."[30]
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