The Bone Temple

Directed by Nia DaCosta, The Bone Temple details the ongoing exploits of various zombie apocalypse survivors. Filmmaker DaCosta, armed with a script by Alex Garland, delivers a progressively engrossing endeavor that gets off to an almost astonishingly lackluster (and nigh unwatchable) start, as the movie, which runs a far-too-long 109 minutes, boasts a first half predominantly focused on the comings and goings of a hopelessly tiresome villain (Jack O’Connell’s Jimmy Crystal) and his one-note acolytes – with, at least, the tedium of their scenes offset by a recurring emphasis on a doctor’s (Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Kelson) attempts at befriending an especially fearsome zombie (Chi Lewis-Parry’s Samson). It’s clear, then, that The Bone Temple begins to demonstrably improve once the two central narratives inevitably collide, and there’s little doubt, as well, that the picture benefits from a jaw-droppingly entertaining sequence wherein Dr. Kelson puts on a larger-than-life show for Jimmy and his followers – with Fiennes’ absolutely committed performance enhancing the visceral impact of this wonderfully out-of-left-field interlude. The unexpectedly captivating bent of the picture’s second half ultimately secures The Bone Temple‘s place as an erratic but completely rewarding piece of work, with the full-circle, completely satisfying final few minutes ensuring that the whole thing concludes on as positive a note as one could envision.

***1/2 out of ****