Film Review -"28 Years Later"

Danny Boyle made the third film of this series with a different eye than he had approached the previous movies. I can appreciate this, though the post-apocalyptic settlement feels very much like something we have seen already in "The Walking Dead.". But how many ways can you spin the long-term effects of a zombie outbreak without getting to some of the same tropes?  The stylistic changes and the use of color are the biggest changes here, and make the movie visually stimulating, though some of the cut scenes feel like they are window dressing and not serving the story. 

You also get lots of people making stupid mistakes, which I think a world of caution would be the rule in a more realistic situation. But such is the way of horror movies. The rage virus works the same, though the zombies seem a little smarter in this one, as well as the use of a large apex alpha zombie that is a presence that helps define this movie. It does stand apart from the other films rather than just being a sequel. The protagonist is a young boy trying to save his mother, which adds a more emotional element, as he learns the hard lesson that this kind of life would bring. 

The wheel is not being re-invented here as the first movie is obviously going to be the most original, but I think I like this better than the second film, though it did drag some at the end, and the ridiculous ending with the Scandinavian acrobatic ninja was silly..It felt like it turned into "Kung Fu Hustle" all of a sudden. It was an odd choice. If you are a fan of zombie movies, you are not going to need me to sell you on this. I do not normally like zombie movies can name ten that are my favorites of this sub-genre, not sure if this one makes the list, but it is well made and entertaining. 

Film Review- "Weapons"

This film, brought to you by Zach Creggar, who made the 2022 film "Barbarian," goes with a different shade of creepy for this one, that is still dark enough to kick off the Halloween season. The promotion of the film kept things vague, you know, kids go missing.  Bigger-name actors flourish in this film to create an interesting character study that is woven together in a fashion not unlike something  M Night Shyamalan might do, but it was not saved for the twist at the end. 

The occult nature of the antagonist is very effective, with the villain falling somewhere between "Longlegs" and "Heredity" in scope of creepiness. The title in some ways fakes you out.  The violence is well-paced, and don't go in the basement moments while plentiful are done in a manner that makes sense. The characters, even when supernatural flavors surface, are all very real-feeling. There is frame framework to magic which I can appreciate rather than just a magic can do anything plot hole. 

The writing is the real star, the characters are a well-balanced mix of straights rather than 2-d stereotypes. None of the casting or personality of said characters seems forced; everything flows naturally. When shit hits the fan and gets chaotic, well, suspension of disbelief has already been established enough for it to not be a jarring left turn. So far it's one of the year's best horror movies, perhaps not the scariest but one of the most engaging stories to escape into.