28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOwTdTZA8D8

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

It’s definitely something to keep things on edge constantly, but slowing down that same tension can still be quite interesting.


PLOT


28 Years Later: The Bone Temple takes place following the events of the preceding film. The young Spike has joined the Fingers, a group of individuals led by a Satan worshipper, Sir Jimmy Crystal, who all share matching wigs. After killing Jimmy Shite (Connor Newall) in a death match initiation, Jimmy Ink aka Kellie is the only one that  shows empathy while others remain sadistic like their leader. On the other hand, Doctor Ian Kelson has been continuing to build an ossuary for the deceased but builds an unexpected with an alpha infected he calls Samson. Samson has grown addicted to his morphine and has chosen to not attack him anymore. Seeing his humanity resurface, he starts to enjoy his company but considers euthanizing off of the fact he’s running low on the sedative. He doesn’t follow through when he speaks to him for the first time, saying ‘Moon’, creating a realization that the Rage virus can be treated should there be more medicine supplied. Jimmy leads his crew to a farm and they intend to execute those that live there: Tom (Louis Ashborne Serkis), Matthew (Elliot Benn) and Jane (Lynne Anne Rodgers). One member of the group named George (David Sterne) does not become a victim of torture due to getting infected just a few yards away, while Tom’s pregnant partner Cathy is able to hide in the barn. As she sees the torture occur in the barn, watching her group get skinned alive, she takes action by killing Jimmima (Emma Laird) with a hook to her head. This gives enough time for atom to set the barn on fire which kills Jimmy Jimmy (Robert Rhodes) and himself. Sir Jimmy sends Spike to pursue her, but the boy is so traumatized that he ask to take her with him; Out of fear, she rejects him by incapacitating him before escaping. Disappointed, Sir Jimmy considers killing him but Kellie suggests seeing Old Nick first to decide his fate as she saw Kelson & Samson from afar; the iodine on Kelson’s skin makes her presume she is Satan incarnate. Sir Jimmy visits Kelson alone and picks up on Kellie’s confusion, demanding him to pose as Satan so he can substantiate his power over the Fingers, threatening to kill him if he doesn’t. Spike tries to leave during this encounter, but Jimmy Fox (Sam Locke) tries killing him which results in Kellie saving him, killing the other Jimmy and telling Sir Lord that it was the other way around on who wanted to escape. Knowing he doesn’t have enough time for further research, Kelson tries to prematurely grant peace for Samson by giving him a cocktail of antipsychotics that confirm a hypothesis the virus indirectly causes aggression via psychotic hallucinations. This leads to Samson going to the abandoned train where he first got infected at the beginning of the outbreak, but he ends up getting attacked by an infected group who approach him as if he was uninfected. As night passes, Kelson meets the demand of Sir Jimmy by giving a pyrotechnic filled performance to have the group believe he is Old Nick, while also exposing the group to hallucinogens. The moment he recognizes Spike however, he tries convincing the Fingers to turn on their leader. Kellie is the only one willing to do so, thus killing both Jimmy Snake & Jimmy Jones (Ghazi Al Ruffai & Maura Bird). Sir Jimmy responds by fatally stabbing the doctor, causing Spike to intervene by stabbing him on his side and crucify him on an inverted cross. As the boy and Kellie escape with their lives, Samson takes Kelson’s body before another infected kills Sir Jimmy. The film ends in a cliffhanger showing Spike & Kellie continuously on the run from the infected, but are spotted a teenage girl named Sam (Maiya Eastmond) and her father Jim, the latter who’s been a survivor of the initial outbreak of the virus. 


THOUGHTS


The best thing you can do for a franchise to be refreshing is to take a chance and change the pace. Rather than go for the expected constant dreadful speed you’re used to in zombie stories due to danger being everywhere. Writer Alex Garland was aware of this and with the assist of director Nia DaCosta, the decision to slow it all down is just as effective because you’re still wondering how intense things can be. Sean Bobbitt’s cinematography was so breathtaking because it was a bold presentation to emphasize how wide open the outbreak has been since the beginning. Despite having a chilling score by Hildur Guonadottir, it is overshadowed by the ongoing silence that occurs which is good because that reminds viewers how horror can come from outta nowhere. In this entry, we’re reminded how there is a different approach to an infection compared to traditional zombies as we get an official explanation on how the Rage virus works. At first, actor Chi Lewis-Parry scares the crap out of everyone for being an imposing brute as Samson until he gets the chance of that trait being contained and partially regains a conscience, rather than relearn it like in Day of the Dead. Samson has to be the most empathetic figure in this sub genre and franchise overall because seeing him speak again and remember a little bit of his life reminds us he is still human and didn’t deserve his life to be taken from him. Apart from enjoying the feeling morphine puts him through, he bonds with Kelson so much to the point of expressing a form of loyalty because he’s being grateful someone tried to save him even if that wasn’t the original intent. Ralph Fiennes is still a national treasure as the doctor because he still uses his philosophy in cherishing all life as his motivation to start tending to him. Apart from that, his decision to try saving himself from a violent cult, which he does in style with a magnetic cover of Iron Maiden’s ‘The Number of the Beast’, does also teach viewers the importance of maintaining what makes you human over nihilism. He further proved it in his sacrifice protecting Spike because he knew had been through enough after losing his mother to cancer and couldn’t bear knowing he would be stuck going through constant manipulation. His death remains tragic due to the uncertainty on if it really could’ve been avoided had he not intervened, but it wasn’t in vain since the boy gets to live a little longer on his terms. Alfie Williams is still interesting as Spike because he’s still in a coming of age arc where he’s trying to figure out right & wrong while also wanting to not change who he is after all that transpires. You can’t blame him for wanting to leave with Cathy because he was never prepared for what Sir Jimmy was all about, and I don’t think anyone could when it comes to skinning people alive. On the other hand, seeing how devastated Mirren Mack portrayed Cathy, there was no way she would risk a stranger tagging along that didn’t intervene when losing her partner. Luckily, Erin Kellyman showed Kellie to be one who had been disassociated for some time grow out of it and sees herself in him thus choosing to have his back moving forward. Similar to him, she stuck around with Sir Jimmy for so long for the sake of her own survival and the longer she stayed, the sooner she realized she never needed him hence standing up to him. Now that the third film of this potential  trilogy will set up aligning with Cillian Murphy’s Jim, the original lead of 28 Days Later, it’s going to be an adventure that will be talked about for ages. Having said that, this next chapter would’ve not been possible had they not encountered such evil in their lives. Jack O’Connell is goddam unforgettable as Sir Jimmy for being the most sadistic villain to date, in a whole other villain compared to when he played Remmick in Sinners. After seeing the preceding film show a cold open of him losing his family when he was only a child and his minister of a father viewed the outbreak as the end times, he didn’t know what to believe anymore other than the fact that control is the only thing he needs to survive. That is what drives him to manipulate as much as he could to the point of getting his followers to kill each other as part of initiation. He definitely had his hopes up maintaining it when he saw Kelson, but he should’ve just kept well enough alone when he had the chance because that sure could’ve saved his demise. You could say he was put out of misery since he no longer needed to control anyone anymore and be free of that inner torment, but at the same time, you wish he had someone to clear his mind sooner. Nevertheless, his arc does show how cruel the world is when we don’t look out for one another, which is why it gladdens me Jim is willing to help Kellie & Spike should we see them again. I like this one a lot, but then there are some things that I kept scratching my head about. For instance I can believe Samson is the only infected to return to Kelson’s ossuary, but is he the only one to ever show period until the Ring of Fire is lit? Kelson doesn’t kill infected and we do see him roam around to pick up more bodes to cremate like the body of the pregnant infected, so it makes you wonder how many have ever followed his home. While I can imagine most humans avoided the place due to being unsure of Kelson’s sanity, I think it’s ridiculous Jimmy Shite to be surprised would be left for dead for Spike’s initiation. Sir Jimmy has been a grotesque leader for a long time, so he should’ve been prepared for a moment of such manipulation. It’s even a surprise Sir Jimmy also tolerates Spike being so scared of what he does since he doesn’t need to keep him around, nor does he see himself in him or any that choose to follow. I don’t want to root for the villain here, but he has no reason to keep him around knowing he’s gonna keep failing. I’m not gonna overthink where will Cathy go because I’m sure she’ll find better sanctuary if not the Holy Island from the preceding film, but where the hell is Jamie? Over a month has passed since his son dropped off the immune baby Isla and you’re telling me he hasn’t found him? That’s just crazy and I refuse to believe he isn’t looking for him no matter how much his community objects search parties/rescue missions. In conclusion, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is another great entry for showing how being the opposite of what’s expected a big payoff. If that is what you love in cinematic storytelling, check this out as soon as possible.