Cures for zombie viruses have been a hot topic in pop culture lately. It’s natural, after all, when there’s a massive virus or transformative attack on humanity, to hope that there might be a cure waiting in the wings; a magic bullet that will save the world. In the universe of 28 Days Later/28 Years Later, one of our most seminal zombie movies, there has never been a cure for the Rage Virus that infects the world. The virus that turns humans into rage-fueled Infected zombies appears to change them permanently, robbing them of everything but anger. In the franchise’s past, quarantine and containment have been the key tools used to stop the Rage Virus from spreading, but that might all be about to change. The trailers for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple seem to tease that a cure may be coming in the movie. But does a cure for the Rage Virus actually surface in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple? We break it down below.
Does 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Introduce a Cure for the Rage Virus?
In short, yes. In 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Ralph Fiennes’s Dr. Ian Kelson creates a cure for the Rage Virus, which completely reverses the effects of the disease on an Infected zombie. Dr. Kelson’s cure restores the Infected person’s human memories and their rational mind and higher order thinking abilities to them. It also dissipates all the rage that the Rage Virus induced. In 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Dr. Kelson is able to fully cure the Infected Alpha Samson.
How Does Dr. Ian Kelson Develop the Rage Virus Cure in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple?
The stage is set for the Rage Virus cure in 28 Years Later‘s first movie, where we learn that Infected zombies actually give birth to normal human children. This indicates that the Rage Virus has not turned the Infected into a completely different species or altered them so far from humanity that their DNA has totally changed. Additionally, the first 28 Years Later movie sees Dr. Kelson feel compassion for the Alpha Samson. For the first time in the 28 Days/Years Later franchise, a character treats the Infected zombies with respect, engaging with them as they would with any fellow human. Dr. Kelson even acknowledges Samson’s personhood, giving him a name and calling him by it.
In 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Dr. Kelson’s compassion for Samson grows, leading to the discovery of a cure for the Rage Virus. Dr. Kelson realizes that Samson has been injured, shot by arrows during his pursuit of Spike and the baby in the prior 28 Years Later movie. And, as with any other person, Dr. Kelson feels moved to treat the injuries. To do this safely, Dr. Kelson shoots the Infected zombie Alpha with morphine, rendering him in a tranquil state. It seems Samson enjoys this altered state, though, and he returns again and again to experience it alongside Dr. Kelson. Interestingly, the Infected zombie does not hurt Dr. Kelson and appears to retain the memory of the kindness offered to him. Samson even brings Dr. Kelson gifts. However, Dr. Kelson does not have an unlimited supply of morphine, so although Samson appears to show signs that the Rage Virus has weakened its hold on him, Dr. Kelson feels the need to give him a gentle death before he totally runs out of the drug.
Just as Dr. Kelson is about to euthanize Samson, though, the morphine has an unexpected effect on the Rage Virus-infected zombie. Samson is able to look at the moon and say the word, “moon,” to identify it. And that’s enough for Dr. Kelson; he sets off to discover the Rage Virus cure on 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
How Does Dr. Ian Kelson’s Cure Work in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple?
And indeed, Dr. Kelson finds a cure for the Rage Virus in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Here’s how it works. Dr. Kelson explains to viewers that the Rage Virus has several elements to it, and to cure it, a medicine must address all aspects of it. The morphine, Dr. Kelson explains, helps treat the physical component of the virus, relieving the “hemorrhaging pain” that the Infected zombies experience, contributing to their rage. But there’s also a mental component to the disease.
Dr. Kelson notes that Infected Zombies will attack anything on sight, even a child. And there’s no reason to attack a child. So he reasons that the Rage Virus must be causing the Infected zombies to see something that isn’t there, triggering their attacks. And seeing something that isn’t there, Dr. Kelson concludes, is what humans call psychosis. And psychosis can be treated.
We don’t know exactly what medication concocts, but putting together morphine with something that treats Samson’s psychosis fully cures the Infected Zombie Alpha, bringing back his humanity. And thus, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple introduces a cure for the Rage Virus.
Now that Dr. Kelson is Dead, What Will Become of the Cure for the Rage Virus?
But alas, creating a cure for the Rage Virus is one of the last things Dr. Kelson does in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Not long after he administers the cure to Samson, Dr. Kelson is stabbed to death by Sir Jimmy Crystal. With the death of Dr. Kelson in the franchise, no one else remaining on 28 Years Later knows how to make a cure for the Rage Virus. Has the cure for the Rage Virus died with Dr. Kelson?
Additionally, we don’t know whether Samson must continue taking the Rage Virus cure to remain human, or whether, without more doses, he’ll revert to his Infected zombie form. But, should he remain in his human mind, at least one character will know that a cure for the rage virus does exist on 28 Years Later. And that, at least, will be something.
The Real Cure for the Rage Virus Is Compassion in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Ultimately, though, the real message of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is that compassion and humanity are the real cure for the Rage Virus. In the end, a doctor in a bunker with almost no supplies was able to create a cure for the Rage Virus using only what he had at hand. But what he had that no major world power seems to have had and that almost no individual has in the 28 Days/Years franchise is compassion. By respecting Samson and honoring him as a human, not a creature, Dr. Kelson was able to observe the virus and draw meaningful conclusions about it. His love for Samson was what ultimately allowed him to find a cure in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
And there’s a glimmer of hope left for us to hold onto. The final scene in the movie, yes, the one featuring that exciting cameo by Cillian Murphy, focuses on the theme of compassion and helping out those who need you without question. And so we feel there might be a reason to believe that a full cure may still emerge in the final 28 Years Later trilogy movie.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is now playing in theaters.