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When I was writing about last year’s 28 Years Later I noted that it was rated 15 but that I thought this indicated some level of sea change at the British Board of Film Classification because there was plenty in there that would have certainly lead to a higher certification before. This being the case you should know that this follow up is rated 18. 

The first film in this new trilogy (itself the third movie in the series) was pretty gruesome then but this is certainly nastier. Only a part of this is the graphic scenes of gore and violence though (and if anything the swearing is less here). In terms of this bloodshed there is one particular scene that comes to mind that will always for me be known as the Creme Egg moment. It involves one of the infected undead scooping and eating white brains from a skull that he has just torn off a body and cracked open, which came on screen just as I was eating one of said Cadbury’s chocolate confections that my cinema buddy traditionally brings and shares when we see movies together. More than this though, my own unfortunate snack timing notwithstanding, I think the certification is pushed higher here because it is typically humans inflicting the unimaginable torture on one another rather than the monsters. There are actually relatively few zombies in this zombie movie.

The architect of this pain, although rarely the perpetrator, is Jack O’Connell’s Jimmy Crystal whose origin story we saw in the last film. It’s fun to see that The Teletubbies remain significant for him as the last cultural touchstone he had before the apocalypse came but even that, like everything else has become twisted by his existence in a literal man eat man world. With this and Sinners O’Connell seems to have closed the book on unimaginable on screen a-holes and the character’s darkness envelops the whole story. He does bring moments of humour but mostly just horrid and disturbing blackness. Alfie Williams’ Spike, who we saw ‘rescued’ by Jimmy before and who was the definite star of 28 Years Later, also features significantly but is this time eclipsed somewhat by those around him. 

It is Ralph Fiennes’ kind hearted Tangoed death wish Doctor who becomes MVP this time though. Most of his plot tells of his developing relationship with the Alpha infected Samson (who is the one we see with the ad hoc Easter treat earlier) but when his narrative links up with Jimmy and Spike’s it is fair to say that things get really crazy. Fiennes has played villains and heroes before along with kooks and commanders, but here he does it all and he is incredible. 

With Alex Garland still on writing duties but Nia DaCosta taking over directing from Danny Boyle, this does feel very different to its predecessor, but when the third movie comes with Boyle returning I am sure it will all hold together as one consistent tale by the end (in a way that the J.J Abrams/Rian Johnson/J.J Abrams Star Wars trilogy did not). This does play like a middle instalment with its own story but still holds its own. I wasn’t sure it would but my Creme Egg compadre had not seen 28 Years Later and said it definitely did. It is somehow quieter and smaller but more creatively ambitious than what has come before, and I think I can include 2002’s 28 Days Later and 2007’s 28 Weeks Later in this as well. Personally I didn’t love it as much as either of Boyle’s films (that would be 1 and 3). It has more of a creeping tension, unlike the  chases and crescendos of before, and it really lacks the compassion that Jodi Comer brought to that film as well. To use the movies of Garland as a barometer, this is closer to Men than Ex Machina or Civil War in that it is less full of heart in mouth moments as it is throw up in your mouth moments but it is still compelling and desolately brilliant. 

This movie was shot almost concurrently with 28 Years Later and so has found its way into theatres only twenty eight weeks later. We will have longer to wait for the third part but this does give strong indications of where that is going. I get the impression that some of the casting for that is still to fall into place, original cast member Naomie Harris is evidently still to sign up, but it is evident from The Bone Temple that this final one will tie the whole two and a half decade series together. Oddly, considering the depraved levels of twisted humanity featured within, the final note here is one of hope; hope for the world and hope that once they are all done these five movies will collectively stand as one of the best horror series of all time.