Fans noticed right away when trailers dropped last fall. The hulking infected from 28 Years Later showed up wrapped in ragged cloth around his waist, face mostly exposed with piercing eyes staring out.
No more full nudity or wild hair hiding decayed features like in Danny Boyle’s 2025 kickoff to the trilogy. Chi Lewis-Parry still bulked up as the Alpha infected, but every detail shifted to fit Nia DaCosta’s take on the sequel.
She laid it out in a recent chat ahead of the January 16 US release. DaCosta pointed to clashing director styles as the core reason.
Boyle’s raw, handheld iPhone-shot chaos suited the first film’s frantic energy, but her Arri Alexa 35 close-ups and deliberate pacing demanded fresh prosthetics, makeup layers, and even how Lewis-Parry moved and growled.
Prep sessions locked in those physical shifts, turning Samson from a pure threat into something layered that threads through the plot.
This hands-off approach from Boyle let DaCosta run with it. Producers gave her full rein since the character carried over big from the prior movie. Lewis-Parry endured hours-long full-body suits daily, swapped out after single uses, to nail the evolved rot without losing menace.
Trailers hint at his softer side, too, like foraging berries instead of ripping flesh, which ties straight to his haunts at the Bone Temple site.
Bone Temple Pulls Samson Into Deeper Mystery
Dr. Ian Kelson, played by Ralph Fiennes, keeps stacking skulls into the massive ossuary out in Northumberland’s wilds. It’s his tribute to outbreak victims, both Rage-turned and human dead alike.
Samson keeps circling back, letting Kelson hit him with blowpipe darts full of sedatives. Under that haze, the infected brute chills, mutters words like “moon,” and skips attacks on the doctor.
That bond fuels the big swing: a possible Rage Virus fix. Past films hammered wipeout over cure, given the blood-spit speed of infection.
Here, Kelson’s experiments suggest reversibility through this one outlier, Alpha. DaCosta’s redesign amps that up, making Samson’s clearer features and calmer vibe signal brain recovery amid decay. He even drapes cloth on himself at points, a far cry from the first film’s mindless nude stalker.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Credit: Sony Pictures Releasing)
The temple itself looms large in plot threads. Spike, the kid from part one, now tangled with Jack O’Connell’s cultish Sir Jimmy Crystal gang, crosses paths with it during raids gone bloody.
Gangs clash, survivors flee farms, and Kelson’s setup draws everyone in for a hallucinogenic showdown with Iron Maiden blasting. Samson’s returns hint at addiction to the drugs, sparking lucid moments that rattle ideas of infected humanity.
Critics praise how this setup digs into evil’s nature versus innate human sparks. Fiennes calls Kelson empathetic amid brutality, contrasting the Fingers gang’s skinning rituals and Satan worship.
DaCosta frames the temple as a memento mori, remember death, built from real bones, including a NATO soldier’s and Spike’s mom’s. It stands visible to circling drones, a silent scream to the quarantined Britain’s outsiders.
Trilogy Hype Builds on Samson’s Arc
Box office buzz hits hard post-release. UK crowds got the double bill with the first film on January 13, pulling strong numbers before the solo US drop. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 94% from over 200 reviews, calling out DaCosta’s unnerving control and Fiennes with O’Connell’s fire.
Fans on Reddit and TikTok obsess over “hot zombie” Samson edits, his thrusts from part one going viral alongside the makeover memes.
Lewis-Parry leaned into non-verbal power, improvising bits like a Duran Duran dance with Fiennes that stuck in the cut. Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score layers dread, ending with John Murphy’s heartbeat theme as Cillian Murphy’s Jim cameo teases the trilogy capper.
Boyle eyes directing that finale if crowds keep showing, with Alex Garland scripting redemption themes to close the loop.
DaCosta’s changes pay off by humanizing the monster without softening the horror. Samson’s end-scene carry of Kelson cements him as more than a rage machine, setting stakes for global quarantine lifts.
If his lucidity proves a contagious reversal, the franchise flips from endless outbreak to fragile hope. The third film is greenlit on sequel success, with Murphy expanding Jim’s role against evolved threats.
This evolution keeps the series fresh 24 years after the original. Boyle and Garland built Samson across films for DaCosta’s swing, blending gore spikes with identity loss for infected and survivors alike. Her meticulous shots capture bits of gore that unsettle deeply, showing that style swaps intensify the stakes.
As Spike and Kelly bolt into the wilds chased by the infected, Samson’s shadow looms over what’s left of humanity.
Miami’s Tactical Narcotics Team storms a derelict stash house on a tip after their captain turns up dead. Lieutenant Dane Dumars, played by Matt Damon, leads the crew, including Ben Affleck’s Detective Sergeant JD Byrne, into the raid.
They uncover $20 million in cartel cash hidden in the attic, but protocol traps them on-site to count every bill while threats close in.
Dumars grabs their phones and feeds each member a different cash amount, sowing doubt from the start. The homeowner’s granddaughter, Desi Molina, lets them in but hints at a cut if found, raising flags since she once informed the police.
Local cartel eyes turn hostile with mysterious calls demanding they bail, forcing the squad to barricade as gunfire erupts.
Director Joe Carnahan pulls from 1970s cop classics like Training Day, channeling a real Miami detective’s raid story where seized funds tested loyalties.
Critics note the setup builds relentless tension in tight quarters, with chases and shootouts ramping up the chaos. Rotten Tomatoes consensus highlights how Affleck and Damon’s bond anchors the greed-fueled fray, making suspicion feel raw and earned.
Carnahan’s script leans on confined spaces for paranoia, echoing Assault on Precinct 13 vibes but with modern cartel stakes. Supporting players like Steven Yeun as DEA Agent Nix add layers; his quiet menace clashes with Damon’s bluster. Teyana Taylor’s Desi brings street smarts, negotiating her slice amid the standoff.
Duo Delivers Gritty Gold Again
Affleck and Damon mark their 11th project together, from Good Will Hunting’s Oscar win to Air’s sneaker biopic success.
The Rip fits their pattern of grounded thrillers, with Damon as the scheming leader and Affleck as his frayed right hand handling power shifts after promotion. Their middle-aged weariness sells the burnout of dirty cops eyeing an exit scam.
Past hits stack up strong: The Last Duel earned 85%, and Air 93%, proving Netflix bets big on their draw. Early reviews call their dynamic electric, elevating a familiar potboiler into compulsive viewing despite script wobbles.
The Hollywood Reporter praises Carnahan’s cast for handling paranoia with credibility beyond typical streamer fare.
The Rip (Credit: Netflix)
Artists Equity, their production outfit, pushed Netflix for a crew bonus tied to viewership, a rare win amid upfront fee norms. Affleck pushed the model to motivate the 1,200-person team, drawing from his directing days. This stake aligns incentives, mirroring the film’s theme of shared risk under pressure.
ScreenRant takes credit for their casting for carrying uneven dialogue, awarding 6/10 as solid popcorn fare. Forbes tracks their Tomatometer run, noting The Rip’s 88% from 26 reviews holds firm against detractors calling twists predictable. Collider hails the action’s intensity, offsetting script dull spots with star punch.
Damon’s first Netflix lead contrasts Affleck’s Triple Frontier stint, setting up his Nolan epic The Odyssey next. Kyle Chandler and Scott Adkins beef up the squad, their veteran grit fitting the blue-collar cop world. Sasha Calle’s role adds fresh tension, her outsider view cracking the team’s facade.
Twists Seal Streaming Win
Betrayals pile up as Dumars’ plan unfolds: the tip was bait from slain Captain Velez to smoke out corrupt insiders. DEA Agent Nix and Detective Ro plot the heist, staging attacks to grab the loot. Byrne swipes a burner phone, proving the frame, sparking a brutal armored truck showdown and rooftop pursuit.
Fire guts the house, but the team swaps cash for phone books from Desi’s grandma’s hoard, nabbing the real villains. Desi scores 20% for cooperating, and the duo honors Velez at sunrise. Metacritic’s 64 signals solid genre fun, with RogerEbert.com lauding momentum despite a drawn-out finale.
Viewers split at a 70% audience score, some griping about clichés, while others binge for the star power. Netflix kicks off 2026 strong post People We Meet on Vacation, amid Warner Bros. acquisition buzz against Paramount bids. Carnahan’s action pops on small screens, positioning The Rip as prime weekend fuel.
Reddit threads buzz with praise for practical stunts, with Yeun’s chilling pivot stealing scenes from the leads. Some call out pacing dips in the count room drag, but most agree the finale’s truck flip delivers payoff. Affleck’s directing gig, Animals, looms with Damon producing and Yeun starring, hinting at endless duo synergy.
Broader context ties to Netflix’s cop genre push, from Narcos to this heist riff. Their streak counters streamer slump narratives, pulling 50 million hours viewed in week one per internal metrics. Critics like Esquire crown it a “phenomenal rip,” urging casual watches over awards bait.
