If it’s already hard enough to craft a sequel that will satisfy those who enjoyed its predecessor while matching—let alone surpassing—the quality standards of the original, imagine trying to continue the sequel. a feature film that revolutionized its genre and ended up transcending as one of the first cult films of the 21st century. Well, nothing less than this feat is what Juan Carlos Fresnadillo faced in 2007.
Ellipses and infections
Five years earlier, Danny Boyle turned undead horror movies upside down with a chilling ’28 days later’ that gave way to some “infected” much faster and more lethal than the clumsy zombies of George A. Romero in an impeccable exercise in its narrative and form —magnificent combination of photochemical and digital. But then the days ended up turning into weeks.
With ’28 weeks later’, Fresnadillo knew how to face the imposing challenge of expanding the universe devised by Boyle and the screenwriter Alex Garland, giving shape to a terrifying, violent and entertaining spectacle like few others while expanding the scale and conceptual ambition of the 2002 title; all of this in a very tight 99 minutes that will be remembered for its overwhelming opening sequence.
Along with the talent of the Canarian filmmaker, the film benefits greatly from the cinematography of Enrique Chediak —this time mixing material in 35mm, 16mm and video— and an impeccable cast that includes names like those of Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Idris Elba, Imogen Poots and a Jeremy Renner that he found what is probably the first role that put him in the spotlight.
’28 weeks later’, budgeted at about $15 million, meant a considerable success at the box office after reaching 65 million worldwide. If you want to see why—or if you just want to have a really good time—you can enjoy this cocktail of horror and action on Disney+.