28 Years Later: The Bone Temple * [Beware - Spoilers from page 3]

[SocksAndTheCity]

I'll admit to going in with a very heavy heart because I was so disappointed by the last one (and I've still only seen it once - I had no inclination at all to even stream it as a catch up before I went out to see this).

While I'm not going to include anything even remotely spoilery, The Bone Temple is the polar opposite; thoughtful, intelligent and interesting and a lot of fun! I love Jack O'Connell a little bit more every time I see him, it looks stunning, there is plenty of carnage and it feels like a genuine, natural evolution of the events of the first film. Ralph Fiennes acts everybody else off the screen 😀

The infected - bar Samson - aren't actually in it that much, and it's the better film for it, I think. And there's Iron Maiden 👍

My DD said it was the best film of 2026 and we're only in January!!!

I'm not sure I enjoyed it as much as the first. Just because of Jimmy's actions.

I would say it gory, but the worse for me was human behaviour which you didn't actually see, but you know what they did.

I've just seen it, and the torture has ruined it for me. It was graphic and disgusting.

I don't mind gore at all and I'm a big A24 fan, but sadistic torture (especially of innocent people) genuinely disgusts me to my core. I can't watch any films or shows with it in.

I wish I'd have gone out way earlier and come back in when it was completely over. I was actually kind of annoyed with the film for it, but then realised I only had myself to blame for not checking properly.

Other than that, it was brilliant; fun, insightful, and funny. I wasn't bored for a second.

Went to see it last night. Found the gore too much but think this director hit the nail on the head. It’s a shame it’s reverting to Frankie Boyle for the next one.

Frankie Boyle??? That will certainly be a change of direction... 😂

I definitely want to see it, will have to gird my loins!

The person definitely fainted. No-one would have realised except for the reactions of the group they were with. They didn't leave and watched the rest of the film - pretty impressive IMO. Family member asked if they OK when everyone was walking out and they confirmed they'd fainted - limb cut and lots of blood (if that means anything to those that have seen it?).

Gah!! I've seen them in the wrong order. I didn't realise there were two 28 Years Later films and have seen the Bone Temple before the other one. D'oh.

Still, that is my evening's viewing sorted out.

I really didn't think the scene you mention was that graphic @DonnyBurrito ; the action was all offscreen, after all? It was thoroughly nasty, but if the aim was to show the horror of what people can do when there's no longer any accountability or consequences, then I'd say it worked well (and I accept that everybody's frame of reference is different too)

I'm looking forward to seeing it all again in a few hours so I can catch all the details I missed, although not as much as I'm looking forward to Frankie Boyle's take on the series. If only 😂

@LordEmsworthmm it felt wrong when I was typing. Anyhoo.. you get my point.

You see the start, hear the middle whilst Spike is vomiting, and then see the end result whilst they are still alive... Which was deeply upsetting. I'm horrified by sadistic, prolonged torture and it unfortunately stays with me for a while. Something about knowing that people can, have and will sadistically torture innocent and undeserving victims in reality.

But watching Samson rip a guy's head off? That was cool as fuck 🤣 I wanted a zombie film! As I said, it's my own fault for not looking into it properly.

I did think for a while whether it was necessary for the juxtaposition, as it was entwined with scenes of Dr Kelson treating a zombie (aka someone who had lost all sense of their humanity) with so much kindness, tenderness and respect. Perhaps if the torture hadn't been quite so visceral, Kelsons sensitivity may have felt less comforting. I felt relief from those scenes, much like Samson felt relief from his symptoms while he was with Kelson.

It was an experience. I'm just very sensitive to sadism against innocent people/beings, and I think if anyone feels similar they should decide whether it's worth the watch. For me, it wasn't.

The one before this definitely very different. Quite heartfelt considering! Then the ending sort of came out of nowhere

I am just watching 28 years later and am not sure it isn't the one I saw already. I may not have watched them in the wrong order after all 🤦‍♂️

@LetsGoFlyAKiteee I think I'm going mad. I was sure I watched the Bone Temple the other day. Maybe I didn't 🤦‍♂️

Where did you watch it? The Bone Temple has only just had cinema release last week.

Was that me! I had motion sickness from watching that. Same with Dancer in the Dark.

The thread started on the release day.

Sadly I completely agree with this I've just seen it and I had to leave after the torture scene because I thought I was going to be sick. I sat outside on my phone for a bit to calm myself down and eventually did return because I was with someone. But yeah it was awful really did not enjoy it at all.

To be honest I also thought some of the other bits were pretty ridiculous.

My favourite bit was the end bit with the beautiful cottage in the lovely countryside with the very gorgeous Cillian Murphy.

@LittleJustice I did the exact same thing. I left when they asked the last victim to fight because I assumed it would be more of the same, and contemplated not going back in, but same as you I didn't want to spoil it for the other person. I let them know if there was anything more like that I'd have to leave, though.

I find movies a bit boring if there isn't some gore and psychotic chaos, but that was just disgusting.

I think it's possible that without it, though, all the Dr Kelson bits would have seemed too ridiculous. Dr Kelson had to appear to be very sane, intelligent, wise and kind. Without a drastic comparison of the opposite, he might have given more daft/fruitloop vibes. The poignancy might have got lost.

Hopefully the next film will be more of what I/we like about the 28 series!

Yes, I love a good disaster, zombie or post apocalypse film. But that was another level of disturbing. I can't do torture or rape and that was long horrific drawn out sadistic torture. I couldn't sleep last night. And I spent the scenes with my eyes closed, fingers in my ears telling myself in my head "it's not real, it's just acting" over and over. I'm just really sensitive to this for some reason.

Actually it made me feel like Dr Kelson was a bit ridiculous tbh. It just all felt a bit stupid, unrealistic and performative. Which is disappointing as I loved the other films and the premise.

I can accept that I'm pretty bombproof - I watch a lot of horror films from all around the world, go to a lot of horror festivals and so on and very little on a screen bothers me (although I hate underwater things despite Jaws being one of my all time favourite films, and I don't like heights either 😂). But I still think that the scene was more effective for keeping most of the action off screen and letting viewers imaginations do the work.

I enjoyed TBT even more on the second watch and spotted a lot of detail I missed the first time. What stood out even more was how some people dealt with events by turning to faith, and others science - the way desperate, frightened people will latch onto a charismatic leader even when they know deep down he's a charlatan making it up as he goes along, and also what they will do once they're brainwashed by endless dogma (including but not limited to the gospel according to Teletubbies episodes); it felt very current. And as above, the contrast between that and the scientific/humanist approach is what made it work IMO.

Without spoiling anything, Samson's story is still my favourite bit, I think .

Jaws is one of my favourites, too. A zombie and a shark are scary to be chased by, but are innocent themselves, really. The premise of shark/zombie films tends to be innocent people defending themselves from a predator that has no control over their impulses. So that's grand, even when it gets bloody and violent.

We will have to disagree that the graphic scenes take place off screen and things are left to the imagination... I wonder if you are possibly comparing it to even more graphic on screen depictions of torture if you have seen lots and lots of this type of scene.
Granted, like @LittleJustice, when it began I had my eyes screwed shut and fingers in my ears! Seeing the aftermath was the worst part for me.

Almost all reviews on Rotten Tomatoes agree that this director used graphic on screen depictions, whereas previous directors did much more of what you're suggesting, and let the audience use their imagination to fill in the blanks. I don't think the first few films even had the budget for anything more than that, anyway.

But ultimately my issue was not with the graphic gore itself, but with the cruelty.

I'm also not sure that Billy Crystal turned to religion. He was already religiously indoctrinated as his father was a pastor, and he was a small boy when he saw his father zombified and killed. Childrens minds forge their own narratives to survive, psychologically, and the facts of the matter would never have been explained to him by anyone. His mind just merged his religious upbringing with his trauma, I doubt he had any control over it.

The other Jimmy's were also very young and may have had no one to confidently explain what was happening, because nobody really knew. They would have been terrified themselves. Religious ideology ie 'believe in this and our God/Old Nick will spare you and favour you' would have been extremely comforting and appealing to a child. They were all just terrified children.

Again, with Dr Kelson, he was obviously already a Dr so didn't turn to anything different in the midst of chaos. He was much older than the Jimmy's, so less vulnerable and impressionable, and just understood things much better having lived most of his life before the virus.

It's more about psychology and trauma than religion/Vs science, IMO.

Jimmy Crystal* LOL not Billy Crystal 🤣

Ha, that really gave me a giggle! Its interesting to think about trying to remember things that happened 28 years ago, I'd always though that everyone of a certain age would remember clearly what life was like before, but I think back to 28 years ago and actually things aren't as clear as I thought they'd be so its interesting.

And yes, loved Samson's arc, very interesting to consider it curable!

I loved it. More than the last one.

The big climax scene was brilliantly done. The sort of thing Hammer House would have made if a) they had a bigger budget and b) Iron Maiden had existed in the 1960's.

I didn't mean Jimmy, I meant his followers - apologies if that wasn't clear. And I didn't suggest Dr Kelson 'turned to' anything; again I was talking specifically about Jimmy's followers and comparing the faith vs science angle; obviously I shouldn't post before I've had coffee.

I liked how Jimmy had fixated on possibly the last normal thing he remembers (watching Teletubbies as at rhe statt of the previous film) and then further on we had the family on the train with the book about space and the picture of the moon.

I wasn’t 100% sure after watching 28 years later but saw Bone Temple the other night and absolutely loved it. So good, and loved the ending.
I am also bomb proof when it comes to horror so wasn’t bothered by the parts others didn’t like.
All 3 main characters were very good for different reasons.