28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review by Bobby Blakey
In 2002 Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting director Danny Boyle teamed up with Ex Machina and Civil War director Alex Garland for the zombie flick 28 Days Later. With Boyle directing and Garland writing the two brought a different take to the undead genre with Cillian Murphy with the breakout lead to the chaotic film. While they weren’t involved in the 2007 sequel the duo reteamed for the third film 28 Years Later that promised a potential trilogy with the second chapter 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple starring Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, and Chi Lewis-Parry.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple follows Dr. Kelson who finds himself in a shocking new relationship - with consequences that could change the world as they know it - and Spike's encounter with Jimmy Crystal becomes a nightmare he can't escape. In the world of The Bone Temple, the infected are no longer the greatest threat to survival - the inhumanity of the survivors can be stranger and more terrifying.
I have been a fan of this franchise since the 2002 original film and while 28 Years Later divided some fans I really dug where it took the franchise. With that unexpected ending to the film, I was instantly eager to see where we were going with both the new characters led by O’Connell and pushing Fiennes to the forefront of the story. This time around director of The Marvels and the Candyman remake, Nia DaCosta takes the helm to deliver a film that is not only a great follow-up I think is even better than its predecessor.
The film wastes no time getting right into the thick of it where we left off meeting up with the Jimmies, Spike, Samson and Dr. Kelson. These have shifted things into two parallel stories that bring different energies in the best way. Where some
felt the parkour chaos of the new blond clan at the finale of the previous film was a bit silly, you can relax to see that they have been tone down on that front but amped up in the violence and insanity. I loved the dynamic and off the wall craziness of them all as we are slowly let into their not so pleasant world of blood and terror.
O’Connell chews up the screen much like his similar turn in Sinners, but on a whole other level of crazy. The entire gang all have their own strange and unhinged behavior with Erin Kellyman getting the most to bring forward as the voice of somewhat reason in this chaos. Alfie Williams, Spike is still front and center but kind of pushed to the side as a prisoner and victim to allow these others to step forward to push the narrative forward and I was here for it. As bloody fun as watching the Jimmie’s wreak havoc on everything is the real intrigue comes from the story and relationship of Kelson and Samson.
Much like the previous film Fiennes steals the show going all in to create a character that is engaging, heartfelt and a bright light in this otherwise dark world. It is a beautiful contrast to his nature as he is surrounded by easily one of the coolest sets I have seen in a while. The cinematography is fantastic and fully utilizes these horrifically gorgeous set pieces of bones and skulls. The story of these two characters starts out in a way that some might scoff at before you see the real humanity it brings out of both characters and the future it could have in this universe. Big props to Chi Lewis-Parry as Samson who brings to life a character that is imposing and truly terrifying while still bringing humanity and life through his performance.
This was a great foll-up to the previous film and might be one of my favorites in the franchise. The ongoing focus of showing that humans are the truly evil part of the world never misses and always sadly feels relevant. With this outing there are even some callbacks to the original film that I hope can be explored in the final entry to this trilogy should it get the green light as planned.
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Decide for yourself and return to the world of the rage virus with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple in theaters now from Sony.