It’s been about a week since 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple landed on the 2026 movie schedule, and there’s something I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. No, it’s not that one truly bananas scene. Nor is it Samson’s future after he was seemingly cured. Instead, it’s how the critically acclaimed horror flick throws you into a world where time pretty much stopped decades earlier, and you almost forget until some subtle reminder pops up.
This is something that I loved in 28 Years Later, one of last year’s best, and I was so glad that director Nia DaCosta and writer Alex Garland continued this concept while also taking it to the next level. It adds so much to the movie, the characters’ journeys, and their motivations, especially when it comes to a certain survivor holding onto his past and the old world he left behind.
There Were Multiple Times Where We’re Reminded That The World Stopped In 2002
Though most of humanity has carried on and is living in the 2030s (as seen in 28 Days Later), the same can’t be said about those in the British Isles. For all intents and purposes, everyone who’s trapped in the United Kingdom is living in a world where time essentially stopped in 2002. That adds such an interesting and even more distressing element to the whole ordeal.
Sir Jimmy Cloud’s (Jack O’Connell) gang dressed up like Jimmy Savile, and their obsession with Teletubbies, as well as Dr. Ian Kelson’s (Ralph Fiennes) impressive record collection, are admittedly dated. However, these are characters whose understanding of the world stopped when the Rage virus first spread throughout the country at some point in 2002.
Why do they hold onto these relics? Is it because it’s all they know? Are they reminders of a life once lived? Are they a coping tool for the loneliness, brutality, and uncertainty of their current situations? It’s fascinating when you start to think about it.
Now I Can’t Stop Thinking About How Radiohead’s Kid A Fits Into This
There are a ton of great needle drops in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, and everyone is going to have their favorite. Though I loved that bonkers scene set to Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast,” and those Duran Duran songs led to some great moments, there’s one song that I feel best represents this whole “time stopped for the survivors” element of the movie: Radiohead’s “Everything in Its Right Place.”
The song, which plays during a powerful section of the film exploring Kelson and Samson’s unlikely friendship, is the opening track of Radiohead’s lauded 2000 LP, Kid A, a highly personal and sonically enchanting piece of art. What’s fascinating about this is the fact that this could still be seen as a “new” album for Kelson, as it was released in November 2000, less than two years after everything went to shite.
Was the good doctor a big fan of the experimental Oxfordshire rock outfit? Was “Everything in Its Right Place” a song he listened to at the end of a long day in his old life? Is it a reminder of a life he once had, relationships that he shared? These are all questions that have been bouncing around my brain since that moment, and I think the song’s inclusion not only drives home the point of time stopping, but also makes The Bone Temple a better movie.
Though the future is still uncertain for the 28 Years Later franchise, I cannot wait to see how a possible third film further explores this idea of time coming to a standstill. That said, I hope we also get a look back at Dr. Kelson’s record collection, because I wonder if he had a copy of Radiohead’s Amnesiac as well…
