History Fridge / TwentyEightDaysLater

* Nobody with a Phd calls the HatePlague a "virus." So it may not actually be a virus in the strictest sense, ie a DNA or RNA fragment wrapped by protein. It could be something as pernicious as a prion, like in "Mad Cow Disease" that chemically binds with and alters adrenaline. The adrenal system works ''fast'', and infected victims are already in a stressed "fight or flight" situation. Then once the prion's done it's work, the chemicals that would calm people down either don't work, or have the opposite effect, thus trapping them in a highly alert and enraged state.

** In theory, but the infected do nothing but attack attack attack in a blind rage, and if they get so much as a drop of blood or saliva into an open wound (pretty easy to do in a fistfight), you're done. Now there's two of them attacking the next person. [[TheSwarm And then three attacking the person after that.]]

* At the barricade where [[spoiler:Frank becomes infected, the soldiers]] have clearly been watching, camouflaged, the whole time. So why do they wait to show themselves until after [[spoiler:he becomes an infectee? Perhaps so that there's less resistance when their plans for Selena and Hannah are revealed?]]
** They're waiting to [[spoiler: kidnap the women.]]

*** [[spoiler:Yeah, that probably would have been great.]]

* At the beginning of the film, Jim learns of the infected and falls under mortal peril because he kept yelling “'''HELLO!'''". But at the end, he and the girls are again using the word HELLO as an SOS message for pilots. This symmetry underlines the fact that, despite all the despair and trauma the story inflicts on him, his human spirit and hope endures.

* ''{{Film/28WeeksLater}}'s'' plot hinges on the existence of at least one asymptomatic infectee (well, that, and [[IdiotPlot remarkably poor decision-making]]). There's no guarantee that there was ''only'' one, or that others might not have successfully escaped into the countryside or out of the country.

* Just what were the researchers, or those funding their experiments, planning to do with their "cure" for anger, if it ''had'' worked as intended? An entire planet of StepfordSmilers, perhaps? HappinessInSlavery?

* Just what were the researchers, or those funding their experiments, planning to do with their "cure" for anger, if it ''had'' worked as intended? An entire planet of StepfordSmiler{s}, perhaps? HappinessInSlavery?

** Viruses of that sort normally end in the death of the infectee. The Rage virus leaves them alive to continue to spread the virus until their death, presumably. In real life, there have been cases where viruses and/or diseases become more deadly in higher population densities. A smaller population density would by necessity have the virus reproduce slower or have a larger incubation period or it would die out without spreading itself. In a larger population density, the virus can be allowed to kill as quickly as it can so it can spread to as many as possible before the host dies.

** Maybe the Virus was having its intended effect (Of mellowing them out and making them all peace loving hippies) ... But ONLY to others that are infected? To them, they are merely spreading the love, so to speak.

*** [[spoiler:The Answer To Infection involves waiting for the Infected to starve to death, something that would be impractical if they did eat and drink off screen. Furthermore, they are seen lying on the ground, dying of starvation close to the end of the movie.]]

** The infection ''has'' largely died out. That's how Jim is able to walk through London, a city of several million people, yelling "Hello!" very loudly without being mauled in the first ten seconds. But there are still some more recent infectees hanging around.

** The sequel confirms that many did escape the country.

**** [[spoiler:Yeah, that probably would have been great. [[ItGetsWorse Unfortunately...]]]]

** It also explains why the virus was contained in Britain. With practically no incubation time, there is (virtually) nil chance of infected people getting through the ports and airports undetected. With Britain being an island, they'd have to [[TwentyEightWeeksLater walk through the water]] or something!

* It's shown repeatedly that the time from infection to Rage is never more than a minute or so. That should make detecting and isolating the infected pretty easy. This is the reason most [[DidNotDoTheResearch real viruses have an incubation period]].

*** Or maybe they're all holed up in their apartments, refusing to let any other survivors know they're in there for fear of letting an infectee in.