28 Years Later: The Bone Temple: Movie Review

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, Chi Lewis-Parry, Erin Kellyman
Director: Nia Da Costa

After the surprisingly tender and poignant 28 Years Later revitalized the franchise last year, the speed in which its sequel was announced and released was welcome, but unexpected news.

But this latest has a lot to live up to, thanks to its absolutely bonkers ending of 28 Years Later that evoked the ghost of Jimmy Saville.

Suffice to say, this is something quite special. By turns vicious, menacing, theological, philosophical, insane and incredibly moving and yet still, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple begins with Alfie Williams' Spike being captured by Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (O'Connell, terrifying and terrific) and his cult of white-haired minions.

From the opening sequence in which Crystal sits in a Jim'll Fix It-style chair as he presides over violence and warped cruelty to the crowd-pleasing finale, everything in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is not what you may be expecting. At all.

Ruminating on what happens when the tenets of faith crumble as science or anyone ichallenges them, as well as offering an insight into Samson's life (one of the standout moments of the sequel mixes both memory and violence with aplomb), the whole film is anchored on manipulating a meeting between Fiennes Dr Ian Kelson and O'Connell's Crystal.

But along the way, with unexpected needle drops, philosophical edges, examinations of what it is to be human and selfless, as well as tender moments from Fiennes, there's plenty of pathos and humanity to explore in a civilisation that's teetering on memories of before and living among the brutalities of now.

Much like 28 Years Later, The Bone Temple is best enjoyed unspoiled as it unspools out. It's a singular experience that's anchored by a deeply memorable performance from both Fiennes and O'Connell - but also from Williams and Kellyman (a Jimmy cult inductee), whose characters suffer their own existential crises. 

For a film that's about a virus that turns its victims into raging monsters, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple has an unfeasible amount of quiet silence and magnificence among some of the malevolence. It's evocative, sadistic, compelling, dark, brooding and thoughtful - it's everything a great film should be and a sign that Alex Garland and Danny Boyle's world has massively, cleverly and cerebrally evolved.

At its core, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is 2026's first unmissable film.