28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Months after the release of 28 Years Later, Nia DaCosta delivers an evocative sequel. In addition to offering a greater understanding of the Rage Virus, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple converges Jack O’Connell’s villain Jimmy Crystal with kindly doctor Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes).
Jimmy is a not-so-subtle incarnation of Jimmy Savile (his followers even refer to him as “sir”), seeing as the 28 Years Later universe is one in which Savile was not exposed for his crimes. In the previous film, we saw how Jimmy first encountered the Rage Virus as a child watching Teletubbies. It’s unclear whether he is immune to the virus or whether it mutated into psychopathy, but his devoutly Christian upbringing has morphed into Satanism.
Jimmy’s demonic devotees, the “Jimmys”, are akin to the Hitler Youth with their flaxen wigs and Aryan guises. With the virus having reduced the UK to a regressive wasteland, the Jimmys run amok, skinning the non-infected alive. The gang’s latest member is Spike (Alfie Williams), returning from the previous movie and repulsed by the sadism of his newfound brethren.
In contrast, Ian, who has built the eponymous temple to honour the victims of the virus, sees the humanity in the infected. He befriends the bloodthirsty and seemingly irredeemable Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), in doing so discovering that the effects of the virus are more complex than initially thought. Ian and Samson’s relationship is the emotional epicentre of the film, and Fiennes’s and Lewis-Parry’s performances are nothing short of excellent.
Meanwhile, O’Connell fully embraces the villain role, sneering through his gold and rotten teeth. It’s a shame that the trauma behind his brutality is only briefly touched upon, with the character veering on cartoonish despite O’Connell’s best efforts.
As with the previous instalment, there are clear allusions to COVID and the ensuing anti-science, anti-intellectual ideation that followed, personified by the Jimmys. At times (and particularly towards the end), these turn from allusions to obvious denotations, belying the film’s potential to be a more philosophical post-COVID rumination. That said, DaCosta’s direction adds a uniquely striking colour palette in the aftermath of Danny Boyle’s already idiosyncratic style, with wide-angle shots of pastoral England reminiscent of early Terrence Malick.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a powerful study of diametrically opposed approaches to morality. With two fantastic – albeit wildly disparate – lead performances, it’s sure to satisfy fans of the horror franchise.
Antonia Georgiou
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is released nationwide on 14th January 2026.
Watch the trailer for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple here:
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