It's not often I that I am duped by the sneaky re-naming and re-packaging of movies, but I admit that I bought the DVD for 48 Weeks Later (33p at a local charity shop) mistaking it for the sequel to 28 Days Later. I soon realised my mistake, but decided to keep it anyway - after all, I'm a sucker for zombie films, no matter how terrible.
Originally titled Last Rites, the film features zombies vs. hispanics vs. blacks vs. cops, the action unfolding in a predictable manner as its clichéd characters argue amongst themselves, the living proving to be just as deadly as the zombies. It's a missed opportunity to do something intelligent: there's none of the sociological subtext that the premise suggests. But who cares about that? Director Duane Stinnett keeps the pace fairly lively, and there are a couple of impressive gore effects (a gory arm-ripping and juicy head-smushing) to please splatter fans (although a bit more graphic violence definitely wouldn't have gone amiss: it's a bit 'dry' for much of the time). It all adds up to a passable time-waster as far as I am concerned.
All told, 48 Weeks Later is far removed in terms of quality from Danny Boyle's movie, and its sequel, but still not the complete and utter crap-fest I had been expecting given the subterfuge required to get me to purchase it.
Originally titled Last Rites, the film features zombies vs. hispanics vs. blacks vs. cops, the action unfolding in a predictable manner as its clichéd characters argue amongst themselves, the living proving to be just as deadly as the zombies. It's a missed opportunity to do something intelligent: there's none of the sociological subtext that the premise suggests. But who cares about that? Director Duane Stinnett keeps the pace fairly lively, and there are a couple of impressive gore effects (a gory arm-ripping and juicy head-smushing) to please splatter fans (although a bit more graphic violence definitely wouldn't have gone amiss: it's a bit 'dry' for much of the time). It all adds up to a passable time-waster as far as I am concerned.
All told, 48 Weeks Later is far removed in terms of quality from Danny Boyle's movie, and its sequel, but still not the complete and utter crap-fest I had been expecting given the subterfuge required to get me to purchase it.