My Thoughts on 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is the very quick sequel to release to 28 Years Later, which only came out last year, and The Bone Temple earns its place by being stranger, harsher, and more focused on ideas than plot mechanics.
The story resumes immediately, as it doesn't ease you back in, as we see Spike, played being dropped straight into the Jimmy gang, and the film makes no effort to soften the experience,as his induction is violent and humiliating, and the point is clear very early on - this is a group built on fear and performance rather than loyalty.
Jimmy Crystal, their leader, dominates every space he enters, and Jack O’Connell plays him with charm and instability, where he is funny at times, unsettling at others, and rarely predictable.
Running alongside this is Dr Ian Kelson, again played by Ralph Fiennes, who remains the most best presence in the film, as he behaves with more care than almost anyone else still alive, and his decision to study and care for an Infected Alpha named Samson feels consistent with who he is, as he doesn’t believe the world improves through force - he believes in tending to what remains, even if it seems pointless.
The film slowly moves its pieces toward the Bone Temple itself, a location that is both literal and symbolic without drawing too much attention to that fact, as we witness Kelson and Jimmy finally come face to face,where they represent opposite ways of surviving this world.
Jimmy turns pain into structure and calls it meaning, while Kelson refuses to turn away from suffering, even when it costs him safety.
The Bone Temple is also not subtle about its violence, and it goes further than 28 Years Later and seems aware that it is doing so, as we get scenes that are deliberately unpleasant, involving bodies being torn apart and treated as disposable, and the contrast between the Jimmy gang’s cruelty and Kelson’s restraint becomes sharper because of how extreme the violence is.
The Jimmy gang themselves are deeply unsettling, with the way they behave, and there is a childishness to them that never fully goes away - they play, joke, and follow rules that only make sense to them, and the film is clear that these people grew up after everything collapsed.
They were shaped entirely by the chaos, and I thought that was one of the film’s more effective ideas, even if it isn’t explored as deeply as it could have been.
Samson, the Infected Alpha, is where much of this tension lands in The Bone Temple, and Chi Lewis-Parry gives him this physical presence that is hard to ignore, but there is also a sense of vulnerability underneath the violence.
Samson isn’t just a threat, he’s a reminder that infection doesn’t erase everything that came before, and Kelson treats him as someone rather than something, and that choice carries strong emotional weight without the film spelling it out.
Spike, unfortunately though, feels less central this time around.
He reacts more than he acts. and while I understand why the character is overwhelmed by what he’s seeing, but after his role in the previous film, I wanted more agency from him, as he spends a lot of time observing the Jimmy gang’s behavior with visible horror, which is understandable, but it starts to feel repetitive.
Jimmy Ink is also an interesting case, as she is the most recognizably human member of the gang, largely because of her bond with Spike, where Kellyman’s performance suggests inner conflict and suppressed doubt, but the film never fully commits to exploring her motivations.
By the end, I wasn’t sure what she actually wanted or what she planned to do next, and that ambiguity could have worked, but here it felt more like an omission than a choice.
I liked Nia DaCosta’s direction overall too, though I did miss some of the rough, restless energy Danny Boyle brought to 28 Years Later, as DaCosta’s approach is more controlled and composed, and that works for a story built around opposing beliefs, but there were moments where the film felt a bit too polished for the world it depicts.
The Bone Temple's final stretch and ending is also strong, as the conflict between Jimmy and Kelson is given the time it needs, and the film resists the urge to simplify either man, and there is no easy answer presented, and no clear victory that feels clean.
I think 28 Years Later has more emotional depth, but The Bone Temple offers something different, where it is harsher, more focused on belief systems than relationships, and less concerned with likability.
The ending clearly sets up the final film, which I am very much looking forward to, as if nothing else, The Bone Temple proves this series isn’t repeating itself - it’s asking different questions, and I’m curious to see where that leads.
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