Tag: horror/drama

28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE – Review

Whew, now that is a really quick turnaround for a sequel (they way it sprinted to theatres in just a little over six months, you’d think that it had contracted the “rage”). Usually there’s at least a year between franchise entries, even if they were shot at the same time as the WICKED flicks or even more, like the last two “impossible missions” (who knows if or when we’ll have to endure the conclusion to FAST X). Then, this isn’t your usual “tent pole”, since the original sprinted out in 2002, its first sequel in 2007, then the follow-up last June. That installment was both a box office and critical hit, so a different director and much of the same cast are hoping that audiences will be eager to get out of the January chills and warm themselves by the fiery furnaces of 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE.


When we last saw the preteen loner Spike (Alfie Williams), he was saved from a rage-infected pack by a group of track-suit wearing, platinum-haired young men and women. But as we see in the opening sequence, Spike might have gone from the “frying pan into the fire”, as he must face off against an older young man as his “initiation” into the group called “the Jimmies”. Watching over the duel is their leader, Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), in his thirties, making him a veteran of the “plague” world. He “fancies” himself to be the son of “ole’ Nick” AKA Satan. Somehow, Spike triumphs, is dubbed the newest “Jimmy”, and is forced to join them in deadly attacks on human survivors on the mainland, encounters that end with Sir Jimmy orchestrating acts of barbaric cruelty. Meanwhile, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) is still tending to the title “Bone Temple”, or “memento mori” dedicated to the dead, the bone towers flanking a massive spire of human skulls. Kelson’s daily routine is broken up by visits (more like roaring attacks) from the hulking “alpha” of the infected, whom he dubs “Samson” (Chi Lewis-Parry). Those encounters turn into a game as Kelson waits until the giant is nearly upon him before using a long tube to blow a dart full of his special sedative, that renders Samson docile. The doctor soon comes to the conclusion that Samson actually welcomes the “rest” and often joins him for a brief “nap”. Kelson then begins to experiment on Samson and somehow is able to counteract the “rage”. However, his research may soon be disrupted when he and his sanctuary are discovered by the Jimmies. What happens when the worlds of these survivors clash? Who will claim the land, Sir Jimmy, Dr. Kelson, or perhaps Samson?

Probably the greatest performance from the last entry was from the gifted Fiennes as the somewhat still sane medical man, somehow learning to adapt to the hellscape of the plague -ridden countryside. Here he actually builds on that work (last time we didn’t meet him until well past the halfway mark), adding some new “layers” to this lonely soul. He shows us that Kelson is yearning for a real human connection, even if it’s with a “zonked out” behemoth. Plus, we get to see a bit of his eccentric side, as his main joy comes from his love of his 80s pop records. Fiennes captures our attention in every one of his scenes (he’s got a long overdue date with Oscar). His character’s “inverse” may be the charismatic O’Connell as the cunning, cruel, and still a bit charming Sir Jimmy. He may be the “wildest card” in the twisted pack of Jimmies, who has a teen idol’s swagger while putting a Manson-like spell on his faithful followers. After his splendid work last year as the “boss vamp” in SINNERS, O’Connell is quite the engaging movie monster. Williams commands our interests and elicits our sympathies as Spike, still a boy, as he tries to survive this world and his still painful family loss. Luckily, he’s got a caring surrogate “big sis” in the enigmatic Erin Kellyman as “Jimmy Ink”, the gang’s “enforcer” who has freed herself from the “cult” of Sir Jimmy. Kudos also to the compelling physical presence of Lewis-Parry who gives some unexpected vulnerability, showing us that like the Frankenstein monster, he could have his cloudy savagery cleansed by a bit of kindness.

Earlier I mentioned that this installment boasts a different director. Taking the reins from Danny Boyle is the versatile, visually elegant Nia DaCosta (after last year’s “chamber drama” HEDDA). She clues us in, with the searing brutality of “Spike’s test” that this second act of a planned final trilogy, won’t dance around its violent, visceral origins. In other words, the blood does flow, like a red storm over the gorgeous green English countryside. The screenwriter of last June’s entry, Alex Garland, does return with a tale that echoes several horror survival themes, showing us how the uninfected humans can be more deadly than the screaming charging hordes. We’re even given an “origin story” set at the beginning s of the “rage”, reminding us that these mindless monsters were exactly like us. What really surprised me this time was the unexpected bursts of very dark, nearly pitch black, humor, especially in the final showdown. Ah, but it’s not really “final” as an epilogue promises another glorious glimpse into this altered Earth. Let’s hope our next visit, probably not a quick seven months wait, will be as well produced and as full of conflict and compassion as 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE.

3.5 Out of 4

28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE opens in theaters everywhere on Thursday, January 15, 2026

THE OTHER LAMB – Review

Michiel Huisman as Shepherd in Malgorzata Szumowska’s THE OTHER LAMB. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release.

The surreal horror/drama THE OTHER LAMB centers on a teen-aged girl in a cult led by a man called Shepherd (Dutch actor Michiel Huisman of “Game of Thrones”), who has a striking resemblance to traditional depictions of Jesus. But there is little that is lamb-like in this charismatic autocratic leader of a flock of obedient wives as they live a communal pastoral existence hidden deep in the woods, until their lives are disrupted by an event that send them on a journey with a violent end.

The girl, Selah (Raffey Cassidy), is one of the daughters of the Shepherd, although it is unclear whether they are all his actual offspring. Indeed, Shepherd barely looks old enough to have fathered a teen, much less so many. The “wives” are clad in red or purple and the “daughters” are dressed in blue, but some of the wives look little older than the daughters. And then you notice something odd – all the children are girls, there are no little boys. Actually there are few young children at all, with most of the girls adolescents or pre-adolescent, which seems even more unsettling.

THE OTHER LAMB brings to mind the Charles Manson cult, “The Handmaiden’s Tale,” and MIDSOMMAR among others. The film is beautifully shot, an atmospheric tale that opens with dream-like scene in which Selah, clad in long white robes, is floating in water, an image that evokes Hamlet’s Ophelia. That is a lot of unsettling allusions to pack in, but Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska, making her English-language film debut, is just getting started, in this surreal tale of abuse, misogyny and patriarchy.

Selah has known no other life than the cult, and seems content sharing quarters with her sisters and filling her day doing chores for their simple, pastoral life. The cult occupies in several buildings deep in the woods, with the daughters living in one, the wives in another, and Shepherd in his own. The whole compound covered by an awning of strings. At dinner, the wives and daughters praise and thank Shepherd, who concludes the meal by selecting a wife for the night, asking her if she will receive his grace. On Sunday, the wives and daughters dress in white and listen adoringly while Shepherd gives his sermon in a “church” made of a string box enclosing a clearing among the trees. The sermon is followed by a bloody sacrifice of a lamb.

From the beginning, there is something creepy about Shepherd whenever he speaks to Selah, an unsettling whiff of incestuous interest that is hard to shake. Paired with the film’s frequent nightmarish fantasy sequences, the feeling of unease suffused the drama.

However, THE OTHER LAMB is more a surreal and visually stunning study of the topics it raised than either a plot driven mystery or even a deep exploration of the themes it touches on. Still, it is a haunting film that raises questions about how women are treated in society. It also offers a series of haunting, horrifying images, and tense atmospheric scenes between the gifted cast, although what ultimately happens is not entirely a surprise. The mysterious dream-like images that open the film are followed by a series of other surreal, more nightmarish sequences sprinkled throughout, images just as mysterious as the opening one (is this a baptism or drowning?) but far more disturbing – a skinned lamb, the rotting remains of a bird, and other haunting images.

In addition to its striking photography, fine acting performances are a major strength of this symbolic horror/drama. Time and again, the camera focuses on Raffey Cassidy’s expressive face, shifting from innocent wonder to confusion to fear and rage, as she grapples with her nightmares and her shifting ideas about her faith and her life. Selah’s close relationship with her half-sister Tamar (Ailbhe Cowley) is shaken by Selah’s evolving doubts, and all are shaken by the horrific events that transpire. Denise Gough plays Sarah, one of the older wives who has fallen out of favor with Shepherd and is exiled to a hidden shack. The bitter, sarcastic Sarah has been with the cult from the start, and offers Selah her only insights on the outside world and on her dead mother. Michiel Huisman is brilliant disturbing as Shepherd, veering from posing as a benevolent, protective father figure who dispenses wisdom to something much darker, as his mask slips to reveal the selfish egotist beneath.

THE OTHER LAMB is unsettling to watch, and while it does not explore in depth the topics it raises, its haunting meditation on them and its haunting visuals are enough to keep it in your mind long after the film ends. THE OTHER LAMB debuted April 3 as digital and cable video-on-demand on streaming platforms Amazon Digital, Vudu, Spectrum, Apple TV, Xbox, GooglePlay and others.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars