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greygirlbeastHaving made it three-quarters of the way through the Norse/Icelandic/Anglo-Saxon glossary thingy I had to write today, and figuring I can easily finish it tonight, Spooky and I decided to celebrate the death of Jerry Falwell by taking in the 4:40 p.m. matinee of 28 Weeks Later at Midtown. And about the late and unlamented (at least in this household) Mr. Falwell, I will have more to say later. I try not to speak ill of the dead, but when someone has made it his life's goal to preach the extermination of me and mine, and then I outlive the motherfucker, I think it's fair enough for the gloves to come off.
Farewell, Mr. Falwell. You were the sort of bastard who makes me very sorry I do not believe in Hell or even karmic retribution.
But, about 28 Weeks Later. As I've said before, I am not a film reviewer, just a nixar who sees far too many films. But this is what I will say about 28 Weeks Later, which I score an 8 out of 10. Oh, yeah, I'll stick it behind a cut for them what fear spoilers.
I think this film is probably as good as Danny Boyle's original, though it is in many ways a very different film. The thing that struck me almost right away is that 28 Weeks Later is to 28 Days Later later almost exactly what Aliens was to Alien, if Aliens had been a far, far bleaker sequel than it was. Whether it's the Colonial Marines or the US military, the story's pretty much the same. Complacent soldiers who cannot begin to comprehend what they're up against led by an incompetent chain of command that cannot imagine itself ever actually failing. And I was tempted to title this entry "Newt's Story." Because we certainly have a strong parallel between the Jordens and the doomed family of 28 Weeks Later. At one critical point, Andy (our Newt, in this case), even seeks shelter in the air ducts. Even the slipshod, inconsistent manner in which Aliens makes use of the aliens' acidic blood (extremely corrosive when convenient, less so when inconvenient) is echoed in 28 Weeks Later. Sometimes, a single drop of blood is enough to infect, though other times characters fairly swim in the stuff and come out uninfected. Finally, this is far more of an action film that was 28 Days Later, and those who have already seen Grindhouse will wonder whether Robert Rodriquez or Juan Carlos Fresnadillo was the first to realize what a wonderful zombie killing device a helicopter might become.
But enough of the comparisons. Because, all that said, 28 Weeks Later is its own film. And it is unrelentingly grim. As with Zack Snyder's superb 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, there is no light at the end of this tunnel. Indeed, this is truly a horror film, for the sense of horror almost immediately overwhelms the viewer's ability to experience anything else. I'm not talking about gore (though, make no mistake, this is a gorefest). I'm talking about horror. Well, and fear, which inevitably follows from horror. To pull out the dictionary, horror —"An intense, painful feeling of repugnance and fear." But something more than that. An existential shock, which is that horror that follows from the realization that you are so entirely fucked there's no way back and the only thing you can hope for is an easy death. The realization that all of existence is balanced on the knife's edge of "nature red in tooth and claw" (thank you, Mr. Tennyson). This is the end, and there's no one to rescue you. Not your mother and father, not the military or a government or some corporation, no Ellen fucking Ripley, no loving god at the end of the end of the world. Only terror and then death. This is not a film that plays with awe and wonder. This is not fun. This is a cold blade in the gut in a dark room.
And on the subject of "running zombies" (keeping in mind that the infected of 28 Weeks Later and its predecessor are actually not zombies), anyone who finds the shuffling undead of Romero's film's more frightening that the super-predators of these two films, well, let's just say our fear receptors don't work quite the same way. The victims of the "rage virus" are, for my part, one of the most sublime terrors ever portrayed on screen.
Finally, it was impossible to watch 28 Weeks Later and not see a film that is as much about the war in Iraq and the ravages of Hurricane Katrina (and bungling of Federal relief efforts) as it is about a bioweapons experiment cum apocalypse. Like Children of Men, I could not watch this film and not sense the profound fear and distrust of America that so much of the world must harbor these days. And the bleak realization, in the wake of Katrina, that many Americans have had, that their own government may pose the greatest threat of all to their well being. It's certainly not a new message for an sf or horror film, but here it is timely and delivered with great skill and force.
I would also add that Robert Carlyle is perfectly cast, and he brings a dreadful humanity to his performance. Jeremy Renner's Doyle is another fine performance (you'll see Hicks here, of course, if you've seen Aliens), and there is a splendid eerieness about Imogen Poots (despite her unfortunate name). John Murphy's score is breathtaking (almost literally), and Enrique Chediak's cinematography simultaneously pays homage to the original and serves the needs of this far darker vision.
Farewell, Mr. Falwell. You were the sort of bastard who makes me very sorry I do not believe in Hell or even karmic retribution.
But, about 28 Weeks Later. As I've said before, I am not a film reviewer, just a nixar who sees far too many films. But this is what I will say about 28 Weeks Later, which I score an 8 out of 10. Oh, yeah, I'll stick it behind a cut for them what fear spoilers.
I think this film is probably as good as Danny Boyle's original, though it is in many ways a very different film. The thing that struck me almost right away is that 28 Weeks Later is to 28 Days Later later almost exactly what Aliens was to Alien, if Aliens had been a far, far bleaker sequel than it was. Whether it's the Colonial Marines or the US military, the story's pretty much the same. Complacent soldiers who cannot begin to comprehend what they're up against led by an incompetent chain of command that cannot imagine itself ever actually failing. And I was tempted to title this entry "Newt's Story." Because we certainly have a strong parallel between the Jordens and the doomed family of 28 Weeks Later. At one critical point, Andy (our Newt, in this case), even seeks shelter in the air ducts. Even the slipshod, inconsistent manner in which Aliens makes use of the aliens' acidic blood (extremely corrosive when convenient, less so when inconvenient) is echoed in 28 Weeks Later. Sometimes, a single drop of blood is enough to infect, though other times characters fairly swim in the stuff and come out uninfected. Finally, this is far more of an action film that was 28 Days Later, and those who have already seen Grindhouse will wonder whether Robert Rodriquez or Juan Carlos Fresnadillo was the first to realize what a wonderful zombie killing device a helicopter might become.
But enough of the comparisons. Because, all that said, 28 Weeks Later is its own film. And it is unrelentingly grim. As with Zack Snyder's superb 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, there is no light at the end of this tunnel. Indeed, this is truly a horror film, for the sense of horror almost immediately overwhelms the viewer's ability to experience anything else. I'm not talking about gore (though, make no mistake, this is a gorefest). I'm talking about horror. Well, and fear, which inevitably follows from horror. To pull out the dictionary, horror —"An intense, painful feeling of repugnance and fear." But something more than that. An existential shock, which is that horror that follows from the realization that you are so entirely fucked there's no way back and the only thing you can hope for is an easy death. The realization that all of existence is balanced on the knife's edge of "nature red in tooth and claw" (thank you, Mr. Tennyson). This is the end, and there's no one to rescue you. Not your mother and father, not the military or a government or some corporation, no Ellen fucking Ripley, no loving god at the end of the end of the world. Only terror and then death. This is not a film that plays with awe and wonder. This is not fun. This is a cold blade in the gut in a dark room.
And on the subject of "running zombies" (keeping in mind that the infected of 28 Weeks Later and its predecessor are actually not zombies), anyone who finds the shuffling undead of Romero's film's more frightening that the super-predators of these two films, well, let's just say our fear receptors don't work quite the same way. The victims of the "rage virus" are, for my part, one of the most sublime terrors ever portrayed on screen.
Finally, it was impossible to watch 28 Weeks Later and not see a film that is as much about the war in Iraq and the ravages of Hurricane Katrina (and bungling of Federal relief efforts) as it is about a bioweapons experiment cum apocalypse. Like Children of Men, I could not watch this film and not sense the profound fear and distrust of America that so much of the world must harbor these days. And the bleak realization, in the wake of Katrina, that many Americans have had, that their own government may pose the greatest threat of all to their well being. It's certainly not a new message for an sf or horror film, but here it is timely and delivered with great skill and force.
I would also add that Robert Carlyle is perfectly cast, and he brings a dreadful humanity to his performance. Jeremy Renner's Doyle is another fine performance (you'll see Hicks here, of course, if you've seen Aliens), and there is a splendid eerieness about Imogen Poots (despite her unfortunate name). John Murphy's score is breathtaking (almost literally), and Enrique Chediak's cinematography simultaneously pays homage to the original and serves the needs of this far darker vision.
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no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 12:23 am (UTC)I admired this film more than the original film, which pissed me off (I have issues with Danny Boyle), but the style is still way herky-jerky and headache-inducing. Still, Jeremy Renner deserves to be a bigger star than he is.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 12:28 am (UTC)I have not seen 28 Days Later (Shaun of the Dead was in fact the very first zombie film I ever saw, and I realize this is more than a little backwards). But with everything I've been hearing about 28 Weeks Later, I am seriously contemplating a double feature in the near future.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 01:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 03:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 12:34 am (UTC)I did too and I was right to do so.
However, that doesn't mean the movie isn't worth seeing. I have gripes - overuse of gimmicky cam shots (the night vision scope went on way too long, the red wash shaky cam was not worth the time it was in the movie, blah blah), incredibly abrupt ending - the movie felt incredibly short.
I felt that the opening of the movie was actually quite strong -- unfortunately once you got past that it was hit or miss (mostly hit) -- but still downhill from the intro (even if I was loving it at the thumbs-in-the-eyes bit).
That was mostly a visual critique, but I think it's relatively valid. I also noted and enjoyed the parallels between this film and Alien / Aliens though I do think the movie is getting a bit more praise than it ought to. I'd probably have enjoyed it more if the movie didn't end up feeling so damn short with such a weak ending. Robert Carlyle was nigh perfectly cast, though.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 12:54 am (UTC)Still I felt you might get a kick out of his take on it:
'All told, until it comes out on DVD, just watch Ravenous; it is the superior Robert-Carlyle-Eating-People-Movie...'
terrifying
Date: 2007-05-16 01:20 am (UTC)if I don't go to see 28 Weeks Later, it's because I'm just too damn scared.
Re: terrifying
Date: 2007-05-16 03:22 am (UTC)Don't feel bad if you don't go. Because it is unrelentingly terrifying. I think I simply forgot how frightening 28 Days Later was. Or forgot to expect this movie to terrify me. Or something. I wasn't left shaking at the end as with the remake of Dawn of the Dead, but I'm still prickly.
I didn't make the connection when I saw the first movie, but the infected are very much like the reavers in Firefly & Serenity.
Re: terrifying
Date: 2007-05-16 04:03 am (UTC)Re: terrifying
Date: 2007-05-18 06:13 am (UTC)"Unrelentingly terrifying" sums it up.
best zombies ever
Date: 2007-05-16 02:01 am (UTC)There were three scenes that set this movie apart for me, scenes that havent been done so clearly or to such an extreme.
When the father drops his crowbar and immediately realizes that he has nothing, that his body is as good as worthless without something solid that can cause quick and severe damage, a completely overwhelming sense of being unable to defend oneself,
And then shortly after as the father is running away from the house... Knowing that these are humans who do not feel pain of any kind who put 100% of their bodies into killing whatever they can -
25 of them -sprinting- after you is something I hope to never experience. You know that you cannot out run them, as they are not limited to being out of breathe or burning muscles.
And the rifle beat down sequence.... Keep in mind - the view is through the scope. He was using the barrel. I felt that it was waaaay over the top, on par with pans labrynths bottle scene...(neither of wich I would actually take out of the films, but jesus h christ.)
Now if I could just get Machete from grindhouse made into a full length feature...
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 02:39 am (UTC)"To the living, one owes respect. To the dead, one owes only truth." --Voltaire
So don't feel about talking smack about him, either. :) Now I'm just patiently waiting for Robertson and Phelps to join him.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 02:41 am (UTC)I just read a bit of cheery news...the "Reverend" Jerry Falwell has been found dead!!! I cannot hide my joy at the fact that this man will no longer be around to poison and divide this country. This man was a founding member of the self-righteous "moral majority" that helped strengthen the campaigns of assholes like Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush by infusing a hard-core right wing (hypo)Christian ideology into the political atmosphere. At least once a year he felt the need to remind the world that he was a fool by finding evidence of "satanism" or the "homosexual agenda" in childrens television shows(he's the dude who outed "Tinky Winky"). Yet, the Republicans NEVER distanced themselves from him and he continued to campaign and raise money for them as long as they kept the country focused on the important issues(stoping a woman's right to choose and keeping gay marriage legal). I think the world just got slightly better w/ his demise. Unfortunately, there are many brain dead simpletons who inherit his likeness and will carry his torch of idiocy. It's just too bad the "hell" these morons condem those they don't like to doesn't really exist, otherwise I'd like to think of them swimming in its sulfuric wastes
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 03:55 am (UTC)Good times...
no subject
Date: 2007-05-16 12:40 pm (UTC)