- Director: Nia DaCosta
- Screenplay: Alex Garland
- Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, Chi Lewis-Parry
- Cinematography: Sean Bobbitt
- Editing: Jake Roberts
- Score: Hildur Guðnadóttir
- Genre: Post-apocalyptic horror
- Runtime: 109 minutes
Americans must be scratching their heads over the cliffhanger in ‘28 Years Later‘. Why have these hooligans got blonde wigs on and why are they dressed in colourful tracksuits?
Here’s an explanation: they’ve modelled themselves on the British television presenter and DJ Jimmy Savile, hence they call one another ‘Jimmy’. He’s not someone to be idolised; he’s a sex offender of the worst order; scum that preyed upon the vulnerable and weak – similar to what the Jimmy gang do, headed up by their delusional leader Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell, credible Scottish accent).
The ‘28 Days Later‘ series has a very British feel to it; not only the references to Savile and the ‘Teletubbies‘, it’s the bucolic backdrop. I wondered how this entry’s director, U.S.-born Nia DaCosta would approach things. With her shots of forestry, an ivy-covered train and fields of wheat, nature is the great leveller.
As for human nature, there could not be a starker difference between Jimmy Crystal and the returning Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes). At one end of the spectrum, you’ve got Crystal’s warped Satanic preaching and brutal behaviour, a regression of humankind. At the other end, Kelson’s ardent belief in science offers a glimmer of hope that the hordes of the undead can be redeemed. He drugs the ‘alpha’, Samson, with morphine and with the latter stupefied by the substance, the pair groove out to Duran Duran. It’s a bizarre, comical sequence amidst the torturous exploits of the Jimmys.
Zombie enthusiasts baying for blood will be disappointed. This middle film in the ‘28 Years‘ trilogy is slower of pace and allows for character exploration. Spike (Alfie Williams), the protagonist of the first movie, takes a backseat while we delve into the contrasting psyches of Crystal and Kelson, played to perfection by O’Connell and Fiennes, respectively. There is one particularly gnarly kill, courtesy of Samson. Expect full frontal nudity – and not just from him, too.
If ‘The Bone Temple‘ does well financially (which it should, despite being released in January), we can wrap this zombie saga up once and for all in the yet-untitled Part 3.
My rating: 7 / 10
SilverScreen 