28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a very good f#@?ing movie

Usually I try to chose a very suitable word when it comes to my feelings toward a project or how I value it. For 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the title is honestly the best that I could do, it was just very fucking good. Part of the reason I feel that way is that the movie was not what I was expecting at all.

That is probably a good place to start. Being part of the 28 X Later franchise, I just assumed that The Bone Temple would be another horror movie addition. Thing is, I wouldn’t necessarily call the movie a horror one, but rather one that has horror elements in it. Don’t get me wrong, there are some horrifying scenes in this movie. It’s rated 18 and plus for a reason. This movie has some absolutely gruesome scenes. There are not that many, but when there is a scene involving gore, it’s barbaric. I don’t remember the last time a movie had me shuddering in my sit. The same can be said for jumpscares. There are I think three, maybe four, jumpscares in the entire movie, but they were done so well and were so effective and actually scary. In addition to these, you also have a few chase scenes involving the infected, and they are as scary and unsettling as in the previous movies. Pay attention to how I’ve pointed out that there are not that many scenes involving different types of horror. That’s why The Bone Temple isn’t a typical horror movie, because in between the horror there is much more.

Yet again to my surprise, there were quite a few comedic moments in the movie. I did not walk into the cinema thinking the audience would be laughing as many times as they did. There are some jokes in the movie, but most of the comedy comes from how the actors would deliver some of their lines during dialogue. What’s interesting is that while in one scene there may be a comedic moment, the next one might be very tense and heavy, but there is no tonal whiplash. The scenes have a very good flow, and this goes for the entire movie. There is comedy, horror, action, tension, and other feelings involved in the movie, and they are all in a good proportion.

I think this was the main reason as to why this movie just passed by. The runtime of the movie is 2 hours and 20 minutes, but I didn’t feel it at all. I was so comfortable watching the movie and I felt like I was being entertained the whole time. Every scene and dialogue had something to pay attention to and to appreciate. Not a single wated moment or a scene where it drags on for too long, I mean that. Because there is a diversity of tones and atmospheres, you get to enjoy different things in this one movie. Take the cinematography for example, during chase scenes it is frantic to convey the horror of the situation, while during calm dialogues it is used to convey serenity and tranquillity. This sounds like a basic thing, for the cinematography to be used to fit the situation, and it is, but in this movie it was noticeable and because of that I appreciated the whole movie more.

You know what else is very good other than the cinematography? The sound design. I saw this movie in an iSense theatre, and holy shit. The Dolby Atmos system definitely elevated the experience, but still, the sound design was so good. Specially during the jumpscares and gore scenes, the sounds were so visceral and impactful. The movie as a whole was just edited very well. Generally speaking the movie has solid editing, while in some instances it has some cool shots or edited sounds or scenery that are far from basic and that are actually very cool.

I feel like I’ve talked a lot about the technicalities of the movie and have yet to discuss the writing or the performances. Let’s start with the latter. Raph Fiennes (Dr Ian) and Jack O’Connell (Jimmy Crystal) absolutely killed it in the movie. I mean come on, look at the look of this character in the background, you know Raph at least will be giving a memorable performance. Both of them shine when doing monologues or acting against others, and both offer a good amount of range, which is not surprise given the nature of the movie and how it goes beyond a single tone/atmosphere. Remember that comedy I mentioned? Almost all of it comes from these two, and most of that coming from scenes where they share the screen. Seeing them make these comedic deliveries, I couldn’t help but think how we’ve seen these actors create completely different and opposite atmospheres earlier in the movie. Jimmy Crystal is a psychopath, a troubled man with a messed up way of thinking that yet acts in almost a sane way, which is even more horrifying considering the vile things he casually encourages in his followers. On the other hand, Dr Ian is a normal man you can almost say. In the apocalypse he has come to respect the dead and make peace with his situation, yet there is hope to be seen in a lot of his scenes, hope for a better future which he might be able to help create. There are so many moments where the acting of these actors was so captivating and they totally steal a lot of the scenes.

While those two steal the show, I think there are two other who deserve praise and to be recognized. Chi Lewis-Parry plays an alpha infected in The Bone Temple, one that turns to be vital not just to the story, but to the building of Dr Ian as a character. I can’t give me details without spoiling the movie, so I’ll just say this: his physical acting, specially the eyes, were great. The previous two actors are bigger names and hence stand out more in the cast, but this guy’s acting should not be underestimated, as this infected is more important than one might initially think. Then there is Erin Kellyman. I know her from The Falcon & The Winter Soldier and Willow, the first being a show I have mixed feelings about and the second a show that I consider terrible. On both shows I disliked the characters that she was portraying, hence I couldn’t bring myself to be a fan of her as I couldn’t get past the unlikable characters. In The Bone Temple however, her character (Jimmy Ink) is not dislikeable at all, she is even a little interesting. Erin’s acting is a little better I feel than in her other two projects, but more than that, at least her character is not one that I didn’t enjoy watching. I think she if she picks her roles a little better, she can perhaps rise up in the industry and even at one point prove her acting skills.

Lastly let’s talk about the writing. See the story of The Bone Temple is a very simple one, a small one that involves not that many characters. That said, the characters feel big and significant, the story feels bigger and more significant because of the way the characters are written and the events that push them to certain decisions and actions. You do not need grand stories that expand different times and geographical locations to get a sense of progression and impact., this movie is proof of that. I’ve just now realized that I haven’t even given the plot for the movie. Thing is I went into this movie completely blind, as in I didn’t even see 28 years later. I didn’t get a chance to watch it before The Bone Temple but thankfully The Bone Temple tells its own full story. You still need to be familiar with the universe and the nature of the infection, but beyond that this movie stands on its own two feet. So it can be enjoyed even if you haven’t seen the previous movies - to clarify, I have seen the first two movies, just not the third one. There are some things that carry over from 28 Years Later to The Bone Temple, so if you can I’d highly suggest watching 28 Years Later first before watching The Bone Temple.

I don’t even have anything negative to say about the movie. I’ll end the review just by saying this……..

The finale of this movie fucking rocks and it was awesome!!!