The Reel Review
This continuation of the saga set 28 years after an infection caused a zombie-like apocalypse throughout Great Britain has young Spike trapped in a murderous cult as Dr. Ian Kelson tries to better understand the infected. Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams and Jack O’Connell star in this fourth installment in the dystopian sci-fi/horror franchise.
On the heels of last year’s well done 28 Years Later, director Nia DaCosta (Hedda, The Marvels, Candyman) takes the reigns from franchise director Danny Boyle in what can only be described as an oppressively gruesome and silly sequel, where it isn’t the infected who threaten civilization, but the living – in this case, a cult of sadistic Satan worshippers who skin and disembowel people for fun. Lovely.
This latest screenplay in the franchise from Alex Garland (known for hits like Warfare and Civil War, and misses like Men) unfortunately is another huge miss. It is flimsy, gross and pretentious, with ridiculously corny dialogue and a weird stoner vibe between the good doctor (an all-in Fiennes) and the Alpha Infected he named Samson. The gimmicky, out-of-place finalé, more focused on setting up the next sequel, is infuriating.
REEL FACTS
• Filming of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple began just three days after filming for 28 Years Later ended.
• Director Nia DaCosta says she deliberately avoided imitiating director Danny Boyle’s visual style from the prior film, in order to create a film that was “bonkers, idiosyncratic and artistically personal.”
• Director Danny Boyle will return to direct the next installment in the franchise.
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