28 Weeks later Spoiler Review

I chose to do a spoiler review on Danny Boyle's prequel to 28 days later, 28 weeks later. The film is based on an outbreak of the rage virus in England. There are four main characters, Don and his wife, Alice and their two children, Tammy and Andy. Don and Alice are camping out in a house along with four other people during the outbreak to protect themselves from the infected. However, a young boy finds the house and accidentally leads the infected to them. All of the people in the house also get infected apart from Don, whom abandons Alice to save him. After 28 weeks, the american led NATO force secure parts of London and allow citizens back into these districts. These people include Don's children, Tammy and Andy, which have been away for a school trip during the outbreak. The green zone is the only place in London which citizens can stay, exiting it is forbidden. The two children exit the green zone and find their mother, Alice, delirious but alive. The soldiers take Alice back to the safe zone when they find the children. Scarlet, a medical adviser discovers a bite mark and after a blood test, discovers that Alice has the rage virus, but is immune to it. Don discovers that Alice has been found and explains why he left her. After a passionate kiss between the couple, then virus is spread to Don. He kills Alice and the virus is once again spread over the safe zone. Throughout the film, Scarlet has to get the children to safety as she believes that the children may also have the immune system against the rage virus, which is proven difficult.

I think that this film meets the expectation of a thriller film because it has typical iconography. For example, the film includes weapons which is typically associated with the genre of thriller. This is because weapons often cause pain and are a typical representation of self defense. Next, my screen shots show that the films included things such as silhouette, which suggest enigma and mystery in the scene. They create a build up of anxiety and fear which suggest the protagonist is in some kind of danger. Thirdly, the film includes the use of confined spaces which makes the audience feel as if the protagonist is trapped, as are they. It often suggests a struggle of survival in the thriller genre. Moreover, 28 weeks later uses a city as it's main location. This is typical iconography for a thriller film as it brings all the drama closer to the audience and often represents a sense of reality. In general, during the beginning of the film, the use of candles is used. This also creates suspense in a thriller film as it gives the sense of lack of survival, as they haven't got normal necessities such as light and electricity. The sounds and music in the film also fit the typical iconography of a thriller film as it is fast paced which creates tension in the audience and makes the audience want to continue to watch the film to find out what happens during the conclusion. The face paced music also suggests that there is danger around the corner. However, I feel that the film could be seen as a predictable zombie film as you are able to tell that the rage virus will spread again. Although, as this film meets many typical iconography of a thriller film, I rate it a 5/5.