28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE
****
Directed by Nia DaCosta.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams.
Horror, UK, 109 Minutes, Certificate 18.
Released in Cinemas in the UK on 14th January by Sony Pictures Releasing.
In a neat act of symmetry, it has been 28 weeks since we were reintroduced to Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s vision of a United Kingdom overrun by the infected. As a reintroduction, it had more than a shock of the new about it. From Anthony Dod Mantle’s vibrant iPhone cinematography, to Young Fathers pulsating, clanking score, to Boyle’s energetic direction and Garland’s script, which drew comparisons between its own ravaged UK to the increasingly fragmented and isolated one we call home ourselves. 28 YEARS LATER was a more than welcome shot in the arm to the genre of infected/zombie cinema. One of the most talked about aspects, however, was its left of field ending that introduced Jack O’Connell as Sir Jimmy Crystal and his band of ‘Jimmies’, a tracksuited band of youths in blonde wigs, vibrant tracksuits and more than enough necklaces that the comparison to one of Britain’s most notorious figures was immediately picked up on. The how and the why of such a decision brought into question how that particular aspect would be handled in this next chapter, with Nia DaCosta taking the directing reins this time. Without going into spoilers, why Jimmy Crystal dresses the way he does is never really explained, perhaps bringing into focus that this version of the UK was still mostly unaware of how evil Jimmy Saville actually was.
The motives behind such a creative decision are debatable, but there is no denying that it grants an extra unsettling edge to the proceedings in a number of ways, not only with the Jimmies themselves, a bloodthirsty bunch of individuals, who under Crystal’s warped command take equal pleasure in violently dispatching innocent survivors as well as the infected. In a country that essentially died at the start of the 21st century it is a conceit that is brought into razor sharp focus when Ralph Fiennes Dr. Kelson reminisces of a time of “shops and personal computers” and Radiohead’s Kid A was one of the last albums to be released in this country while the Teletubbies were still notorious with their own bunch of nonsense before a bunch of well intentioned animal rights activists released a monkey infected with a rage virus into the wild.
THE BONE TEMPLE takes things back up almost immediately after we saw Spike being introduced to the Jimmies and their sinister leader. After a particularly brutal initiation rite, Spike is forced to go along with this psychotic band. Taking more of a central role this time round is Kelson himself, whose encounters with the fierce “Alpha” Samson take an entirely unexpected turn that threatens to take the series into strange new territory. DaCosta gives the film a completely different look and sound from its predecessor. The clean cinematography of Sean Bobbit paints the return of nature in a lush fashion that contrasts with the surprising amount of blood and viscera that spills across the screen. It has felt that DaCosta has been dealt a particularly unfair hand when it comes to directing major studio properties; her vision of CANDYMAN felt like a compromised vision that kept being forced to choose whether it was a sequel or a remake and the reportedly tough time that she faced from Marvel Studios with THE MARVELS would be enough to send any other director back to low budget drama. This, however, feels like a complete vision, confidently carrying the franchise into brave new, unexplored territory with enough smart and impressive directorial flourishes that it makes this now twenty-four year old franchise feel and look just as exciting as it ever did.
While Alfie Williams as Spike is somewhat relegated to supporting character here, Fiennes and O’Connell make for a particularly intriguing double act. Each is softly spoken in their own way, especially O’Connell with his satisfying enough attempt at a Scottish accent, yet completely different in attitude and manner. Kelson’s humane doctor is given more background, especially with a surprising taste in music, and his one sided dialogue with Samson soon gives the film a touching emotional edge. Long considered one of the country’s greatest actors for his perhaps loftier fare, it is always a thrill to see him engage fully with genre material such as this. After nearly stealing the show last year with his villainous turn in SINNERS, O’Connell nearly pulls the same trick again here. Sinister in almost every way, he also brings a surprising touch of humour to the film that it stands as the funniest entry yet, but in an entirely natural and welcome way. The first encounter between the two characters counts as an ideal example of this, while being impressively tense and unexpectedly tender.
Another galvanising return, this sets itself up with another open ending, although nowhere near as controversy baiting as the last time. Nevertheless the threads that are set up to be resolved here make you wish we did not have to wait more than another twenty eight weeks for the closing entry in this massively entertaining and bloodily thrilling series. Perhaps the biggest question we now have is whether Danny Boyle will return to bring the curtain down or Nia DaCosta continues to take us into even more unexpected and exciting territory.
Iain MacLeod