28 Years Later: The Bone Temple film review – Wonderfully wild
There will be blood in this latest addition to the zombie franchise which unashamedly cranks everything up a notch
‘Ok, let’s turn this up to 11,’ quips Ralph Fiennes’ Dr Kelson in the follow-up to last year’s 28 Years Later, and he really ain’t kidding. It’s one of the actor’s most enjoyable and exuberant turns and he’s matched in his madness by Jack O’Connell’s dastardly, Jimmy Savile dress-a-like Sir Jimmy Crystal, who was introduced at the end of the previous instalment in truly WTF fashion.
Directed by Candyman’s Nia DaCosta, taking over from Danny Boyle, this wonderfully wild, unashamedly uncomfortable film dives deep into the belly of this beastly apocalypse, capturing the evolution of zombies and deterioration of humanity. The focus of its horror is firmly on the latter this time as we follow Jimmy’s gang of similarly attired reprobates, who are Manson-esque in their murderousness. Erin Kellyman and Emma Laird are amongst their number, with Alfie Williams’ Spike (the previous film’s protagonist) a reluctant addition. Meanwhile, the kind and lonely Kelson has his hands full as he tries to help Chi Lewis-Parry’s humungous alpha zombie Samson, who becomes a fully-fledged character here.
There are points in the thick of its human-on-human horror that The Bone Temple almost feels like a slog, but it’s thoroughly redeemed by a tendency toward audacious eccentricity. It’s astonishing and brave for such a mainstream franchise film to so fully embrace its more insane inclinations; DaCosta keeps things tonally on track as Alex Garland’s script boldly blends the blackest of comedy and bonkers references (Duran Duran, Teletubbies) with tremendous sadness for what has been lost, beautifully conveyed by Fiennes. There’s blood aplenty but it’s the film’s guts that most impress, while an Iron Maiden-flanked sequence is an early entry for scene of the year.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is in cinemas from Wednesday 14 January.