28 Weeks Later

28 Weeks Later is a 2007 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rowan Joffé, Enrique López Lavigne and Jesus Olmo. It serves as a standalone sequel to 28 Days Later (2002), and is the second installment in the film series of the same name. The movie stars Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Catherine McCormack, Mackintosh Muggleton, Imogen Poots, and Idris Elba. It is set after the events of the first film, depicting the efforts of United States-led NATO forces to establish a safe zone in London, the consequence of two young siblings breaking protocol to find a photograph of their mother, and the resulting reintroduction of the Rage Virus into the safe zone.

28 Weeks Later was theatrically released on 11 May 2007 in the United Kingdom and United States by 20th Century Fox and Fox Atomic, respectively. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed over $72.3 million worldwide. A sequel, 28 Years Later, was released on 20 June 2025.

Plot

Donald "Don" Harris, his wife Alice, and four more survivors hide in a cottage on the outskirts of London following the initial outbreak of the Rage Virus.Template:Efn They hear a terrified boy begging to be let in, and they do. However, moments later, the infected who have followed the boy break in and kill the survivors. Alice searches the upstairs bedroom for the boy who ran off; Don pleads with her to leave the boy, but she refuses and is cornered by the infected as Don flees and leaves by boat.

After the infected die of starvation, NATO forces take control of Great Britain and begin to rebuild the island. Twenty-eight weeks after the outbreak, the US military, under the command of Brigadier General Stone, brings in settlers and refugees. Among the new arrivals are Don and Alice's children, Tammy and Andy, who were out of the country during the outbreak. They are admitted to District One, a heavily guarded safe zone on the Isle of Dogs, where they are reunited with their father, who lies about their mother's fate. Sergeant Doyle, a Delta Force sniper, is among the soldiers guarding District One.

Tammy and Andy sneak out of the safe zone and return to their former home, hoping to recover a photograph of Alice among other belongings due to Andy’s worry of forgetting what their mother looked like. Inside, they discover Alice alive in a delirious state, just as soldiers alerted by Doyle reach them and return them to District One. Alice is quarantined and tested by Scarlet, a US Army medical officer, and found to be an asymptomatic carrier of the Rage Virus. Don makes an unauthorised visit to Alice, to whom access is unsecured by security personnel, begging her to forgive him. After kissing Alice, Don gets immediately infected by her saliva and brutally kills her before going on a rampage.

Scarlet rescues Tammy and Andy from an isolation room, theorising that they might have inherited a genetic immunity to the virus that could lead to a cure. Don has instigated a domino effect of rapid infections, killing numerous refugees and military personnel. Unable to contain the chaos, Stone orders everyone to be shot indiscriminately. Doyle refuses to comply and leaves his post to assist a small group of fleeing survivors. A panicked sniper kills two of the group, but Doyle returns fire and kills him, leaving himself, Scarlet, Tammy, Andy, and another survivor, Sam. The group reaches the edge of District One as the Air Force firebombs the whole zone. Don survives and follows them into abandoned London.

Doyle's colleague Flynn flies his helicopter to Regent's Park to rescue Doyle, but tells him to abandon the others. As a crowd of infected people discovers the five escapees, a desperate Sam latches onto the flying helicopter, but is infected when Flynn uses his rotor blades to kill the crowd. Flynn instructs Doyle to meet at Wembley Stadium alone, but Doyle keeps the trio with him. They break into an abandoned Volvo V70 to escape nerve gas that has been released to kill the infected, but are unable to start the car. As soldiers with flamethrowers draw near, Doyle exits the car to push-start it and is burned alive.

Scarlet and the children take shelter from aerial gunfire in the London Underground, navigating the darkness with a night vision rifle scope. Don ambushes them, killing Scarlet and biting Andy. Tammy kills Don and Andy becomes an asymptomatic carrier like Alice. Vowing to stick together, Tammy and Andy reach Flynn at Wembley Stadium, who reluctantly flies them to France.

Twenty-eight days later, a French voice requesting help is heard through the radio in Flynn's abandoned helicopter. A group of infected people emerges from a Paris Métro station near the foot of the Eiffel Tower, revealing that the virus has spread to mainland Europe.

Production

Development and writing

The international success of the 2002 horror film 28 Days Later influenced its creators—director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald, and screenwriter Alex Garland—to make a sequel four years following its release. Macdonald stated, "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."

In March 2005, however, Boyle revealed he would not be directing due to commitments to Sunshine (2007), but said he would stay on as executive producer. He also teased that its plot would revolve around the aftermath of the first film, and would involve the US Army "declaring the war against infection had been won, and that the reconstruction of the country could begin". Boyle later hired Spanish filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, believing he would be able to "bring a fresh new perspective" to the film. Another reason he picked Fresnadillo was because he was a "huge fan" of his 2001 film Intacto. Before Fresnadillo took over, he was on a five-year hiatus from filmmaking, working on TV commercials.

Fresnadillo felt the plot involving a family in Rowan Joffé's original script was underdeveloped, so he decided to rewrite it with collaborators Enrique López-Lavigne and Jesús Olmo. Although both Fresnadillo and López-Lavigne were unimpressed with the initial draft, they found its concept of the family "trying to start over after the first outbreak" a redeemable aspect, deciding to retain it in the rewritten version. Rewriting took almost a year, with Garland adding additional input to the script.

Casting

Boyle said in March 2005 that the sequel would feature a new cast, since previous cast members Cillian Murphy, Megan Burns, and Naomie Harris were occupied with their own projects. In September 2006, Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Catherine McCormack, Harold Perrineau, Imogen Poots, Idris Elba, Mackintosh Muggleton and Jeremy Renner were announced as the cast for the sequel.

Even though their roles were small or shot from a distance, all the extras who played the infected were required to have a movement-based artistic background, including such occupations as ballet, dance, gymnastics, circus performing, and miming.

Filming

On 1 September 2006, principal photography for 28 Weeks Later began in London, with much of the filming taking place at Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs, the safe zone in the film's plot.

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 a major reconstruction, were filmed instead in Wales, with Cardiff's Millennium Stadium used as a replacement. Danny Boyle, who is credited as an executive producer on this film and directed 28 Days Later, directed some portions of this film including the opening sequence with Robert Carlyle.

Promotion

Graphic novel

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. Motion comics of two segments of the graphic novel were added to the DVD and Blu-ray release of 28 Weeks Later.

Biohazard warning

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. The sign contained the international biological hazard symbol, along with the admonition that the UK was "contaminated, keep out!"

Release

28 Weeks Later was released on 11 May 2007, in the United Kingdom by 20th Century Fox, and in the United States by Fox Atomic.

Home media

1.3 million DVD units have been sold in the United States, gathering a revenue of $25.3 million. The film has been released as its own DVD and as a double feature with 28 Days Later.

Reception

Box office

The film opened in 2,000 cinemas across the United States. 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 $43.7 million in other countries, bringing the worldwide total to $72.3 million.

Critical response

View London called the film an "exciting, action-packed and superbly directed thriller that more than lives up to the original film". The New York TimesTemplate:'s A. O. Scott remarked that it 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".

Derek Elley for Variety called it "a full-bore zombie romp that more than delivers the genre goods".

Rotten Tomatoes lists the film on its 100 Best Zombie Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer.

Alex Garland, the writer of 28 Days Later and 28 Years Later, commented on the film, calling it a good "early lesson...in the difference in making something in a kind of enthusiastic, non-cynical way, in comparison to a project that is generated by a different sort of imperative, which is, 'There should be another one'."

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed, written and performed by John Murphy. The score was released exclusively to iTunes on 12 June 2007. On 2 June 2009, a limited-edition soundtrack was released by La-La Land Records, but only 1,500 copies were made.

Sequel

In June 2007, Fox Atomic confirmed potential for a third film, dependent upon the financial performance of the film following its home video release. In July of the same year, Boyle said that the story for a third installment had been mapped out. By October 2010, Garland stated that due to differences involving the film rights, the project had been delayed. In January 2011, however, Boyle stated that he believed the project would be realised, confirming further developments for the story. Nevertheless, by April 2013 the filmmaker expressed uncertainty as to whether the movie would be made. In January 2015, Garland addressed the project's status, confirming that while it had fallen into development hell there were serious discussions going on behind the scenes to produce the project. Reiterating that development was progressing, stating that the script he was working on would tentatively be titled 28 Months Later. In June 2019, Boyle confirmed that he and Garland had been working on the third installment. In March 2020, Imogen Poots expressed interest in reprising her role, followed by Cillian Murphy in May 2021.

In June 2023, Boyle and Garland expressed in collaboration their intentions to "seriously" and "diligently" see the project enter production; while announcing that the script was now titled 28 Years Later, acknowledging the years it had taken to be developed. Boyle stated that he would like to serve as director, unless Garland chooses to. By July of the same year, Murphy stated that he had recently discussed the possibility of a third film with Boyle; once again expressing interest in reprising his role if Boyle and Garland return to the franchise in their creative roles.

In January 2024, it was announced that a third film titled 28 Years Later was officially in development; with plans for the project to be the first of a new trilogy. Danny Boyle will direct the first installment, with a script written by Alex Garland; while the latter will also write the scripts for each of the planned sequels. Boyle, Garland, Andrew Macdonald, and Peter Rice will serve as producers. In February of the same year, Murphy discussed his potential involvement with the project. In March 2024, Garland confirmed that he is writing a trilogy of sequel films. The following month, the writer stated that Kes was a major influence on his work for 28 Years Later. The first trailer for the third installment was released by Sony Pictures in December 2024, and the film was released on June 20, 2025.

External links

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