Editor’s Note: Freeline Media’s movie critic, Mike Fried, takes a look at a sequel to a popular horror franchise. But does a January release signal trouble? Read on!
By MIKE FRIED
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
****
I had assumed that this film which picks up directly after the events of 28 Years Later was released in January because, well, you know … January. But little did I know that this was to take advantage of the three-day holiday weekend.
I was not disappointed.
Sure, this is a continuation of the story of Spike and Jimmy Crystal, who meet up at the end of 28 Years Later; but there’s another, better story as well — that of Dr. Kelson and the prosthetically enhanced alpha zombie Samson, a love-hate relationship but a relationship nevertheless. And, for me, this was one of the best things about the movie.
Jimmy Crystal is not just the leader of a band of zombie killers; he is also a psychopath who has entrenched his followers — all of whom wear blonde wigs and go by the name of “Jimmy” — with his very own Satan-worshipping psychopathy. The latest member is Spike, as we know from the previous film. Jack O’Connell is mesmerizing as Jimmy Crystal, evoking pure evil and insanity. He’s had quite the year between Sinners and this film.
The two stories come together as Jimmy Crystal gives his obedience to his made-up but unseen idol, Old Nick (i.e., Satan) to whom his acolytes pledge their allegiance, when Jimmy Ink, one of the female acolytes says that they have seen Old Nick. In reality, they have seen Dr. Kelson hanging out with Samson. And only Spike knows this.
But for me, the film belongs to Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Kelson and his relationship with Samson. Kelson has been giving Samson morphine, and they sit next to each other like old friends while Kelson talks about various things and plays records – including Radiohead — and Samson listens, drugged out on morphine. They even dance together at one point. Kelson is truly in one of Fiennes’ greatest roles ever and he shows absolute humanity and joy in this film. It is a total shame this movie will be forgotten by next years’ awards season — and would be anyway because it is a horror film, but goddammit, Fiennes deserves a fucking Oscar, and this would be a great role for the Academy to award. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Chi-Lewis Parry for his part as Samson gives the best acting performance by a Zombie since Billy Connolly in Fido, especially when his Alpha status is threatened. His interactions with Kelson are a thing of beauty and quietude.
Writer Alex Garland and Director Nia DeCosta give us a worthy second installment in this trilogy and an especially batshit final act that has to be seen to be believed.
All in all, I can recommend this. Whatever failings the movie has are very much outweighed by the positives. In addition, a running time of an hour and 42 minutes (without credits) does not hurt at all.
No post-credit scenes but a nice epilogue that sets up the finale.
WATCH IT!
28 Years Later (2025)
****
Well, it is 28 years Later, which means that I guess this movie takes place in 2030, not 2025 as Google AI would have us believe.
I’m not gonna bury the lede so I’ll just tell you that I thought this movie was better than 28 Days Later. But, because of an atonal ending, it did not reach its potential of being better than 28 Weeks Later.
Off the coast of the Scottish Highlands there is an island only accessible by low tide via a causeway to the mainland. The island is heavily fortified and there is a thriving community on the island. We meet Jamie and his son Spike on the day of Spike’s initiation to manhood by going to the mainland and killing an infected person. We also meet his mother Isla, who has not been well and for whom it appears that nothing can be done. So, after their successful initiation trip, Spike hears that there is an old doctor who lived on the mainland and decides to take matters into his own hand by taking his mother to the mainland to find the doctor who can possibly help her with her ailment.
Of all the films in this series, this is by far the best looking of the three. Danny Boyle and his cinematographer take this movie into full 2.76:1 aspect ratio territory and it really works, giving the movie an epic scale. That the movie was mostly shot on an iPhone 16 Max just makes it that more incredible.
An hour and 20 minutes into the movie Ralph Fiennes finally appears as the doctor and he just gives a riveting performance for the third act of the film. The publicity photos make him appear to be a maniac covered in blood, but such is not the case, but I will let you see the movie to understand what’s going on.
Aaron Taylor Johnson is fine for this movie, given the relatively limited amount of screen time he has, but it is Alfie Williams and Jodie Comer as Spike and Isla (and Fiennes) that are at the true emotional center of this movie. It is their voyage that propels this film and both of them are really wonderful in their respective roles.
Where this movie differs from its predecessors is, it has a more elegiac, solemn tone to it than the first two which were quite frenetic. Not to say that there isn’t any zombie mayhem, because there is, but the entire scene with Fiennes’ Dr. Kelson surrounds the concept of Memento Mori and Memento Amori which counterpoint each other as remember death and remember love.
Had the movie ended on that, I might have said “Well, there’s a thinking man’s zombie movie.” Unfortunately, what happens next (and I don’t know if it was Danny Boyle and Alex Garland or the studio is responsible) is just a run of the mill set up for the sequel that is so jarringly out of tone with the rest of the third act. And, for me, this change of tone diminished what could’ve been a truly outstanding film.
Having said all of this, though, I did enjoy it, almost as much as 28 Weeks Later because of the focus on the human emotion.
I saw it in a packed theater that applauded it at the end, so that’ll tell you the audience reaction.
My reaction is:
WATCH IT!
Michael Fried has no formal training in movies, except having watched over 26,000+ movies — if not more — in his 60-plus years on this planet, starting with Goldfinger as his first cinema experience. He knows what he likes and he knows what he doesn’t like, and it’s quite often different from the conventional wisdom. He knows that the best franchise is Godzilla and he loves action movies and comedies. He has not been nominated for any awards except some boring insurance awards which has no applicability to movies (with the possible exceptions of Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity and John Cassavettes’ Big Trouble). He is part of a team that won the 1980 SUNY Albany Trivia content by correctly guessing the question, “Who played the president of Klopstockia in Million Dollar Legs?” So he has that going for him, which is nice.
Contact Mike at moviemike3@yahoo.com and mike.fried@yahoo.com.
