🎥There’s a moment midway through 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple where Ralph Fiennes slow-dances with a sedated zombie to Duran Duran. It’s exactly as strange as it sounds, but that’s the film in a nutshell: totally unhinged, surprisingly tender, and far more interesting (or bizarre) than you’d expect from a fourth franchise installment.

The Bone Temple picks up immediately after the events of 28 Years Later. Spike (Alfie Williams) has been initiated into the Satanic cult led by Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), a tracksuit-clad fanatic modelled after disgraced British media personality Jimmy Savile. Meanwhile, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) continues his solitary existence at his skeletal memorial, where he’s developed an unlikely bond with Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), the Alpha from the previous film. Their strange relationship — part medical experiment, part interspecies friendship — yields a discovery that could change everything.

Nia DaCosta takes over directing duties from Danny Boyle, trading his frenetic, iPhone-shot aesthetic for something more deliberate. The narrative splits between Jimmy’s brutal cult rituals and Kelson’s quiet experiments with Samson, and the contrast is striking: one thread explores how low humanity can sink, while the other asks how much of it can be salvaged. It’s a tonal shift that won’t work for everyone, but DaCosta handles the balancing act with confidence. Whether or not that confidence is deserved is a matter of contention online.

Fiennes, unsurprisingly, dominates every frame he’s in. His Kelson is equal parts scientist and madman — delivering some fever-dream sequences that sound absurd on paper, but he commits so fully that it lands as both darkly funny and strangely moving. O’Connell, fresh off his acclaimed turn in Sinners, makes a compelling foil — all cheerful menace, grinning while ordering atrocities.

The Bone Temple has limitations besides the absurdity. As a middle chapter, it carries a transitory quality that can feel like filler to those who prefer plot over world-building. Spike’s arc takes a backseat to Kelson, a jarring departure from the most recent installment. The gore is relentless, so if you’re squeamish, consider skipping the snacks. However, the film’s ambitious experimentation has largely paid off according to critics and online polls, blending body horror with dark comedy and genuine emotional stakes in ways the franchise hasn’t attempted before.

WHERE TO WATCH- The Bone Temple is screening at Vox Cinemas in City Center Almaza, Mall of Egypt, and City Center Alexandria, as well as District 5’s Scene Cinema. Watch the trailer on YouTube (watch; runtime: 2:02).

Tags: