Kinetic, disquieting, and purposefully revolting at points, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is anything but a filler movie coming in the centre of a planned trilogy. Straddling the odd, primal line between being highly entertaining and upsetting, this follow-up to its comparatively subdued predecessor from last year about broken people still trying to survive amid a “zombie” apocalypse goes for pure overkill and succeeds. With continued producer Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland handing directorial duties over to Nia DaCosta for this entry, the franchise shows renewed life, vigour, and direction. It’s a thrill ride, nightmare, and cheeky social critique all rolled into one blood soaked package.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple picks up right where the last film’s cliffhanger ending left things, so seeing Boyle’s preceding entry is a prerequisite going into this one. Wayward young man Spike (Alfie Williams) has been captured by a mysterious cult leading nutter calling himself Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), who heads up a gang of track suited, blonde wig wearing thugs, all of whom have some variation of the name Jimmy bestowed upon them. Spike accidentally endears himself to this band of highly trained, amoral, Satan worshiping killers, known as The Fingers, as they carve a bloody path through the U.K. countryside, stealing what they can and committing vile acts of “charity,” as dictated by the voice of Jimmy Prime’s “father.” Spike is desperate to get away from the group, but it seems impossible. Meanwhile, not too far away, haggard, iodine caked Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) works away in solitude at his elaborate ossuary, hoping to study the hulking, pain impervious “alpha” known as Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) with hopes of finding some sort of cure for the ever present “rage virus.”
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple isn’t the sort of fast moving zombie movie one might expect from this now four film deep franchise. Instead of offering another variation on the same theme, writer Garland and director DaCosta find themselves more concerned with human on human violence. With a stunted adolescent of a leader who looks like a cross between a footie hooligan and disgraced children’s television presenter Jimmy Saville, and a group dynamic oddly based around the personality of the Teletubbies, The Fingers are a frightening addition to the darkly comedic tradition of heightened gangs like Kubrick’s Droogs, Krug’s crew from The Last House on the Left, and the Firefly family from Rob Zombie’s best regarded films They’re over the top and in a world of their own. They’re easy to laugh at until they show their teeth and brandish their weapons. They’re cartoonish, so long as they aren’t coming after you and your loved ones. O’Connell’s brilliant portrayal of their leader (who was only a young child himself when all this chaos starter) is one of grandiosity, ruthless aggression, psychopathy, and just a hint of naivety. Their acts of “charity” and initiation rituals are disgusting, and DaCosta (Candyman, Hedda) never shies away from depicting the depths of their depravity, but also reminds the viewer that these are basically kids who’ve become stuck in a loop of violence because it’s all the world has taught them. They’re visually and emotionally captivating in spite of the fact that all one wants to do is run away from them.
On the flip side of that and as a contrast is everything revolving around Fiennes’ eccentric doctor, whose horrific side mostly lies in his appearance and a propensity for building elaborate structures out of human bones that have been stripped clean. While Dr. Kelson remains a bit a mystery, DaCosta and Garland find clever, subtle ways of showing what type of person he was before the world came crashing down into the abyss. Although at one point, Dr. Kelson claims that he has few memories about what the world used to be like, Fiennes is able to showcase small details of the character’s recall through simple actions that feel like muscle memory. With the help of the film’s soundtrack (which is one of the most unexpected twists on offer) and set design, Fiennes is able to interact with his surroundings and cling onto the memories the character refuses to let go of. And in his interactions with Samson, the kindness and compassion the doctor once had shines through, sometimes taking 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple into stoner comedy territory, which is a nice respite from a lot of the other bleakness on display.
Eventually, the two concurrent story threads will have to meet up and Spike’s path will once again lead back to the doctor who tried to save his dying mother’s life in the previous entry. That’s the point when 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple kicks into its highest gear, offering not only opportunities for the performances to shine through (including an exceptionally written and performed sit down between O’Connell and Fiennes that might be the film’s best scene), but also to give the viewer a bit of the spectacle they might be hoping for in lieu of the zombie violence they’ve been expecting (a great fight scene aboard an abandoned railcar, and a lengthy bit of theatricality that’s part self-preservation and part performance art). It also winds up with a cheeky, satisfying bit where Garland and DaCosta have a scene that playfully spells out the subtext of everything that came before it in case it flew by the audience, balancing snark and sincerity to a unique degree.
DaCosta proves she can do it all in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. With every tonal shift, sharp story twist, and unique flourish, DaCosta is able to create a work that stands apart from not only the rest of the franchise, but also most other post-apocalyptic thrillers. It’s a tale of sorrow, regret, and madness pitched at the level of a Mad Max movie. There’s no downtime or fat to be trimmed from 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, with the direction, script, and performances creating a near perfect package of awe and terror. Where the series goes from here could be anybody’s guess based on what happens here, and that degree of unpredictability has ignited a spark into this series that almost felt missing from Boyle’s previous movie. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple isn’t the time killing middle entry of a trilogy, but rather a straight shot of pure, uncut, manic escalation.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opens in theatres everywhere on Friday, January 16, 2026.
