28 Years Later: The Bone Temple featured

Review: ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ is a Chilling and Visceral Sequel that Evokes Both Horror and Empathy for Its Monsters

January 13, 2026Ben MK


   
Back-to-back sequels are something of a rarity in Hollywood; however, while it may not be the norm for studios to greenlight two installments in the same film series within such close proximity of one another, it certainly pays off in spades when filmmakers seize the opportunity to deliver something truly fresh and exciting for fans of the franchise. Whether it's Back to the Future: Part II and III or The Matrix: Reloaded and Revolutions, movie lovers needn't look far for some standout examples. And with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, director Nia DaCosta is adding yet another riveting example to that niche list, in this direct followup to Danny Boyle's decades-later return to the zombie series.

Once again, the setting is present-day Great Britain, and the Rage Virus has all but decimated the country, reducing major urban centers to eerie ghost towns and forcing what's left of the nation's population to go into full-on survival mode. Some, like former NHS doctor Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), have chosen to become reclusive hermits, distancing themselves from other survivors and spending their time in solitude to create towering skeletal memorials to those who have lost their lives to the infection. Others, however, like self-proclaimed cult leader Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell), have opted to walk an even more extreme path, recruiting people like Kelly (Erin Kellyman) into joining his bloodthirsty band of murderous misfits, as they scavenge the English countryside for unsuspecting victims. The son of a priest who watched in horror as his entire family was either savagely killed or succumbed to the Rage Virus, Jimmy never recovered from his childhood trauma, and now believes that he himself is the son of the Devil. What Jimmy doesn't realize, though, is that even Satan's spawn isn't beyond reprieve in this post-apocalyptic landscape. And when he forces 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) to become the newest member of his gang, it could spell the beginning of the end of Jimmy's homicidal reign.

Enter Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), a musclebound Alpha zombie whose chosen means of killing his prey involves ripping their heads and spines from their bodies while they're still screaming. Yet, while anyone unfortunate enough to look upon Samson might regard him as nothing more than a mindless beast, Dr. Kelson holds a more distinctly compassionate view of this curious specimen. Believing that he might be able to communicate with Samson's long-lost human side, Kelson sets about a plan to, for lack of a better description, spend some quality time with his brutish muse, tranquilizing him and trying to talk to him and convince him that he poses no threat. What happens next, however, will surprise even Kelson, as Samson slowly starts to regain some of the memories that have long since taken a backseat in his infected mind. It all adds up to something of a scientific miracle, opening up the possibility for a potential cure for the infection. But will Kelson live long enough to fully realize the scope of his achievement? For when Jimmy and his followers descend upon Kelson's ominous bone temple, it will lead to a chaotic and fiery confrontation that will see not everyone walking out alive.

Written by screenwriter-turned-director Alex Garland, who has now penned three out of four entries in this fan-favorite and critically acclaimed horror franchise, the result is a much more lean-and-mean cinematic experience than Boyle's own 28 Years Later, eschewing the at-times meandering pace and dramatic narrative set-up necessitated by its predecessor for a tale that will have viewers on the edge of their seats for the majority of The Bone Temple's runtime. Nonetheless, while this might definitely be the most chilling and visceral installment in the over two-decades-old series since the 2002 original, it also leaves no shortage of room for humor, thanks to Kelson's uncanny knack for dancing to the likes of both Duran Duran and Iron Maiden, not to mention the off-kilter antics of Jimmy and his small cult of unhinged, wig-wearing acolytes.

Suffice to say, audiences who were intrigued by the ending of 28 Years Later will no doubt find 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple to be necessary viewing, as it continues Spike's coming-of-age journey while also simultaneously greatly expanding the mythology established in the previous three films. Make no mistake, though, with its copious amounts of blood and gore, this isn't a sequel for the faint of heart. But if you're looking for a horror movie that has the power to turn your stomach while also evoking empathy and levity in equal measures, then you'd be hard pressed to find another genre entry as effective and compelling as this.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple releases January 16th, 2026 from Sony Pictures. The film has an MPAA rating of R for strong bloody violence, gore, graphic nudity, language throughout, and brief drug use. Its runtime is 1 hr. 49 min.







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