28 Years Later
I first got into 28 Days Later as a wee teenager. I wasn’t 18 yet when I watched it, and yet it was an 18-rated movie, so that was a bit naughty of me. (My parents had very strict rules about movie ratings.) I watched it at a friend’s house who was much more relaxed about that sort of thing.
I loved it so much, and really appreciated its feminist themes. It was THE zombie movie for me.
However, I didn’t think there ever needed to be a sequel, so when I got around to watching 28 Weeks Later I hated it. But YEARS later! The new sequel pulled me in with its amazing trailer:
And I was dying to see it since the moment they started reciting “Boots” like it was a manic war cry. So did it live up to the hype, and I was very hyped? YES IT DID!
Okay, I know this film is divisive. I get it. It’s not for everyone. But I LOVED it. It was completely balls-to-the-wall insane, just how I like my movies. Here are some thoughts in bullet-point form, with SPOILERS:
-kudos to the marketing for making it seem like Ralph Fiennes’ character was a bad guy, only to have him turn out to be an unambiguous (if a little kooky) good guy. He was my favourite character.
-“Boots” made it to the movie as well! The trailer made me obsessed with that poem.
-Alfie Williams is amazing! Between him and Owen Cooper in Adolescence it’s really been a good year for young male British actors coming out of nowhere and blowing everyone away.
-The Alpha chase under the starry sky is an AMAZING sequence.
-I was told Erin Kellyman was in this movie… she is not in this movie. Maybe the sequel? (Which is coming in January!)
Lastly: Absolutely NOTHING can prepare you for the ending of this movie. It had me staring in slack-jawed “did they really go there?!” amusement-horror. I don’t think non-Brits will get the same effect but for Brits of a certain age there’s not enough WTF in the world for that scene.