Twenty four years ago the first movie in the 28 Days Later series—or as fans call it the “28-iverse”— came out. The first movie “28 Days Later” followed a man named Jim who wakes up after a coma and finds England deserted and barren after a virus that affects people’s rage and forces their primal instincts to come to the surface. Five years later in 2005 the next movie, “28 weeks later” came out and last year the third movie, “28 Years Later” was released. The most recent movie “28 Years Later The Bone Temple” was much anticipated by long time fans of the series and I believe that they exceeded their expectations while also being an excellent change from the other three movies.
“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” follows Dr Ian Kelson trying to find a cure for the infected. The movie also follows the blonde wig wearing cult known as the Jimmies that was introduced in the previous movie. The cult leader “Sir Lord” Jimmy Cyrstal and his fingers run into survivors they torture and kill them looking to gain stronger members of his cult. Meanwhile Dr Kelson uncovers new information about the virus that is going to be crucial for curing the infected.
This movie is unlike anything we have seen yet in the “28” universe. The film focuses on a handful of characters and the scale of the movie is smaller than any of the other movies by not focusing on the urban part but more remote and decaying regions of the United Kingdom. It shifts away from the virus being a newer thing in the world and in this movie they stop describing the virus as something new and show that it is something that is more permanent. The environment around the characters seems ancient and more hostile than any of the other movies.
“28 Days Later” focuses on the immediate aftermath of the infection. The movie follows ordinary people trying to survive. “28 Weeks Later” shows the military response and how the infection has massive global implications. But “The Bone Temple” focuses more on small isolated groups who were born and grew up after the virus instead of characters trying to figure out how to fix the virus. They have adapted and live in a world with the virus. The characters have put survival second in this movie, and focus first on their beliefs and continuing their life in this post apocalyptic world.
The movie does a great job moving away from the virus outbreak and making it centered about the aftermath and the long term consequences of the infection. They move away from the chaos and panic of society explored in “28 Days Later” and “28 Weeks Later.” Society has had time to adapt and the infection has taken its toll on this world and this movie does a great job of exploring this concept of the infection not being treated as an emergency but a permanent condition that they have to live with.
The slower and quieter tone in this movie shows the long term consequences of the infection. This movie feels more psychological and unsettling and instead of relying on constant action, the film leaves an impact by showing a world that has been forced to live with destruction making it one of the most memorable movies in the entire series.
