Starting exactly a beat after 28 Years Later, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a sequel nobody should want, yet somehow everyone — that is, everyone who went to the cinema — received.

This continuation serves not as an exploration of the 28 Days Later world, but as a meandering sidestep. It is a moronic dance between savagery, which it has in abundance (a head or two are ripped out, spines included), and self-indulgence from the creative side.

The story we get could easily have been woven into 28 Years Later. Its ideas are smaller, stakes narrower, and the primary purpose seems largely to get people to pay for a misfire.

The shift in directors does little to help. Nia DaCosta (who helmed Ms Marvel, widely crowned as the harbinger of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s ruin) is — what’s the word I’m looking for — meh! But then again, Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire) was hardly at his best either when he helmed the previous film.

The story splits into two threads that diverged at the end of the previous film. One follows Spike (Alfie Williams), the youngster who ran away from his safe abode at the climax and is forcefully recruited into Fingers, a cultish gang led by the delusional Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell).

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a moronic dance between savagery and self-indulgence

The other plot stays within the confines of the ‘Bone Temple’ — a ghastly place bordering lush meadows, where skulls and bones are erected into a shrine-like tower. Here, Dr Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes, always fine), in search of a cure, forms an uneasy bond with Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), an infected Alpha zombie.

Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal is inspired by Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile, the disgraced BBC host, and therefore calls his entire brotherhood “Jimmy” — as in Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman), Jimmima (Emma Laird), Jimmy Fox (Sam Locke), Jimmy Snake (Ghazi Al Ruffai) and Jimmy Jones (Maura Bird). Some are forced to act deranged, while others are already bonkers. Their mantra is extreme violence, entirely devoid of sense.

Early in the film, a contest is held to initiate Spike into the clan. The loser — Jimmy Shite — is stabbed in the leg and dies after bleeding out. This type of brutality does the film no favours. Spike, by the way, is a flat character. But, then again, he was like that in the previous movie as well, so I guess the sequel gets points for consistency.

Samson, meanwhile, is tamed and partially restored to a semblance of normalcy through Kelson’s morphine darts. Music also plays an integral role in calming the beast, as Kelson plays songs by Duran Duran, Iron Maiden and Radiohead. Some of it works; other moments, well, they give Fiennes an excuse to go bonkers. I’ve personally never liked it when Fiennes goes bonkers.

When not dancing about, their relationship is quiet. Samson’s reverse transformation could have been fodder for a good solo movie, had writer Alex Garland wished. But then again, that plot thread may get its due in the next sequel.

Yes, there will be a sequel. In the final three minutes, something utterly unexpected happens: an appearance. I won’t say who. But if Boyle returns and Garland resolves to explore a story-driven original, I’d gladly drop a thousand bucks to watch it in cinemas.

Released by HKC, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is rated A — parents cautioned. Blood, gore and violence are aplenty

Published in Dawn, ICON, February 1st, 2026