As Spike is inducted into Jimmy Crystal’s gang on the mainland, Dr. Kelson makes a discovery that could alter the world.
After last year’s mournful requiem for a fallen world, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” gives us a blood-soaked Satanic sermon. Danny Boyle’s new trilogy takes some creative detours in the second chapter, putting Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell in the lead roles, with Alfie Williams’ Spike fading somewhat into the background.
The sequel picks up precisely where the predecessor left off, with Spike joining a violent group of acrobatic, tracksuit-wearing killers called ‘the Jimmys.’ Led by the terrifying yet charismatic Jimmy Crystal, the young boy from the church at the beginning of the first film, these murderous youths make up a small Satanic cult devoted to killing both zombies and humans. The scenes of them torturing innocent people evoke “The Hills Have Eyes” or “Funny Games” and are honestly quite unsettling. Just like “The Walking Dead,” once you figure out a way to avoid the infected, the uninfected become the real nightmare.
Fiennes as Dr. Kelson, the constructor of the titular monument to the dead, takes over as the film’s heart. He forms a connection with Samson, the terrifying Alpha who rips heads and spines out of his victims with one hand, pacifies him with Morphine, treats his wounds, and eventually helps him regain humanity. Their scenes together provide the film’s biggest laughs, most moving moments, and the singular biggest step forward for this franchise.
The two storylines cross paths in a fiery way, with an improvised concert staged by Kelson, set to Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast.” Though this sequence clashes with every other entry in the series, I found it compelling and wildly entertaining. We get to attend the most metal concert in human history.
Fans will notice the tonal shift and lack of iPhone-assisted kill shots. With Nia DaCosta taking over directing duties, this story plants itself in the setting introduced previously and lets these new characters react to it. The absurdity and humor punctuate the terror without drowning out its flame.
In Theaters Friday, January 16th
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