STACK #258 April 2026

MOVIE FEATURE

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GENRE: Action comedy RUN TIME: 1h 40m

ANACONDA THE HISS-TERICAL RETURN Nearly 30 years after squeezing audiences, the cult creature feature Anaconda sheds its skin for an all-new meta revival.

Jack Black and Paul Rudd

FUN FACT

A naconda was a star-studded creature feature in 1997, with Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Luke Wilson, Eric Stoltz, and Jon Voight rounding out the cast. It proved to be something of a sleeper hit, eventually finding its audience on home video. This new Anaconda is not a remake or a reboot, but an entirely new comedy adventure about two mates who idolise that 1997 movie. Jack Black and Paul Rudd play friends who travel to the Amazon rainforest to fulfil their childhood dream of remaking Anaconda . They are joined by Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, Daniela Melchior, and Selton Mello as their hapless entourage. “We thought it would be a fun and novel way to attack IP-driven films, by making

a movie about a group of friends trying to make a low budget, IP-driven film,” says director Tom Gormican. “ Anaconda became a great vehicle to put the characters’ lives in danger, while they put their dream of making a movie into motion. And we were fans of the fun insanity of the original film.” Any movie that goes meta like

crazy, and I was excited to work with Tom Gormican and his brain, because The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent was one of my favourite films,” admits Jack Black. “And Paul Rudd was attached! I was like, ‘I want to party with these dudes!’ This was a deck full of aces.” Gormican hopes the film’s themes

The original Anaconda spawned three sequels and even tangled with Lake Placid in a crossover.

this is bound to raise concern amongst moviegoers, but there is reassurance here given Gormican and co-writer Kevin Etten’s previous, equally meta outing in the brilliant Nicolas Cage romp The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent . “The script for Anaconda was funny and

will resonate with audiences, noting “Everybody has a thing they’ve always wanted to do. And very few of us ever actually try to do it. For our heroes, it’s a childhood dream of making a movie – but the drive comes from a realisation that it’s now or never.” Glenn Cochrane

• Anaconda is out Apr 8

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Death of a Unicorn

FUN FACT

GENRE: Horror RUN TIME: 1h 50m

SAVAGE SURVIVAL 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE

in a new world order. Shifting the horror away from the infected zombie-like creatures of previous instalments, The Bone Temple chronicles the “Jimmys”, a violent, sadistic, manipulative, Satan-worshipping gang led by Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell). O’Connell describes the character as “quite eccentric, in his twisted gaiety.” adding “As Jimmy sees it, evil has prevailed in the world, and he’s eulogised that through all the bad stuff in the Bible. Jimmy was obviously aware of the Bible because his dad was a vicar, but that’s all become inverted, through the new norm of the world they live in, which is marked by darkness, death, zombies, mauling people, and jungle law. It’s survival of the fittest.” With Ralph Fiennes returning as the eccentric survivalist Dr Ian Kelson, Alfie

Pending the studio green light, Danny Boyle intends to direct one final chapter, which was set up in the final moments of The Bone Temple .

18 years passed between 28 Weeks Later and the first expansion of the world created by Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s revolutionary 28 Days Later .

A fter all those years of silence, their gnarly post-apocalyptic story has suddenly returned with a fury. Last year they returned with 28 Years Later , delivering one of the year’s best horror

was the perfect choice to direct The Bone Temple . Alex Garland and I had long been fans of her reimagining of Candyman and recognised that Nia has serious horror chops, and a genuine love for the original 28 Days Later . She honours what fans love about the franchise

Williams as Spike, and Chi Lewis-Parry as the zombie everyone’s talking about, Sampson, the cast is stacked and the scene is set for one of the most jaw-dropping and polarising horror films in recent memory. Glenn Cochrane

movies. Now, less than a year later, the story continues with The Bone Temple , a critically acclaimed and arguably even better follow-up that pushes all sorts of envelopes. Directing the latest instalment is Nia DaCosta, whose praises Boyle sings. “Nia

while making the new film her own, taking the series into even darker, more intense areas.” Picking up precisely where 28 Years Later ended, the new movie wades into the darkest recesses of the genre, depicting a sinister, depraved, and often repulsive side of mankind

• 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is out Apr 22

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Sinners, The Long Walk, World War Z, The Hunt

22 APRIL 2026

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