Filmmakers Alex Garland and Danny Boyle’s post-apocalyptic horror franchise continued earlier this year through a fourth film directed by Nia DaCosta (“The Marvels”) that now debuts in a special 4K disc release in “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple: Steelbook Edition” (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, rated R, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, 109 minutes, $42.99).
For those unaware, the story reveals a Great Britain ravaged by the Rage Virus, a highly contagious disease that caused the infected to savagely attack and either murder or transform the innocent through bites.
NATO has quarantined the island, literally cutting it off from the world and abandoning any remaining uninfected survivors.
The latest chapter directly picks up from “28 Years Later” and explores the life of a young boy named Spike (Alfie Williams).
He is now living alone on the mainland after meeting the mysterious Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), an intelligent human consistently drenched in iodine (preventing him from catching the virus), who compassionately put to rest his cancer-riddled mother.
Spike also meets Satan-worshiping psychopath Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) and his gang the Fingers after they rescue him from an attack.
He is forced to join the gang, being renamed Jimmy, after killing a Finger and reluctantly helps the group terrorize the mainland’s uninfected.
Meanwhile, Dr. Kelson continues to collect bodies of the dead to add skulls to his massive memorial temple and oddly takes care of a savage alpha infected nicknamed Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) using opiate-filled darts to stop and temporarily calm him.
The doctor actually teaches Samson to communicate with the help of the drug cocktail’s tranquilizing effects and tries to help him fight off the infection.
Spike will eventually meet the good doctor again as the Fingers find the temple, and Sir Jimmy, with help from Dr. Kelson, looks to prove once and for all to his followers that he is the son of Satan.
Much like all of the other films, viewers are subjected to a gratuitously violent and visceral horror experience set at unwatchable moments that seriously question the filmmakers’ judgment.
The encounters with the infected will literally cause viewers to jump out of their seats in fear during their savage attacks, as the ferocity of their blood sport is captured in frenetic cinematographic style.
However, in this story that often portrays the worst of humanity, find comfort in Mr. Fiennes’ masterful performance as a very kind and odd, empathetic character stuck in hell.
4K in action: The 4K disc, sourced from a 4K digital intermediate, will not disappoint fans looking for the finest details tied to ungodly acts of horror in scenes sure to create nightmares.
Such examples to witness, with unwelcome clarity and color, included a teen stabbed and bleeding out at his femoral artery; Samson eating fresh brains from a recently killed human (with pieces collecting in his beard); the infected gushing blood from their mouths while spasming as the virus takes over; and a man’s head being ripped off his body with his spinal column still intact.
Now, for just the 4K lovers, take a look at a green, forested mainland hiding hordes of dirtied and scarred infected; or the bone memorial with a pillar of skulls at its center, as flocks of birds swarm around the temple.
The moment to pause for colorful reflection, and a palate cleanser for the gore, finds Dr. Kelson standing in a grassy field with the bone memorial behind him at a distance and the sprinkling of red poppies in front and around him.
Best extras: As pretty much required by this reviewer, the 4K disc first offers an optional commentary track with the director, who was “super excited” to talk about the movie and immediately thanked Sony for its money.
Ms. DaCosta explores a standard selection of topics such as costuming, locations, the story’s canon, practical effects, shooting schedule, use of prosthetics, the visual aesthetic, the cast, surviving an apocalypse, camera techniques and her favorite parts of the film.
Her deep-dive facts include rerecording Connor Newall’s (Jimmy Shite) dialogue due to his heavy accent; using a shutter angle shot when violence happens onscreen; explaining how the scene of Samson and Dr. Kelson dancing was an ad-lib by Mr. Fiennes; and shooting a moth that just happened to land and hang out on a cleaned pelvis bone.
The most disgusting part of the film for her was watching Samson eating a human brain.
Next, a trio of short featurettes (averaging 6 minutes each) covers the dichotomy between Dr. Kelson and Sir Jimmy Crystal; the Dr. Frankenstein-style relationship between Dr. Kelson and Samson; and a focus on Ms. DaCosta and her vision for the film (with even comments from Mr. Garland and Mr. Boyle).
And, the major reason for spending the extra money — viewers get a brushed metal steel case with a cover embracing Dr. Kelson focused from his nose to torso, holding a skull with a crack in the forehead area deceptively shaped like a biohazard symbol, and all bathed in a burnt orange backdrop and glow.
The back cover offers an over-the-top view of the bone-based memorial temple with a circular fire forming the symbol again, with fine details, even displaying a tiny skull at the dead center of the temple.
The interior image takes up both sides of the case and features a photograph of Dr. Kelson talking to a seated Samson within the temple’s walls.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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