You’ll need a strong stomach for this! BRIAN VINER reviews 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (18, 109 mins)

Verdict: Brutal but brilliant

NIA DaCosta’s new horror film, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, is quite intense and definitely not for those easily disturbed – it’s a bit like suggesting a career at a slaughterhouse to someone who’s committed to a vegan lifestyle.

It is brutally, horribly, gruesomely violent. It is also bold, brilliant, bravura story-telling.

Danny Boyle’s new film, 28 Years Later (2025), written by Alex Garland, revisits the world of the original 28 Days Later (2002) and its sequel, 28 Weeks Later (2007), continuing the story after many years.

This is the follow-up story, also penned by Garland, who originally created this terrifying, post-apocalyptic world. It’s widely believed he drew heavy inspiration from John Wyndham’s novel, The Day of the Triffids. I recall being quite captivated by it when I was a teenager.

I was truly disturbed by that science fiction horror story, whether I experienced it as a book, a movie, or the fantastic 1981 television series.

Garland’s imagination is as strong and striking as Wyndham’s, though it’s much more raw and intense. However, this intensity is balanced by a sharp, dark humor, creating genuinely funny scenes.

It’s brilliantly daring to portray the film’s truly evil villain with clear inspiration from the notorious Jimmy Savile, effectively exposing his monstrous nature.

Jack O’Connell plays Sir Jimmy Crystal, a flashy and decaying figure obsessed with jewelry and wearing tracksuits. He claims to be the son of Satan, known as ‘Old Nick,’ and leads a violent cult that terrorizes the countryside, brutally murdering people.

He’s a terrifying combination of sophistication and menace, like a twisted version of both Savile and Charles Manson. The film immediately throws you into the action – don’t be late, or you’ll miss the shocking start! – and shows how he’s coerced a hesitant teenager named Spike (Alfie Williams) into joining his group. It’s bizarre, because every member of the gang is named Jimmy and forced to wear a blonde wig.

Dr. Kelson, a brilliant but unusual scientist played by Ralph Fiennes, is working on a cure for a deadly pandemic. He’s built a unique temple from bones and is forming a close bond with a large, strong man named Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) as part of his research.

Director DaCosta skillfully weaves between these two storylines, and when they finally meet, the result is incredibly exciting.

One of Sir Jimmy’s kindest fans, portrayed by Erin Kellyman (who proved her acting range in the film Eleanor The Great), notices Kelson in the crowd. Mistaking him for someone else – Old Nick – she immediately tells Sir Jimmy.

He discovers a method to control his followers even further, leading to a series of loyalty tests that are far more intense and twisted than anything seen on the show The Traitors, even in its most dramatic moments.

This movie is full of playful details – from its 80s-inspired soundtrack featuring Duran Duran, to nods to everything from the Teletubbies to Spinal Tap. You’ll need to see past the violence to appreciate it, and it won’t be for everyone, but those who do will find plenty of surprising and delightful moments.

The film is surprisingly intelligent, cleverly poking fun at both religious extremism and politics. It feels particularly relevant when you think about some world leaders today and the people who blindly support them.

The acting is fantastic across the board, thanks to a truly talented cast. Fifteen-year-old Williams is a standout, more than capable of holding his own against seasoned actors like Fiennes and O’Connell. The cast gets even stronger at the end with a brief but welcome return by Cillian Murphy, reprising his role from the original film after 24 years.

We anticipate his role will be larger in the next film, which doesn’t have a title yet. Boyle is scheduled to direct it again.

I, for one, can’t wait. But then I have a strong stomach.

The Rip (no cert, 133 mins)

Verdict: So-so thriller

Watching “The Rip,” a predictable thriller on Netflix set in Miami, demands patience. Writer and director Joe Carnahan heavily depends on the familiar chemistry between Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, but it feels uninspired.

Matt Damon stars as Lieutenant Dane Dumars and Ben Affleck as Sergeant JD Byrne. These experienced detectives investigate a lead that takes them to a house in the suburbs, where they discover a large amount of drug cartel money hidden in the attic.

Carnahan tries hard to develop the characters of Dane and JD – Dane is dealing with the loss of his son to cancer, and JD is mourning his girlfriend, a police officer who was killed – but ultimately, they feel like just Ben Affleck and Matt Damon playing familiar roles.

Despite their flaws, both characters are skilled, and the story creates some tension as we wonder which police officers might be corrupt, since the plot requires at least one to be.

The film also features a fantastic supporting cast, including Kyle Chandler and Teyana Taylor, who won a Golden Globe for her energetic performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and is a strong contender for an Academy Award.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is in cinemas now. The Rip is streaming on Netflix.

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2026-01-16 03:19