By Simon Thompson
28 Years Later :The Bone Temple had a tough act to follow being a direct sequel to the excellent 28 Years Later released last year. Given the history of this series, where the follow up to the original 28 Days Later, titled 28 Weeks later which wasn’t helmed by Danny Boyle was a complete disappointment when compared to its predecessor.
With this in mind, I went into The Bone Temple with a large degree of trepidation, especially as Danny Boyle was only producing, and that the movie was being helmed by Nia DaCosta, whose previous work included such sterling masterpieces as the 2021 remake of Candyman and The Marvels. It is safe to say I was proved completely wrong and that this movie is an excellent follow up to 28 Years Later.
Picking up right away from where 28 Years Later left off, the protagonist Spike (Alfie Williams) has now found himself part of a satanic cult known as the Jimmies, a group of tracksuited satanists led by the sadistic and charismatic Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell). While Spike is descending further and further into violent misery, Dr Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) has discovered a drug to treat the rage virus, experimenting on it with Samson, an alpha infected, and forming a friendship with him in the process.
Directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Alex Garland, The Bone Temple does a strong job of building from its predecessor, yet it takes it places that you don’t expect. The Silent Running/ I, Borg style friendship that Kelson and Samson form was something that I didn’t see coming or thought would work at all, yet in Garland’s hands becomes the emotional centre of the movie.
DaCosta’s direction is excellent, switching between close ups to emphasise the tense atmosphere, and then employing more frantic camera movement during the action scenes, that are executed in such way that you can still fully see what is going on. The sequence with the Jimmies together within the Bone temple itself is an absolute showstopper by DaCosta and represents a culmination of the atmosphere that she has so carefully built.
Alfie Williams proves that he’s still one of the best child actors in Britain with his performance as Spike, and his dynamic with Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman) provides a distinct thematic parallel to Kelson and Samson. Although the acting is pretty strong across the board, however its Jack O Connell as Jimmy Crystal and Ralph Fiennes as Dr Kelson that run away with the movie.
After half an hour or so of screentime in 28 Years, it’s refreshing to spend more time with Kelson as a character, with Fiennes expertly portraying his humanistic respect for the dead and his drive to recapture at least some form of civilisation before the rage virus outbreak. O’Connell as Jimmy Crystal is both menacing and funny at the same time, with O’Connell never a balance between the two extremes. If you’ve seen 28 Years Later and haven’t checked out The Bone Temple yet, do so at your earliest convenience. If the upcoming third movie in this trilogy is as good as the previous two, then mainstream horror filmmaking is truly alive and kicking.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is available on digital platforms now.
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