50 God-Tier Acting Moments Buried in Bad Movies
31. Don’s Escape - 28 Weeks Later
28 Weeks Later was a lacklustre sequel to a horror classic that's notable for having one of the dumbest, most plot hole-ridden horror movie stories of them all... and for featuring one of the greatest opening scenes to an otherwise disappointing film ever.
The movie's unforgettable opening sees Don (Robert Carlyle) abandoning his wife (who'd foolishly let an outsider into the house and had drawn the infected to them) during the early days of the Rage Virus Outbreak and fleeing in pure terror from a large group of the infected. The intense visuals and John Murphy's note-perfect score 'In the House, in a Heartbeat' add to the scene's power, but it wouldn't be quite as heart-in-mouth scary without Robert Carlyle.
Palpably terrified, Carlyle faultlessly captures a frightened man running for his life. This is fear convincingly portrayed and a reminder of Carlyle's considerable acting gifts, which have often been underutilized over the years. Once again, 28 Weeks Later is a dumb sequel, and even the disappointing 28 Years Later was vastly superior to it, but no one who watches it will ever forget this diamond of an opening scene.