A One Mann’s Movies review of “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” (2025, 4.5*, 18).
So, hot on the heels of last year’s “28 Years Later” we have the second in the proposed set of three-quels from Danny Boyle, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple”. (Or, in the version I saw while here in Portugal, “Vinte e Oito Anos Depois: O Templo de Ossos”!) It could alternatively be retitled “A Clockwork Savile”, for we are in deliciously dark and dangerous territory here.
It’s just a matter of weeks since “Marty Supreme“, yet here we have another film featuring an egotistical, narcissistic, delusional man creating utter chaos wherever he goes. In this case, Sir Jimmy Crystal has gathered around him a group of followers who secretly KNOW that he’s a complete nut-job but irrationally follow him anyway. It’s almost as if the universe is trying to tell us something! 😉
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Spike (Alfie Williams) has been press-ganged into being one of the “Jimmys” under the terrifying leadership of the maniacal Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) who claims to be the son-on-earth of Satan.
Certification:
UK: 18; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: “Strong gory violence, injury detail, very strong language.”)
Talent:
Starring: Jack O’Connell, Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams, Chi Lewis-Parry, Mirren Mack, Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Connor Newall, Erin Kellyman, Maura Bird, Ghazi Al Ruffai, Robert Rhodes, Emma Laird, Sam Locke.
Directed by: Nia DaCosta.
Written by: Alex Garland.
Running Time: 1h 49m.
Summary:
Positives:
- A deliciously perverted twist on who the bad guys are.
- Wonderfully dark but with an emotional beating heart to it.
- Great performances.
Negatives:
- It’s a further departure from what people might expect from a “28 xxx Later” movie.
- What of the island community?
Full Review of “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple”:
Howzat for a deep dive into darkness?
The ending of “28 Years Later” sent the internet, or at least the UK internet, into a flat spin as the vile resurrection of paedophile Jimmy Savile, bedecked in shell suit and gaudy jewellery, leered down at a terrified young Spike (Alfie Williams). He was of course NOT Jimmy Saville, but someone with the self-proclaimed title of Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell)…. who might, or might not, have subconsciously modelled himself on the 80’s and 90’s TV star, who was fully disgraced and reviled after his death in 2011.
Crystal is the vile beating heart of this film. A manic psychopath travelling the country, doing ‘Old Nick’s work by providing “charity” (read, brutal torture and death) to non-infected homesteaders desperately trying to survive both the infection and the infected. As such, we, as viewers, travel deep into the heart of darkness in this film, having to endure some horrific scenes of mutilation and torture that fully earn this film its 18 certificate.
The worst sort of torture porn
This is torture porn, but for the most part it is non-graphic torture porn. Which somehow makes it much worse. During the horrific torture of one poor bunch of individuals in a barn, we are shown precious little graphic violence, but we hear and can only imagine the scenes for ourselves. It’s genuinely horrific and not for the faint-hearted.
This scene features a terrific performance from Louis Ashbourne Serkis, son of Andy Serkis, as the boy that Crystal has his eye on recruiting as one of his evil ‘fingers’.
But what of the ‘infected’?
What may upset some fans of the ’28 xxx Later’ franchise is that the ‘infected’ (zombie-like) individuals are largely side-lined in this movie. They make the odd-appearance, but only as side-characters. It’s a really novel twist, brilliantly executed by Alex Garland’s clever script, that sees the traditional ‘baddies’ replaced by an even more evil entity: man’s own savagery against his fellow man. Unusually, the infected are just a mild irritation to the ‘Jimmys’, who show no fear of them and dispatch them with a simple dance and a slash of a knife.
Kelson and Samson
The side-lining of the infected has one exception: a large sub-plot in the film revolved around Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), the alpha-male who you might remember from the first film had a most enormous… stature.
The film really beautifully charts a growing relationship between Dr Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) and Samson that I found to be both moving and absolutely gripping. There is one particular scene in the film, during a full-moon, that reminded me strongly of a dramatic scene in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”: this gave me the same goosebumps.
Superb performances.
Jack O’Connell has given us not one but two memorable villains in the last year. In “Sinners” he played the insanely deranged (and indeed, ‘infected’) Deep South farmer Remmick. Here he is ‘uninfected’ but equally deranged, adopting a light Scottish lilt (if you hear him speak in his normal Derby accent, the change is uncanny). It’s the quiet way in which he largely portrays Crystal that makes him so utterly terrifying. A truly memorable villain of the movies.
Ralph Fiennes returns as Dr Kelson and is – naturally – brilliant. Put the two of them together, as happens in the second reel, and you have a truly memorable acting tour de force. But Fiennes has a showcase moment of his own in the finale, as Iron Maiden hammers out and he enacts a truly operatic performance as a completely different character. It’s utterly bonkers. It’s utterly brilliant. The year has only just started, but this for me is one of the most memorable scenes I’m likely to see in the cinema this year.
The film is also a terrific showcase for junior talent.
Young Alfie Williams probably has less range in this film than the last film: he mainly just has to look terrified for most of the time, which he does brilliantly!
But stepping into the frame are two memorable performances from Erin Kellyman as ‘Jimmy Ink’ (or “Kerry” as I think her real name is revealed to be) and Emma Laird as the psychotic dancing Teletubby Jimmima.
The freckled 28-year old Kellyman is building a strong portfolio of work (including “Blitz” and “The Green Knight“), but I think this is her strongest performance to date. You are never entirely certain which side she is on, but suspect it is probably always ‘her side’: a very strong and confident female character.
The slightly younger Laird also has a strong CV having appearances in “The Brutalist“, “A Haunting in Venice” and most recently “Fackham Hall“. She is not in many scenes in this film, but they are all memorable. She reminded me a little bit of Margot Robbie’s psychotic Harley Quinn in “The Suicide Squad“.
Hats off also to Chi Lewis-Parry who plays Samson, who at the start of the film you think has little opportunity to do any serious acting, but you would be wrong!
Why is Spike locked into this?
One question that remains a little vague here is why exactly Spike feels he needs to remain with the Jimmys. If in the story we had seen that Jimmy Crystal had transported him and his crew dozens of miles away into unfamiliar territory, then that might have been believable. But given that he ends up at the Bone Temple, and so he KNOWS the way back to the island community that he originally came from, why doesn’t he just sneak off and just escape back to his home?
Talking of which….
You would think that maybe at the end of the film, Spike would also head straight back to his island home. But no. We end up in clearly a very different part of the British Isles and with a bit of a surprise (not surprise!) ending, setting us up for the next film.
Monkeys?
There are no ‘monkeys‘ either during or after the end titles. You’re welcome.
Summary Thoughts:
I thought this was a terrific piece of cinema. I was really engrossed in the story and where it was going to go. And now I am really intrigued as to where the third film in the series might take us. If Danny Boyle was trying to get me invested in this trilogy, he thoroughly succeeded.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOwTdTZA8D8
Subscribe
Don’t forget, you can subscribe to One Mann’s Movies to receive future reviews by email right here. No salesman will call!
