Carl Roberts 
“Nia DaCosta has delivered a real banger with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. It is a terrific, impressive and heartfelt movie that stuns.”
Back in June of last year, 28 Years Later opened in cinemas. The third part of the long-running horror franchise expanded the world and the characters we knew. It delivered a solid horror movie that fit well with the previous movies. At the climax of the movie, young Spike, played by young Alfie Williams, met and fell in with the mysterious Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) and his motley crew of followers, the ‘Jimmys’. The film’s cliffhanger ending left us pondering where the story would go next.
Now, we will find out. Opening this week is the follow-up movie, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. The film picks up almost immediately after the events of the previous film. It again follows Spike on his journey, this time as a member of Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal’s followers. Interspersed with his story is the continuation of Dr. Ian Kelson’s (Ralph Fiennes) story. He continues to try and get through to Sampson (Chi Lewis-Parry), the physically imposing Alpha leader of the infected. The tagline for the film says that ‘Fear Is The New Faith.’ It is quite true, but not in the way you would expect.
THE PREMISE
Taking place after the events of the previous film, Spike is inducted into Sir Jimmy Crystal’s gang of acrobatic killers in a post-apocalyptic Britain ravaged by the Rage Virus. Meanwhile, Dr Ian Kelson forms a new relationship with potentially world-changing consequences.
THOUGHTS
The film is frightening enough. However, it isn’t the infected that are the cause of our fear this time around. Although there are a number of jump scares featuring the infected, it is the humans that cause the horror which we see and feel. The lengths some humans will go to in torturing, maiming and killing their fellow human beings is on full display here. Nia DaCosta has delivered a movie that delves further into the story that has gone before it. She also steers the franchise in a totally new direction. At its heart is a more human story than we would have expected, which comes as a welcome surprise. She delivers a movie that sticks with us long after it ends.
The two stories, separate for most of the film, combine into one story thread as we enter the final third of the movie. This is a masterstroke. While we are repulsed by the actions of Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal and his followers in one third of the story, we are gripped by Kelson’s attempts to communicate with Sampson in the other third, hoping for a breakthrough in their relationship. By the time we enter the final third, we are hoping for a climax that will have us cheering. I won’t spoil it here, but perhaps we were asking for too much in that regard. However, with a crowd-pleasing cameo at the end, we can see where the third part of this story is heading, setting it up superbly.
RALPH FIENNES
Ralph Fiennes takes over the leading duties in this second movie as Kelson. This is his story for the main part, detailing his life and his attempts at getting some form of bond with Sampson. We watch as he tries everything he knows or thinks up in his quest to become friends with the alpha male.
It is a quiet, peaceful and understated performance from the actor, one that has us enthralled throughout. His caring nature, his desire to help Sampson regain his humanity and to help all the infected warms our hearts. This isn’t like what we saw in the previous film; this is a continuation of Kelson’s journey. He gets ever closer to making a breakthrough.
We watch and hope that he will succeed, that he will complete his desire to get some form of human reaction from Sampson.
CHI LEWIS-PARRY AS SAMPSON
The scenes with both him and Chi Lewis-Parry are not frightening in the slightest. Nor should they be. Instead, they warm our hearts as bit by bit, Kelson begins to get through to him. Sampson, ever so scary and frightening in the previous film, here begins to become childlike, caring, and not so aggressive. He finally begins to view Kelson as someone who wants to help him, to cure him of the infection that has afflicted him and many others; to become his friend.
These scenes between the pair are wonderful to watch. As Kelson treats him, we even get to see some of Sampson’s backstory. Instead of a lumbering monster, we see him as he used to be: human. Of course, we do see him in violent action along the way, but we also return to Sampson as he is being treated. Fiennes and Lewis-Parry are brilliant in their respective roles. Both play off each other to perfection.
ALFIE WILLIAMS
Alfie Williams continues to impress us as young Spike. Following on from his almost movie-stealing showing in the previous movie, he continues to shine here. From the frightened but determined youngster we encountered before, he still has his fears, but this time, they are aimed at Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal more than any member of the infected. Witnessing first-hand the cruelty and sheer blood thirst of the leader, Spike becomes even more determined to get away from the group, to continue on his way without them. With his friendship with Jimmy Ink (an impressive Erin Kellyman) developing along the way, we find ourselves hoping that the youngster can get away, so as not to have to resort to peer pressure to kill innocent people just for the sake of it. By the time the film concludes, we can see the basis for a third film, currently in development.
JACK O’CONNELL
Of all the cast, it is Jack O’Connell as Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal that resonates the most. He is so over the top, he doesn’t chew the scenery; he eats it all and then spits it out again. As the psychopathic leader of “the Jimmys”, a cult modelled after Jimmy Savile. O’Connell is superbly chilling, nasty, violent, and often hilariously funny. Giving the character a Scottish accent to fit in with the opening to the previous film, O’Connell is likeable as well as despicable in the role. Take, for example, the sequence where he and his followers break into a farm, verbally spar with the family before having them all taken to the barn, strung up and bloodily tortured and killed, just for his own amusement. This is where the real horror lies, not in the infected, but in the ability to inflict violence and death on other humans.
By the time the plotlines converge, we are on the edge of our seats. Throughout the film, Jimmy talks to ‘Old Nick’, who tells him what to do, where to go, and how to act. He believes Old Nick is his father and tells his followers so. Of course, Old Nick doesn’t exist except in his mind. However, when they find and encounter Kelson, Jimmy goes down to meet him alone. This conversation between the pair is both humorous and telling. With a deal struck between the pair, an elaborate ruse comes into play. O’Connell relishes his role, giving Jimmy some humanity while also showing us he is completely psychopathic. It is a superb performance from the actor.
WRITING
The screenplay, once again written by Alex Garland, is sublime. After writing the screenplay for the original film, doing some uncredited writing on the second, before returning to write the previous film, Garland knows the world he has created like no one else. Once again, he proves he is a master at creating stories, fleshing out characters and delivering everything the film needs and more. His rich, winning characterisation, the world he has built with his screenplay, and the ease with which he manages to make the story move forward cannot ever be understated. Of course, there are many moving parts to a movie, but without Garland’s expert and incredible writing and world-building, the machine would stop moving. Thankfully, Garland is also writing the third film in this new trilogy. But he will need to go some distance to beat his creative writing here.
DIRECTION
Nia DaCosta takes over the directorial chair from Danny Boyle, who is on hand to help produce the film. Earlier this year, I praised her sterling work on Tessa Thompson’s movie, Hedda. Maybe I didn’t praise her enough because here, she pulls off one of the most enjoyable sequels ever. Having cut her teeth on directing horror movies with the fourth instalment of the Candyman franchise, she proves once again that she has more strings to her bow. She takes the ball from Danny Boyle and runs with it, as we could never have predicted. Her direction is astounding, turning the story she has been given into a real early-movie treat for audiences. Her camerawork never takes the shine off the acting performances, allowing them to breathe while delivering a chilling, frightening, emotional spectacle that we can’t tear our eyes from.
The keen eye for every detail she can fit into the frame shines through. Never being afraid to show the blood, gore and sheer nastiness of what the Jimmy’s create throughout, delivering real fear for certain characters, a sense of unease at many junctions, and managing to hold our interest, DaCosta has delivered in spades.
The North of England location setting is shown here in glorious colour, the Bone Temple itself looking like a supporting character, and the sheer look of the film shows the director is a genuine auteur with filmmaking.
Nia DaCosta, take a bow, you’ve made a sequel for the ages.
VERDICT
Nia DaCosta has delivered a real banger with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. It is a terrific, impressive and heartfelt movie that stuns. From the opening to the cliffhanger ending, it never wastes a second of its screentime. From the gentleness of Ralph Fiennes to the outrageous villainy of Jack O’Connell, the film grabs us by the lapels and never allows us to slip from its grasp. As the middle entry in a trilogy of movies, we would be mistaken to think that it would be the weakest. It most certainly isn’t. In fact, it is one of the franchise’s strongest entries so far. It takes us on a journey that is seldom comfortable, always on the edge of your seat, and often features bouts of comedy, which elevate the film.
THE SEEDS ARE SOWN
With the finale leaving us wanting more, the film does exactly, if not more, than it needs to. The cliffhanger ending leaves us smiling, breathless and itching to see how it will all resolve itself. The seeds are all there, already sown, ready to germinate into what could be an incredible climax to the trilogy. It isn’t a spoiler to say Aaron Taylor-Johnson doesn’t appear in this middle chapter.
However, the final part of this trilogy could, if all the stars align, see the survivors of the previous four movies make appearances to give us an incredible finale. That would be something to behold. But until then, we have an epic and superb chapter to sustain us. We won’t have to wait for 28 Years to see the story resolved. The cast is superb, the premise delivers, and the film is a real treat. Hugely enjoyable and gripping, you won’t leave the cinema with rage.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will be in cinemas this weekend, courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing.
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
