History YMMV / TwentyEightWeeksLater

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Andy's long hair and youthful features made some viewers mistake him for a {{Tomboy}} at first. Even the name Andy could easily be a TomboyishNickname.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Sure, Alice, bang on the window and scream for your husband to help you, even while he's fleeing for his life and is hundreds of yards away at that point, rather than trying to break the glass and escape the house that way.
** Sure, Don, kiss your infected wife, never mind she's an unaffected carrier of a virus that turns you into a raging murderous monster more or less instantaneously. Also, kudos to the military for leaving her room unguarded.
** Sure, kids, break out of the safe area and sneak out into a deserted, ransacked Britain just 'cause. It's not like a quarantine is important or anything, and it's not like they ''told you exactly why they needed a quarantine.''
** Sure, US Army, go through the trouble of building an elaborate containment area for potentially infected survivors, and put in a confirmed carrier of the virus and proceed ''not to post any guards around her'', as well as granting regular civilians unrestricted access to said containment areas! What could possibly go wrong?
** Honestly, attempting to resettle the British Isles at all. If there's such a huge concern about what's outside the safe zone that a quarantine needs to be enforced, then a civilian population should not be there.
** You're faced with containing and controlling a bloodborne infection that spreads almost exclusively through bites and scratches. What's the safest thing to do? Well, if you're the US Military in this movie, herding thousands of people like sardines into a tiny cramped basement below ground level with no lighting and multiple entrances and exits is the best course of action. If they had simply moved the civvies to a fortified bunker or one of the many high-rises we see and stuck a few soldiers on the roof and the ground level, the entire disaster would have been averted.
** At first, the Americans order their snipers only to target the infected civilians once the outbreak has begun to spread into the crowd and escape quarantine. You'd think the US Army, before even arriving in the UK, would have at least ''entertained'' the possibility that the worst case scenario could unfold, and realized that they would need to react swiftly and ardently (see: wipe everything and everyone out indiscriminately) to contain a pathogen of such virulence, one that could possibly ''destroy humanity'' if it were to make its way to the mainland. Instead, they give half-baked orders like this out to their guys like there was absolutely no foresight put into this at all, and as if they didn't actually have any containment perimeters set up for their men to follow. By the time they switch to the KillEmAll methods they utilize throughout the rest of the movie, it's already way too late.

* IdiotPlot: The whole situation goes completely down the toilet due to the main characters making the dumbest and most counterproductive decisions. The US military doesn't fare better as they make equally dumb decisions, ineffectually containing the infection as a result.

* JustHereForGodzilla: Once the true nature of the film became well-known right before premiere, a whole lot of people came only to see in full the opening sequence, set during the original outbreak. Unlike rest of the film that had mixed reception at best and mostly forgotten, the opening is still considered head and shoulders above the rest of the story. It even became a minor internet meme years after release.

** Except not really; most people who defy quarantine don't do it for any selfish or negative reasons; they just want to (or HAVE to) keep living their lives as normal. There's also the fact that the virus in the movie is 100% deadly, justifying governmental measures, while this one is much, MUCH less so.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Don. We're supposed to view him as a self-centered DirtyCoward for abandoning his wife, but as mentioned several times on this page, his options were ''very'' limited.

** Sure, Alice, bang on the window and scream for your husband to help you even as he's fleeing for his life, rather than trying to break the glass and escape the house that way.

* InformedWrongness: The film constantly throws heavy shade at Don for being a cowardly bastard that left his wife to die at the first opportunity and didn't care about anyone but himself. But given that the Infected are incredibly contagious and extremely dangerous in close combat, Don had a practically zero percent chance of saving his wife. Killing the crowds of infected attacking the cottage was impossible because he didn't have any effective weapon and the only sane choice was to flee or join everyone in dying a horrible death. In fact, [[HiddenDepths we see Don bravely fighting a group of infected]] with a crowbar only moments previously, [[HeroicSacrifice holding off the Infected as everyone runs for their lives]]. This all makes the film's characterisation of him feel a bit off.

** Honestly, attempting to resettle the British Isles in the first place. If there's such a huge concern about what's outside the safe zone that a quarantine needs to be enforced, then a civilian population should not be there.

* IdiotPlot: The whole situation goes completely down the toilet due to the main characters making the dumbest and most counterproductive decisions.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The movie was in production during the war in Iraq. George W. Bush famously declared mission accomplished even though there was insurgency and all kinds of other unrest in the region making it anything but stable. Since the entire plot is driven by attempting to repopulate the island way too soon and horribly inadequate security measures it’s hard not to draw some parallel. The fact that it’s the American military makes it even more of a TakeThat

** Incinerating the infected area (and, KillEmAll) is, in fact, the '''only''' sane method for dealing with a highly infectious ''quickly lethal'' disease spreading through a population. Once a virus (or other biological weapon-like disease) breaks out of quarantine into any substantial population, there's simply no other way to contain it. Physical geographic barriers (such as Britain being an island) can limit the possible spread, but, inside those limits, it's simply impossible to stop via normal selective targeting. '''All''' militaries use the methods described in the movie when dealing with that sort of situation, and it's not only the only effective strategy, it's also the only ''moral'' one - sacrifice some to protect many. Of course, given the IdiotBall the US military had been holding up until then, it shouldn't have gotten to that point, but, once it did, ordering the soldiers to kill everyone (including uninfected) is the Right Thing.
** Don's daughter berates him for [[spoiler:not being sure his wife was dead]]. She completely ignores the fact that if he would have gone back to help his wife, the kids would have been out two parents instead of just one.

** You're faced with containing and controlling a bloodborne infection that spreads almost exclusively through bites and scratches. What's the safest thing to do? Well, if you're the US Military in this movie, herding thousands of people like sardines into a tiny cramped basement below ground level with no lighting and multiple entrances and exits is the best course of action. Facepalm. If they had simply moved the civvies to a fortified bunker or one of the many high-rises we see and stuck a few soldiers on the roof and the ground level the entire disaster would have been averted.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: The film constantly throws heavy shade at Don for being a cowardly bastard that left his wife to die at the first opportunity and didn't care about anyone but himself. But given that the Infected are incredibly contagious and extremely dangerous in close combat, Don had a practically zero percent chance of saving his wife. Killing the crowds of infected attacking the cottage was impossible because he didn't have any effective weapon and the only sane choice was to flee or join everyone in dying a horrible death. In fact, [[HiddenDepths we see Don bravely fighting a group of infected]] with a crowbar only moments previously, [[HeroicSacrifice holding off the Infected as everyone runs for their lives]]. This all makes the film's characterisation of him feel a bit off.

* InformedFlaw: The film constantly throws heavy shade at Don for being a cowardly bastard that left his wife to die at the first opportunity and didn't care about anyone but himself. But given that the Infected are incredibly contagious and extremely dangerous in close combat, Don had a practically zero percent chance of saving his wife. Killing the crowds of infected attacking the cottage was impossible because he didn't have any effective weapon and the only sane choice was to flee or join everyone in dying a horrible death. In fact, [[HiddenDepths we see Don bravely fighting a group of infected]] with a crowbar only moments previously, [[HeroicSacrifice holding off the Infected as everyone runs for their lives]]. This all makes the film's characterisation of him feel a bit off.

* TheWoobie:
** Alice cannot catch a break in this movie. Her husband abandons her when an Infected separates them, and he just books it instead of trying to save her. She is immune, however, and flees back to her house in London where she stays in hiding for months. She is eventually found by the military, who bring her back to District 1 and plan on killing her to run tests on her corpse to find a cure. Beforehand, however, Don visits her to beg for her forgiveness for fleeing, then kisses her...[[spoiler: which causes him to become Infected and kill her in the most drawn out and painful death in the movie, all while she is strapped to a table. Then her body is lit on fire from the firebombing]]. Good lord.
** Don blames himself for [[spoiler: abandoning his wife to the Infected and then having to lie to his children about that. Add to the fact that he reunited with Alice, only to get infected, kill her, and chase down his children]]. Ouch.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Don. We're supposed to view him as a self-centered DirtyCoward for abandoning his wife, but as mentioned several times on this page, his options were ''very'' limited.

* InferredHolocaust: [[spoiler:It's heavily implied the infection has reached the European mainland]] by the end.
** [[spoiler: And assuming Andy's the one who spread it there ([[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom and he probably is]]), he, Tammy and Flynn are likely dead.]]

* TheWoobie: Alice cannot catch a break in this movie. Her husband abandons her when an Infected separates them, and he just books it instead of trying to save her. She is immune, however, and flees back to her house in London where she stays in hiding for months. She is eventually found by the military, who bring her back to District 1 and plan on killing her to run tests on her corpse to find a cure. Beforehand, however, Don visits her to beg for her forgiveness for fleeing, then kisses her...[[spoiler: which causes him to become Infected and kill her in the most drawn out and painful death in the movie, all while she is strapped to a table. Then her body is lit on fire from the firebombing]]. Good lord.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: [[spoiler: The first half of the movie follows Don, who barely survives the initial outbreak by abandoning his wife, Alice, during an attack by the infected. After the US Army tries to repopulate London, Don reunites with his kids and lies to them about what happened with their mother. Alice is found alive and also the first person to show some immunity to the Rage virus. Instead of mining this interesting family drama or Alice's immunity, Alice infects Don through a kiss, Don kills Alice, and the story switches to a more generic group of characters in Don's children and several soldiers]].

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The movie was in production during the war in Iraq. George W. Bush famously declared mission accomplished even though there was insurgency and all kinds of other unrest in the region making it anything but stable. Since the entire plot is driven by attempting to repopulate the island way too soon and horribly inadequate security measures it’s hard not to draw some parallel. The fact that it’s the American military makes it even more of a TakeThat!

* ContestedSequel: While the film was generally well-received, there's a significant portion of fans who feel it paled in comparison to its predecessor.]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything?: The movie was in production during the war in Iraq. George W. Bush famously declared mission accomplished even though there was insurgency and all kinds of other unrest in the region making it anything but stable. Since the entire plot is driven by attempting to repopulate the island way too soon and horribly inadequate security measures it’s hard not to draw some parallel. The fact that it’s the American military makes it even more of a Take That!

* Does this Remind you of Something?: The movie was in production during the war in Iraq. George W. Bush famously declared mission accomplished even though there was insurgency and all kinds of other unrest in the region making it anything but stable. Since the entire plot is driven by attempting to repopulate the island way too soon and horribly inadequate security measures it’s hard not to draw some parallel. The fact that it’s the American military makes it even more of a Take That!

* InformedFlaw: The film constantly throws heavy shade at Don for being a cowardly bastard that left his wife to die at the first opportunity and didn't care about anyone but himself. But given that the Infected are incredibly contagious and extremely dangerous in close combat, Don had a practically zero percent chance of saving his wife. Killing the crowds of infected attacking the cottage was impossible because he didn't have any effective weapon and the only sane chance was to flee or join everyone in dying a horrible death. In fact, [[HiddenDepths we see Don bravely fighting a group of infected]] with a crowbar only moments previously, [[HeroicSacrifice holding off the Infected as everyone runs for their lives]]. This all makes the film's characterisation of him feel a bit off.

* InformedFlaw: The film constantly throws heavy shade at Don for being a [WhatTheHellHero cowardly bastard that left his wife to die]] at the first opportunity and didn't care about anyone but himself. But given that the Infected are incredibly contagious and extremely dangerous in close combat, Don had a practically zero percent chance of saving his wife. Killing the crowds of infected attacking the cottage was impossible because he didn't have any effective weapon and the only sane chance was to flee or join everyone in dying a horrible death. In fact, [[HiddenDepths we see Don bravely fighting a group of infected]] with a crowbar only moments previously, [[HeroicSacrifice holding off the Infected as everyone runs for their lives]]. This all makes the film's characterisation of him feel a bit off.

* InformedCharacterAttribute: The film constantly throws heavy shade at Don for being a [WhatTheHellHero cowardly bastard that left his wife to die]] at the first opportunity and didn't care about anyone but himself. Given that the Infected are incredibly contagious and extremely dangerous in close combat, this judgement arguably comes across as pretty unfair on him. Don had a practically zero percent chance of saving his wife and killing the crowds of infected attacking the cottage because he didn't have any effective weapon. In fact, [[HiddenDepthswe see Don bravely fighting a group of infected]] with a crowbar only moments previously, [[HeroicSacrifice holding off the Infected as everyone runs for their lives]]. This all makes the film's characterisation of him feel a bit off.