by Rianne Hill Soriano

Created on: December 17, 2010   Last Updated: December 21, 2010

"28 Weeks Later" is scarier, more utterly gripping, and occasionally unsettling than many horror and suspense-thriller released during its time. It exudes that disturbing effect with its terrifying aura of doom and gloom about the gory mess of reconstructing a city ravaged by a virus. It follows through with the internal and external forces trying to control, improve, and worsen the situation. Presented with a stinging and intriguing load of subtexts and social and political commentaries, the good emotional and audio-visual treatments save the feeble plot points of the film.

This follow-up to Danny Boyle’s "28 Days Later" contains many visually arresting images that may knock on one's memory even after watching the film. Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo does a decent job of keeping up with the prequel’s template as established by Boyle, who serves as executive producer for this sequel.

The point-of-view shots and whiz-blur-camera work within the grimy, digital-video treatment (mainly during the first part of the film) yield to the delirious editing, blistering sound design, and thundering musical score. The various elements are put into good use.

As compared to the graphic opening of "28 Days Later," this sequel starts pretty much quiet and contained as a group of survivors hide quietly inside a rural farmhouse. They to live as normal as possible within the dark corners of their hiding place. Escalating from the tensioned-filled dining scene where they share a seemingly sumptuous meal coupled by a serious discussion, an external force starts knocking. Human as they are, they help a boy struggling for his life from his munching parents already infected by the rage virus. In a few seconds, the zombies start wrecking unthinkable havoc as they bite and spew blood to the uninfected civilians. From there, Alice (Catherine McCormack) is seen trapped as she protects the little boy; while his cowardly husband Don (Robert Carlyle) is only left with his instinct to save himself as he escapes with the sight of his wife and the boy ready to be victimized by the monstrous horde.

In the same way, the humanitarian characters further validate themselves in the story. The logical and sympathetic chief military medical officer Scarlet (Rose Byrne) is concerned about the lack of protocol regarding young repatriates and how saving the children can bring hope in getting the antidote for the virus - considering their mother’s unique immunity to the rage microbe.

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