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"28 Years Later" is coming.

Looks very good. Interesting that the trailer seems to imply a potential cure.

I wonder if Cillian Murphy will show up at all in this one? Maybe at the end.
 
Danny Boyle (or was it Murphy himself?) has already confirmed Jim doesn't appear until the end.
 
Hopefully the success of 28 Years Later means it's a good possibility, even if The Bone Temple underperforms?
 
Maybe but I believe both Boyle and Murphy have specifically said The Bone Temple needs to perform well. Otherwise, I think the sequel would be greenlit already.
 
If the speculation over a cure is genuine, then perhaps The Bone Temple focuses on and resolves Dr. Kelson and the Jimmys (now there's a hell of a band name!) before moving onto exploring the cure itself, all with Spike as the through thread.
 
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Wasn't sure whether to create a new thread or not, but I saw The Bone Temple last night and...

...it's very good.

It's hard to compare it too easily to 28 Years Later. I think I'm going to have to watch both again.

On the one hand it's beautiful, but on the other I think DaCosta's direction is a little more standard than what Boyle did in the last film (that's by no means a criticism, you could easily argue Boyle tried to be a little too clever in the first one, and I know DaCosta went out of her way not to emulate Boyle).

Fiennes and O'Connell are the standouts here, and one of my favourite bits, oddly, was a quiet conversation between the two of them. It a film of horrors it's a curiously touching scene, especially given one of those involved is a psychopath. (I think it suggests Jimmy has missed having a father figure/older male role model)

The potential for a cure in relation to Sampson is nicely done, and he seems to have most of his memories back by the end, the question is will it last? That said other infected spit blood on him and he doesn't turn again.

And we see the return of Jim! Hurrah! No Harris or Burns, though presumably Selena is/was Sam's mum. It looks likely that the next film will jump straight into things given the ending here.


As I say I need to watch both modern films together to decide which I prefer. Both sit above the first two though that much I'm sure of. They're both beautiful and both provide the unexpected whilst still giving you post apocalyptic action and 'zombie' gore. Garland's scripts are superb in both cases.

I had one niggle and that relates to Spike. He's at the centre of everything in the last film, but while he's ever present here he doesn't have a lot to do. He had such agency in the last film but here he's reduced to being a bystander. I understand why, and that this is Kelson and Jimmy's film (and Kelly's and Sampson's) but it's a shame because Williams was so great last time out

Roll on the third film, I can't imagine a scenario where we don't get an end to the story now.
 
I'm not sure when I'll get to see it. Hopefully sometime next week.

Starkers, funny how we swapped who saw it right away and who'll see it later on. I only glanced at your review but I'm glad you loved it. I can't wait.
 
Saw The Bone Temple today. Excellent movie. Granted, it's still relatively fresh in my mind, and my enthusiasm might be making me build it up to exaggerated claims, but this is pretty much perfect cinema. And given how blah I am on movies in general here lately, it takes a lot to impress me as much as this has.

If I were to pick one thing to name the highlight of the film it would be the unconventional bromance between Kelson and Samson that develops over the course of this movie. Damn, those scenes especially really grabbed my interest. Not to put down the storyline involving the Jimmys (which is itself great) but if the movie were just Kelson and Samson, I could easily see myself being enthralled by it.
It looks likely that the next film will jump straight into things given the ending here.
That I wouldn't be so sure about. Mainly because, given the third will obviously be filmed after a longer period than these two were, they'll have to deal with
the fact the kid who plays Spike will get older. Granted, that's a risk with child actors all the time, and there are movies and shows which try to just pretend child characters are the same age they were despite clearly getting taller and their voice getting deeper. But I always find that distracting and would prefer they avoid the issue altogether by having the third one a year or so later.

While writing that, I realized if they did do that it wouldn't really be "28 Years Later" anymore, so maybe they should just continue one right off the ending of this one despite the fact Spike is taller, with a deep voice and peach fuzz on his face in a matter of minutes in universe. :lol:
 
Watched it tonight. Really enjoyed it. More than the 28 Years Later, mainly because there were aspects of 28 Years Later that weirded me out a bit.

The Bone Temple is very violent and gory though. It's the hardest of the lot to watch and they really kept the focus on the brutal violence here a bit longer than was almost comfortable. Be warned. Don't go with someone who is expecting just another zombie movie. Or someone who would be disturbed by extreme violent scenes.

I had one niggle
I guess that was due to the films being shot back to back.
 
Watched it tonight. Really enjoyed it. More than the 28 Years Later, mainly because there were aspects of 28 Years Later that weirded me out a bit.

The Bone Temple is very violent and gory though. It's the hardest of the lot to watch and they really kept the focus on the brutal violence here a bit longer than was almost comfortable. Be warned. Don't go with someone who is expecting just another zombie movie. Or someone who would be disturbed by extreme violent scenes.


I guess that was due to the films being shot back to back.

I think in some ways Bone Temple is more straightforward then 28 Years Later. At the moment I can't decide which I prefer.

I'd agree this is gorier. I have a friend who's a proper horror fan and she said even she struggled with some of the violence.
 
Bone Temple doesn't have the same fixation with spinal cords that 28 Years Later had. Seriously, that movie really loved having heads ripped off with the spinal cords still attached. Yes, it does happen in Bone Temple, but it doesn't seem to happen as often.
 
Just got back from watching it and I mostly loved the film. When it was good, it was fucking brilliant and poignant and properly terrifying.

Since I wrote a lengthy review (bear with me, I have a lot say!), I'll just go ahead put the whole thing in spoiler code...

Unsurprisingly, everything with Ian Kelson was absolutely brilliant and I loved his relationship with Samson throughout the film. As with the previous film, I continue to love Kelson's not-quite-insane-but-definitely-not-all-there existence in the Bone Temple, complete with mad dancing and a flair for the dramatic when to forced to portray Old Nick. I know it will never happen, but Ralph Fiennes deserves an Oscar for his performance.

I love how Kelson's bizarre yet loving kinship with Samson lead to finding a sense of hope for Samson. While I'm not sure if Kelson has actually found a cure for the Rage Virus, he clearly has found something that counteracts some of it for at least Alphas. Regardless, I loved seeing a few flickers of sanity within Samson's being and even a glimpse into his past, and I cannot wait to see more of his journey in the potential sequel.

What I did not enjoy, however, was the Fingers' sadism. While I appreciate the gang mentality of the group's dynamic and actions, bent towards Satanism, I did not like how the film leaned heavily towards pure gory horror during the skinning scenes (not a surprise considering DaCosta's background but still). If and when I rewatch this film, I will be skipping that entire sequence until Cathy and Tom fight back.

The skinning aside, I did enjoy watching Sir Jimmy's power dynamic with the group and how Jimmy Ink/Kelli stood out apart from the rest. Sir Jimmy was properly mad and I loved how dynamic played out with each of the characters but especially during his first encounter with Kelson. I also loved how we couldn't quite tell if Ink/Kelli was just as mad as everyone else or if she was just playing along for her own safety.

My heart broke for Spike and the traumatic experiences he was forced to endure (including committing murder twice). While I wish we had gotten more of Spike in this film and away from the Fingers, I get why the film played out the way it did and hopefully he'll play larger role in the potential sequel. I'm also quite pleased Erin Kellyman had such an important role...and that she survived for the next adventure!

Speaking of said potential sequel, even though we knew it was coming, it was so damn good to see Jim again! Very curious to see that he's still holed up in the presumably same isolated cottage as seen briefly at the end of Days...and with a daughter! No sign of Selena or Hannah but nothing about the scene immediately signals their death(s), leaving the door open for possibly at least Naomie Harris to return (Megan Burns is unlikely since she essentially retired from acting after Days but anything is possible).

One thing I was a little disappointed about was how this film broke the tradition of opening with a sequence during the initial outbreak of the Rage Virus. I appreciate DaCosta wanted to break away from Boyle's mold and have her film stand on its own, but I was hoping for at least something along the lines of Kelson's life in the before times. I had also hoped alternatively the same for Samson but I think it was better to reveal his past to when he began to reclaim his memories.

Lastly, while it wasn't quite as iconic as John Murphy's score (and, boy, wasn't it wonderful to hear it again!?), I loved Hildur Guðnadóttir's score but especially during Kelson and Sir Jimmy's first encounter. While I enjoyed the wild soundtrack of this film (largely supplied by Kelson's excellent record collection), I hope the third film leans more towards the ethereal like Murphy's score did and hopefully either he'll or Guðnadóttir returns to supply it.

I had one niggle and that relates to Spike. He's at the centre of everything in the last film, but while he's ever present here he doesn't have a lot to do. He had such agency in the last film but here he's reduced to being a bystander. I understand why, and that this is Kelson and Jimmy's film (and Kelly's and Sampson's) but it's a shame because Williams was so great last time out
Agreed. He was easily my favorite part of the first Years (even after Kelson) and it's a damn shame he had a reduced role here.

As I say I need to watch both modern films together to decide which I prefer. Both sit above the first two though that much I'm sure of. They're both beautiful and both provide the unexpected whilst still giving you post apocalyptic action and 'zombie' gore. Garland's scripts are superb in both cases.
Watched it tonight. Really enjoyed it. More than the 28 Years Later, mainly because there were aspects of 28 Years Later that weirded me out a bit.
I think in some ways Bone Temple is more straightforward then 28 Years Later. At the moment I can't decide which I prefer.

I'd agree this is gorier. I have a friend who's a proper horror fan and she said even she struggled with some of the violence.
Because of the extreme violence of the skinning, I think I prefer Years over The Bone Temple. I think Years feels more like Days (unsurprising considering Boyle) and that would push the scales even further in its direction. But I also but I agree a rewatch of both is in order to know for certain...although that's going to have to wait. Certainly not until the third film is well on its way.

As for when the third film takes place, I'm inclined to think it'll be right away regardless of how Alfie Williams may or may not look and sound.
 
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