28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Review: Heart, Horror and Heavy Metal Fuel a Bold Lore Expansion

Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell shine in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

It’s rare that the fourth film in a franchise comes along and bowls you over, but that ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ did to me. Nia DaCosta’s entry into this zombie-filled, wretched world not only capitalizes on everything that was set up in last year’s ‘28 Years Later’, but also manages to further the lore with emotional storytelling while delivering heavy metal and gruesome setpieces.

Picking Up After ‘28 Years Later’

‘The Bone Temple’ picks up shortly after the ending of ‘28 Years Later’, where Spike (Alfie Williams) has stumbled upon Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) and his gang of “the Jimmys.” Meanwhile, as Spike is being unwillingly inducted into the gang, we see further development of the iodine-soaked Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) as he makes progress in trying to understand the psyche of the infected that populate the area.

A Focused, Memorable Next Step

‘28 Years Later’ gave director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland the difficult task of resurrecting this world that has laid dormant on screen for nearly 20 years. The story that was set up last year is capitalized on in ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ in nearly every way. It’s smaller in scare, yet nonetheless more focused and memorable in what it achieves.

Ralph Fiennes’ Knockout Turn

Ralph Fiennes gives a knockout performance as Dr. Ian Kelson, who has arguably done the best job of finding his place in a doomed, zombie-filled world. Considering he chooses to surround himself with bones and human skulls, he retains his sanity, utilizes his skillset, and still tries to advance the human cause. Fiennes is so good in these types of genre roles and knows exactly what type of film he’s in.

Heart, Horror, and ‘Samson’

We see Dr. Kelson’s relationship further develop with the Alpha leader of the infected, or ‘Samson’ as Kelson calls him. It’s in these moments that the film has the most heart while pushing the boundaries of the established lore of the franchise. It’s amazing how the story manages to make the audience care about the incredibly imposing (and nude) infected creature.

Spike’s Journey and New Allies

While the progression of Spike’s quest stalls for a bit during the events of ‘The Bone Temple’, it still feels like a necessary step in his journey and development. He gets a taste of how ruthless the non-infected inhabitants of this land can be while creating new allies.

Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal Arrives

Some found the ending of ‘28 Years Later’ and the late introduction of O’Connell’s Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal to be jarring last year, but in hindsight, all of those criticisms will age like warm milk. O’Connell is truly unhinged and malicious as this terrifying antagonist who has managed to amass a small following. It’s an absolutely magnetic performance.

A Collision Worth the Hype

The point at which Spike and Dr. Kelson’s stories collide once again results in one of the most memorable sequences that has appeared on screen in some time. I know we are less than a couple of weeks into the new year, but some of these setpieces will absolutely be talked about as some of the most incredible movie moments of 2026.

Verdict

‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ succeeds in delivering scares and thrills while simultaneously making emotional and impactful strides in an infected world. The audience applauded not once, but twice during an early screening, and both times were absolutely justified.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple releases in theaters January 16th, 2026.

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