28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Movie Review)

Like an infected Alpha barreling through the woods, the 28 Days Later franchise is back again with its next installment, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Except Danny Boyle is once again stepping away from director duties, and ceding the chair to Nia DaCosta. And as you can imagine, I was immediately skeptical that the Candyman and The Marvels helmer would be able to maintain the thrills and breathtaking visuals that helped define the previous film. So does the new movie represent a seamless passing of the torch, or is it merely a cheap imitation of what came before?

The film picks up right where the last one left off, with Spike (Alfie Williams) being taken into the fold by Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell) and his gang. But it is actually Ralph Fiennes' Dr. Ian Kelson who gets top billing this time around, and we spend much of the film watching him act as curator and groundskeeper for the titular Bone Temple. After a string of repeated encounters with Samson, the leader of a herd of infected in the nearby woods, the two begin to form an unlikely bond that could very well redefine his understanding of the Rage Virus and those afflicted by it.

In this age of long-gestating sequels, it is not often that we get a turnaround time of less than a year, which is essentially what we've gotten with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. The decision to film the first two films in the planned trilogy back-to-back has certainly paid off, especially considering how the last film ended with a cliffhanger and left some dangling plot threads in the process. So I was glad to see this one hit the ground running as it attempted to tie it all together, even down to providing some much-needed connections to the first film, 28 Days Later. 

To put it in another way, this is the most we have learnt about the nature of the Rage Virus since that film, and why those infected by it turn into raving murder machines. But since this is a spoiler-free review, I won't be saying anything more about what that nature looks like. I'll instead be spending the rest of this review eating crow I guess, for ever doubting that Nia DaCosta could deliver a worthy follow-up to 28 Years Later. Because her movie matches the same kinetic energy as that Danny Boyle-directed entry, though some could argue that has more to do with Alex Garland staying on as screenwriter than anything else.

Whatever the case, this is as valiant an effort as I could have hoped for, with the film even exceeding my expectations in certain areas. For instance, licensed music plays a much bigger role in this movie than in the last, and there were several needle-drop moments that had me grinning like a fiend. One in particular had me outright laughing out loud, and that's another thing I didn't expect from the movie, for it to be so funny and over-the-top in the best way possible. 

This is not to say that it was all smiles and giggles, as it is also worth noting that the film is as gory as it gets. Some of it was borderline hard to stomach and watch, especially one extended torture sequence that just felt too mean-spirited for my tastes. But gorehounds will definitely get their fill and then some, even though the film as a whole didn't have anywhere near as much action or gory kills as its predecessors.

Then I have to give props to both Ralph Fiennes and Chi Lewis-Parry, who plays Samson. Both actors gave outstanding performances that helped sell their implausible friendship, and watching them act stoned out of their minds was yet another highlight of the movie I didn't see coming. I don't know if there's any chance for any kind of award consideration this far removed from the next awards cycle, but at the very least, they are sure to go down as one of the most heartfelt and memorable on-screen pairings of the year.

As far as glaring issues and problems, the biggest gripes I had with the movie have to do with some questionable and contrived sequences, like how the infected would conveniently go MIA for long stretches of the film, or instances when they should've otherwise gathered to investigate a very loud noise. We also don't see or learn more about the other variants of infected introduced in the last film, despite Danny Boyle himself suggesting we would during interviews. But I suppose we'll simply have to wait for the next sequel to see if he eventually makes good on that promise.

2026 is off to a great start because 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is tense, visceral, and even bloodier than the other films in the series. I guess I can finally say there's a Nia DaCosta film that I actually really enjoyed. I'll definitely be paying closer attention to whatever she does next as I wash the sour aftertaste of The Marvels out of my memory. The biggest accomplishment of her latest film, though, is how it has me excited for the third film in the current trilogy, and the future of the 28 Days Later franchise as a whole.