‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ Review – Bones And All Ain’t Enough
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple has finally arrived – or perhaps clawed its way out of the ossuary – a full “six months later…” after its predecessor’s swarm of infected overran theaters last summer. Back then, many argued the trailer, brimming with dread and promise, outshined the film itself. I’m inclined to agree.
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This time around, The Bone Temple didn’t make nearly the same dent. Its trailer landed with less force, and the theatrical run has followed suit. Despite early hype, it’s already being labeled a spectacular box‑office bomb. Critics, however, have been more forgiving, noting that while it’s no triumph, it’s a clear step up from the last installment.
At first, I felt much the same. A handful of elements land more cleanly this time, even if the film still sits squarely in the realm of “good, not great.” But after letting it settle for a day or two, something shifted. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much the film’s underlying messaging was shaping the story.
The plot picks up right where we last saw young Spike (Alfie Williams) and the weary doctor (Ralph Fiennes). The doctor edges toward a genuine breakthrough in treating the rage virus, coaxing fleeting, morphine‑softened moments of serenity from the returning alpha, Samson (Chi Lewis‑Parry). Meanwhile, Spike is dragged across the countryside against his will, trapped by a roaming band of scavengers who call themselves the Jimmies – or, with equal menace, The Fingers.
At the head of the pack is the unhinged “Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal,” played by Jack O’Connell in what amounts to his Sinners persona cranked up. Lord Jimmy fancies himself the Devil’s son, dispatched to Earth for infernal errands, with a creed stitched together from scraps of Satanism and, bafflingly, a generous dose of Teletubbies mythology. The result is a doctrine as deranged as the man preaching it.
All these plot threads slam together at the title location, igniting the most metal sequence I’ve seen since Primitive War tore through the jungle late last summer. Bone Temple keeps the series’s flash and swagger cranked high, but it never sacrifices the gut‑punch story beats or the ferocious performances behind them.
The family drama was the beating heart of the last 28 Years, and Bone Temple doesn’t just honor that setup – it drags it into the arena and delivers a payoff with a brutal, primal force that should keep fans satisfied. Yes, there is blood, sweat, and also some vomit.
Despite powerhouse performances from two of the most visceral actors of their respective generations – Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell – and the electric presence of newcomers Alfie Williams and Chi Lewis‑Parry, I still found myself taken aback by some of the imagery and, more importantly, the themes unfolding on screen.
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Bone Temple shifts the spotlight away from Spike and onto Fiennes’s eccentric survivalist doctor, who stands in stark contrast to the film’s main antagonist, the cult leader Jimmy Crystal. Fiennes plays a healer driven by logic and acceptance; Crystal is a stone‑cold sadist who feeds on power and cruelty. His tragic backstory and improbable survival might invite sympathy for a moment, but the film wastes no time burning that away.
That’s the cost of dealing with a would‑be spawn of Satan, but there’s more going on beneath the surface. For The Bone Temple, Danny Boyle hands the reins to Nia DaCosta (The Marvels), who’s earning much of the credit for the sequel’s ferocity and focus. Whether it’s her singular vision or the strength of the team around her, this stands as her most commanding work yet.
But the film doesn’t stage its conflict as God versus the Devil. Instead, it pits a feral strain of Satanism against a stark, humanistic atheism, with Fiennes’s character, Kelson, as its unlikely apostle. DaCosta described Kelson on the podcast Get Rec’d (via Fandom Pulse) in terms as clear as can be.
“Kelson’s like a real humanist. And I think that’s really beautiful. And I think him, basically being like there’s no devil, there’s no god, but there’s us. And that’s beautiful. It’s stunning. And I think that’s a beautiful message. So despite all the horrors you have to get through to get it, I think about that a lot,” she said.
Once I read that, the film’s intentions snapped into focus: what it is saying, who it’s speaking for, and why many viewers may be better off staying away. As a horror film, it’s above average for January, and one of the better‑looking/better‑written entries in the series. But its streak of sacrilegious nihilism ultimately works against it.
NEXT: ‘28 Years Later’ Review – A Family Drama Trapped In Quarantine
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
PROS
- Strong performances and character development
- Good-looking cinematography
- Duran Duran and Iron Maiden on the soundtrack
CONS
- The Infected became an afterthought, barely serving any purpose
- This thing is anti-God/anti-Christian and wears that fact like a badge of honor
