28 Years Later was one of my favorite films of 2025.
I found it to be a gripping post-apocalyptic coming-of-age story, which carried a touching message about the acceptance of death.
That being said, the film was divisive among general audiences, mostly due to its bizarre ending.
While I did enjoy said ending, I can definitely see how a group of ninja, Satan worshipping, Jimmy Saville cosplayers showing up out of nowhere rubbed people the wrong way.
Nevertheless, after the film ended, I was immediately on board for its follow up, The Bone Temple.
Being shot back-to-back with 28 Years Later, we thankfully did not have to wait two years to see it, like most sequels these days.
Having seen the film on the day of release, I can say that The Bone Temple definitely lived up to my expectations, even if I do prefer the previous movie.
Picking up from 28 Years Later’s cliffhanger, The Bone Temple sees the young Spike (Alfie Williams) violently inducted into the Jimmy gang, led by the charismatic and deranged sadist, Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell).
At the same time, Dr Ian Kelson (Ralph Fieness) finds himself forming an unusual bond with the Infected Alpha he has named Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) and begins to wonder if treating the Rage Virus is possible.
As the film progresses, the two storylines converge, resulting in a confrontation between Jimmy and Kelson at the titular Bone Temple and the conflict of their embodied ideals: peace vs chaos, kindness vs brutality.
These two opposing characters with their opposing beliefs are the focal point of the film.
I already loved Dr Kelson’s character from 28 Years Later.
Spending over two decades in isolation and building a temple of bone to memoralize the deaths of millions, Kelson kept his humanity, helping to ease the suffering of Spike’s mother.
He continues his humanitarian efforts in The Bone Temple through his aid of Samson, with Ralph Fieness playing the role to perfection.
In times of despair and chaos, we need a man like Dr Kelson.
What we certainly do not need is a man like Jimmy Crystal.
Played brilliantly by Jack O’Connell, the traumatised young survivor of the outbreak has transformed into a demented cult leader, hellbent on bringing as much pain and suffering he can in the name of his imagined father “Old Nick.”
His cult members are almost as demented, gleefully indulging in Jimmy’s idea of “charity.”
Their childlike nature is just as disturbing, with it being abundantly clear that these violent lunatics were once ordinary children before Britain fell.
This makes the characters obvious visual similarities to notorious predator Jimmy Saville all the creepier.
Just as he twisted the innocence of children in real life, so has this brutal world the Jimmys grew up in.
And, boy, is it brutal.
28 Years Later was violent but The Bone Temple is on another level.
Brains are eaten and skin is flayed in numerous wince inducing scenes which, again, made the humanitarian efforts of Dr Kelson all the more important.
If the Jimmy gang are the children destroyed by the world, Samson is the child Kelson hopes to restore.
Chi Lewis-Parry brings both a sense of brutality and innocence to the role of the Infected Alpha.
Samson is a complex character, whether he is ripping someone’s head off, remembering the past or, more often than not, running around butt naked with all 28 inches flopping around in the wind…
However, while I do think the characters of Kelson, Jimmy and Samson are all great, I unfortunately found Spike’s to be a bit limited in this move.
He mostly just stands around looking horrified at what the Jimmys are doing which, fair enough, but I kind of wanted to see him do more after the first film.
There is also the character of Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman), by far the most humanized of the Jimmys, due to her sibling-like bond with Spike.
While I think she was well acted, the writing let her down a little because, even after the movie ended, I was not entirely sure what her goals were, or what she had planned after those goals were met.
Along with this, while I liked the style of director Nia DaCosta, I missed the unique flair of Danny Boyle’s from 28 Years Later.
My final criticism is that there was one scene hyped up in the trailer that was absent from the film.
Although this is more the trailer’s fault than the movie’s.
All of that being said, these are only minor issues, and the rest of the film more than makes up for them, especially the third act.
As I stated, the conflict between Kelson and Jimmy is the highlight of the film, culminating in a tremendous climax, which needs to be seen in theaters.
Although I prefer 28 Years Later’s emotional journey, The Bone Temple offers a more than worthy sequel, with a compelling battle of ideals between its protaganist and antagonist.
I look forward to seeing the third film in this trilogy, where an iconic actor is poised to take center stage… or, at least, he will in about two years when that final film comes out.
Yeah, since the third movie was only recently greenlit, we are unfortunately going to have to wait a while for its release, unlike The Bone Temple.
So, until then, memento mori.
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