Unlike previous films where time passes between movies, this sequel picks up almost immediately after the bonkers ending of Danny Boyle\u2019s 28 Years Later<\/em>. Young Spike (Alfie Williams) is surrounded by the blond-wigged, tracked-suit-wearing cult members named Jimmy who follow Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O\u2019Connell). And as crazy as they were when we were introduced to them in the final moments of 28 Years Later<\/em>, shit gets even wilder. Spike is forced to join the crew to survive, as they torture their way across the English countryside. Meanwhile, over in his ossuary, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) seems to be reenacting Grizzly Man as he attempts to connect with Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), the hulking, hung alpha from the previous film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like its immediate predecessor, The Bone Temple <\/em>is de-fucking-ranged. A lot of that is due to the time we spend with O\u2019Connell\u2019s Jimmy and his Jimmies, who continue the series\u2019 themes about the survivors being just as monstrous as the infected. However, they somehow manage to up the insanity ante with more religion-fueled violence in this installment, which definitely has no relationship to current reality or any of history. Nope, not one bit. The Jimmies follow Jimmy\u2019s evil orders without a thought, wreaking violence and horror among their fellow humans. While the zombie kills (whether they\u2019re dying or doing the killing themselves) in The Bone Temple<\/em> are as grisly as we\u2019ve come to expect since the release of 28 Days Later<\/em>, the human-on-human violence might have reached a new high (or low, depending on your thinking) with this entry in the series. At various points, it gets almost unimaginably grim, but Garland\u2019s script is also laugh-out-loud funny enough to break the tension with the unhinged performance from Sinners <\/em>star O\u2019Connell providing both unease and humor. You\u2019ll still probably have nightmares, but at least watching it is bearable in the moment. <\/p>\n\n\n While Spike and his mum were the heart of 28 Years Later<\/em>, the soul of its sequel is in Fiennes\u2019s Kelson. His soothing voice is a balm in the movie\u2019s broken world (and in ours), and his tenderness toward those around him made me tear up a few times. 28 Years Later<\/em> continues the series\u2019 conversation about what makes us human, but it feels even more profound this time around. Yet Fiennes\u2019s scenes don\u2019t just provide the emotional core; he\u2019s also as funny as his best comedic performance in films like In Bruges<\/em> and The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/em>. One of his key scenes toward the end is such a banger that our screening erupted in applause, and it\u2019s really the only logical reaction. Fiennes and the filmmakers have constructed such a marvelous character over the course of these two movies, and it\u2019s a singular feat in a genre that generally isn\u2019t as concerned with populating its films with people that feel real. With Kelson, Fiennes brings a sense of humanity to proceedings, but there\u2019s also joy and wonder, two feelings I\u2019m not accustomed to experiencing in a horror movie.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n DaCosta showed such promise with the small, gritty drama Little Woods<\/em>, but she faltered with her subsequent Candyman<\/em> and The Marvels<\/em>. Though last year\u2019s Hedda<\/em> garnered praise, this is the first time she\u2019s made a big movie that rocks even more than her indie debut. It looks just as good as Boyle\u2019s films in the series, but she also masters a tricky tone that goes from bleak to blackly comic and from quiet to rock-concert loud. The Bone Temple <\/em>could feel like it\u2019s all over the place, but DaCosta makes it seem like we\u2019re exactly where she intends us to be on its broad emotional spectrum at any given moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I cannot quite square how much fun this movie is while being so disturbing. The depravity of Sir Jimmy and his cult will linger, but boy, is this just an absolute blast. It\u2019s a crowd pleaser that will absolutely make fans of the original 28 Days Later<\/em> happy, but it\u2019s also not afraid to do something different. It\u2019s fun and funny and fucked up and basically everything I ever wanted in a horror movie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A-<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/bone-temple2-1024x576.jpg\")
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