RiverMei666

I'm a huge fan of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, and 28 Days Later is hands-down one of my all-time favorite zombie films. It's a classic-gritty, deeply British in its storytelling, and almost carries a disdain for traditional commercial cinema.

I still remember that moment in the film when the characters are traveling through the countryside, and Ave Maria plays in the background. It's hauntingly beautiful, spiritual even-offering a breath of calm and reflection in a story soaked with blood and brutality.

But 28 Years Later... the problem isn't just that it looks like it was shot on a smartphone. It's that the entire plot feels like a zombie-themed fairy tale for adults-or maybe even a mutated cousin of Wicked: Part I?

Maybe this is meant to be the first act of a bigger trilogy, and maybe the next two films will blow us away with some wild narrative expansion... but honestly?

I'm just exhausted.

The way Sony Pictures has been hyping this film across all media platforms, like they're trying to convince us it's a masterpiece-it's insulting. Do they think the audience is blind? I didn't expect that in 2025, we'd still be getting force-fed films like this.

And writing all this just makes me miss the raw, uncompromising brilliance of 28 Days Later even more.

I appreciate how The Embers, directed by Chung Mong-Hong, approaches the White Terror with a broader perspective. It integrates contrasts, such as comparing the Red Shirt Army's anti-Chen movement to emphasize the many ways "right and wrong" can be understood. This parallels Jin Shijie's statement on faith, suggesting how people unknowingly become part of the Lucifer Effect in political situations. The film clearly shows that the White Terror impacted not only Minnan people but also Mainlanders, who suffered under political persecution. The White Terror serves as a backdrop rather than the main plot, positioning The Embers more like a calm crime drama. The storytelling is reminiscent of an ARG, requiring viewers to sync with its "frequency." Jin Shijie steals the show with his performance, delivering powerful emotions with a single look, true to Chung's signature aesthetic and visual storytelling.

I really like the Production Designer in this series.

And... Although its story is not very understandable at present, it may be discussing stories about "reincarnation", "life or death".

And it's got some humor that makes me laugh.