Heat Files: 28 Weeks Later

Jim Gaffigan had a bit from his second Comedy Central Presents, or I think it was that one anyway, where he talks about seeing a movie years after it comes out and feeling awkward about wanting to discuss it with people because everyone else was done talking about it in 1995. The example he used was Heat.

"Hey any of you guys seen Heat?"

-"That came out like 8 years ago..."

"Yeah but...I wanna talk about it now."

So in the spirit of that, I give you Heat Files, a breakdown of films that aren't even remotely topical. Our first one is dedicated to 28 Weeks Later because I just watched it for the first time the other day when it was on Cinemax.

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Zombies shouldn't run. Simon Pegg, the English comic actor father I never had, argues that here better than I ever could. In 28 Weeks Later, they zombies do run, regardless, I still like it. If we wan't to get technical about it, they aren't exactly zombies, they didn't rise from the dead, they're just infected with the Rage virus(which is pretty self explanitory). I make excuses anyway I can.

There are a lot of things to like about this movie though, and while I'm not the biggest horror fan ever, I love survival horror. And zombies. A small group that has to get to somewhere before they're mauled by zombies is perfect for me. I couldn't care less about sexy teens being chased through a cabin by a maniac(Don't think I mean Evil Dead here, that movie is perfect. Campy bullshit, possessed weed rapes and all). Or worse yet, remakes.

The first thing you have to love is Robert Carlye. The movie begins with him locking a door behind him so he can escape and his wife can be bitten and infected by zombies. He's a complete bastard, which is fitting for him, he's made a career out of playing bastards. He played Hitler in that CBS miniseries a few years ago, for one, and the slightly more evil Begbie in Trainspotting. He played Hitler pretty well for being Scottish, he didn't look as good as the Hitler in the upcoming film Tom Cruise With An Eyepatch, but good regardless. He's an excellent actor but hes got beady eyed rat face. He's sort of like the Scottish Steve Buscemi.

He also plays a big part in what is essentially the films most important scene, and here come the spoliers(I'm instituting a policy, if a film is older than 5 years old you'll get no warning. Also, if it was a massive success that you had no business not seeing like The Departed, you're not allowed to be angry when I give away the fact that everyone dies). His wife somehow survives the attack and shes rescued, she carries the virus but it doesn't affect her. Robert Carlye is told that she's been found and he is struck by the sense of dread only a man who left his wife to die can understand. But when he sees her in the hospital(shes locked in quarantine) they get over it and he kisses her. Now hes infected, now it gets ugly.

He shows all the symptoms of someone infected, screaming, writhing around the floor, foaming at the mouth. Then he locks in on his wife and one of the most brutal scenes in recent memory goes down. He jumps up on the gurney she's strapped down to and just beats the living shit out of her. She screams for her life but begins to choke as blood fills her mouth after her teeth have been punched out, she shakes and fights but she can't get through the straps. And then, with no cutaway, he shoves his thumbs into her eyes until blood pours out like a faucet. By the end it looks like a bomb went off in her face.

I won't give a walk through of the whole movie because no one wants to read that, but I will also point out that there is a scene that I think everyone should see where between 30 to 50 zombies and running through a field and are cut in half by a helicopter blade. Its the best mass chopping since the opening scene of Ghost Ship which as it turns out is the only redeeming thing that movie has and you can basically turn it off after that.

Anyway, much like this post, the movie sort of loses steam near the end. I liked it, its worth seeing, but its about a 6/10. But on the horror specific scale I'll give it an 8/10.

More tomorrow.

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Godspeed, Greg Jennings.