’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ Blu-ray Review

Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, Chi-Lewis Parry | Written by Alex Garland | Directed by Nia DaCosta

Danny Boyle hands over directing duties to Nia DaCosta (Candyman) for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the second half of the 28 Years Later two-parter, effectively forming the third and fourth instalments of the British post-apocalyptic zombie series that began with 28 Days Later in 2002. The result is perhaps the best entry in the series so far, delivering compelling characters, weighty themes, chilling horror and some delightfully demented set-pieces.

At the end of the previous film, young Spike (Alfie Williams) ran into Satanic cult leader Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), who was immediately signposted as a serious wrong’un because he was styled like Jimmy Savile, and had a coterie of similarly dressed acolytes, also called Jimmy. After passing a horrific initiation, Spike is inducted into the Jimmys, but finds their habit of torturing and murdering innocent families (which they call “charity work”) too much to bear, so he desperately looks for an escape route, perhaps accompanied by sympathetic, protective Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman).

Meanwhile, iodine-slathered Doctor Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), holed up in the titular Bone Temple (a monument of bones, memorialising everyone lost in the pandemic), continues his experiments on the local zombies, reaching a breakthrough of sorts with a huge alpha he names “Samson” (Chi-Lewis Parry). But when Jimmy, having told his followers that he is the son of “Old Nick”, hears of a red-skinned, devil-ish figure presiding over a tower of bones, the stage is set for an epic confrontation, with Spike caught in the middle.

The excellent script, by Alex Garland, who also wrote all the previous instalments, does a commendable job of capturing the terror of a post-apocalyptic world where all sense of society has broken down. To that end, Kelson represents a single note of hope and humanity, which gives the final confrontation powerfully high stakes; accordingly, the build-up of tension as that final face-off approaches is masterfully handled.

In addition, the visuals are consistently striking, courtesy of cinematographer Sean Bobbitt, who replaces Boyle’s previous DP, Anthony Dod Mantle. This reaches an apotheosis in the final act, with Bobbitt and DaCosta creating a virtual hellscape that is powerfully atmospheric.

Similarly, the set pieces are superb, including a Clockwork Orange-inspired home invasion that is both sickening and terrifying, in keeping with the zombie movie convention that post-apocalyptic humans often prove worse than the walking dead. However, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’s undisputed highlight is a frankly jaw-dropping sequence in the finale involving a satanic ritual, with a musical accompaniment that has to be seen to be believed.

The performances are excellent. Fiennes strikes the perfect note as Kelson, educated, empathetic, enlightened, and cultured (his record collection provides a couple of inspired needle drops). Still, with just a hint of insanity under the surface, so that the audience never quite knows what’s coming next. O’Connell, in turn, is simply extraordinary, pulsing with dangerous charisma, a twinkle in his eye even when orchestrating the most horrific acts, but somehow suggesting a note of vulnerability – Jimmy has believed his own legend so deeply that he actually believes Kelson might be his father. The way that plays out is utterly compelling.

The Blu-ray release of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple presents the film in a 1080p high-definition transfer using the MPEG-4 AVC codec, maintaining its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio for a cinematic viewing experience. Audio is delivered in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 for both English and Italian tracks, alongside an English audio descriptive option for accessibility. A wide range of subtitle options is included, with English, English SDH, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Latvian and Lithuanian among those available, ensuring the film is accessible to a broad international audience. The Blu-ray also includes a handful of extras, including:

Special Features:

• Audio Commentary with Director Nia DaCosta
• Behind The Scenes: New Blood, The Doctor and the Devil, Beneath the Rage
• Deleted Scene

It is fair to say that, except for Samson, zombies take a bit of a backseat this time round, and audiences expecting the usual flesh-chomping action may feel a little short-changed. However, the combination of beautifully conceived, written and acted central characters, their resulting conflict, and a chilling current-state-of-the-world resonance, makes this one of the best horror films of the year, zombies or no zombies.

****½  4.5/5

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is out now on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Steelbook.