28 Weeks Later... was expensive.

So, instead of doing the smart thing and taking advantage of the pre-departure cinetrek opportunities, I waited until I got to London… to pay $25.00 US dollars to see a movie (the only upside being that I watched it in the city in which it’s based/filmed). On top of the ridiculous price, it was a ridiculous movie… so I guess I won’t complain the next time I see a movie back home and have to pay a (*insert sarcasm here*) whopping $15.00 for the complete IMAX experience (John, you need to get out more and go to the Edwards theatres in Mira Mesa).

I guess, in the big scheme of things, it’s not all bad. While the movie WAS ridiculous, and was in no way worth the price I paid to see it, I was entertained. And, I’ll admit it… I watched the first ten minutes of the film through the backs of my eyelids. No matter how old I get, things that come out of nowhere and make loud noises will always be scary. To the director’s credit (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo), the way he shot the film made all the difference. Anyone can make a scary movie, replete with monsters and gore galore. Juan, however, took the “less is more” motto to heart, and it absolutely worked in his favour. It’s the flashes of what he gives you, which your mind takes and makes into what it thinks it sees, that are absolutely the most effective visual scare tactics in any medium. If the boogy man came out from under the bed and shook your hand, you’d have no reason to be afraid of him.

One thing I did appreciate about seeing the movie once I was actually in the city where it takes place is that I now have a better understanding of, and appreciation for, the landmarks used in the film. The scenes shot in the tube stations affected me the same way the idea of going camping after watching The Blair Witch Project did. (My mom and sister really did try to get me to go camping the day after I saw that movie… needless to say, I didn’t go.) Even though the world isn’t full of viral, raging, vomiting zombies, when the underground trains stop randomly in tunnels, that’s creepy… now partly thanks to this movie.

The movie also made me somewhat homesick. I found myself relating to the film in the same way I would if I were watching a movie based in San Diego. It’s the feeling of recognition of “home”. Not that I feel I have this city mastered, but maybe 28 weeks from now…

(PS: Is it bad if all I could think while watching Robert Carlyle as a zombie was “what if he just broke into the Full Monty routine?”)

- Laurel Butcher