28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Review

Jan 14

Nia DaCosta takes over for Danny Boyle on the latest 28 Days sequel.

*28 Years Later: The Bone Temple*. Credit: Columbia Pictures / Sony Entertainment

Only 7 months after director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland’s 28 Years Later was released, we are getting a sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, thanks to the films being shot back-to-back. Nia DaCosta—Little Woods, Candyman (2021), Hedda—takes over directing duties for the new script from Alex Garland.

The Bone Temple picks up right where the previous film left off. Young Spike (Alfie Williams) is in the hands of the Jimmys, a roving cult led by the charismatic and terrifying Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), self-styled like monstrous predator Jimmy Savile in tracksuits and matching platinum blonde wigs. Forced to become one of Jimmy’s disciples, or “Fingers,” Spike witnesses their horrifying acts of violence against innocent people. He desperately looks for a way to escape, which he may find in Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman), a Finger who grows increasingly skeptical of their leader’s authority. Meanwhile, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) sees greater sparks of intelligence in Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), the fearsome rage-infected Alpha. Kelson begins to take greater risks in his experiments, partly as a cure for his own loneliness. I’m glad we get to spend more time with Kelson in this film; his role in the previous one was minor.

Unlike the previous films in the series, The Bone Temple shifts its horror away from the ravenous, ever-present infected and squarely onto humanity itself. As Kelson slowly uncovers the fragile, suppressed humanity still flickering within infected alpha Samson, the film contrasts this empathy with the horrific cruelty embodied by Jimmy Crystal, a man who weaponizes faith as both a justification for violence and a tool of control. The infected remain a constant threat, but they function largely as background noise to a more unsettling truth: after decades of adaptation, survival is no longer the greatest challenge for those unfortunate enough to be trapped in Britain. Instead, the true danger lies in what some people are willing to become once few remain who remember the world before the end came.

Spike is not the protagonist in this film; he’s a witness to the events, with no real agency or direct influence over what happens. This is Kelson and Jimmy’s film, and it’s anchored by excellent performances from Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell. O’Connell is fittingly magnetic as a cult leader, entrancing despite his reprehensible character. Chi Lewis-Parry also puts in great work depicting the struggle and transformation of Samson. I’m eager to see Erin Kellyman’s Jimmy Ink further transform through her performance in the inevitable sequel.

Stylistically, the film is noticeably more restrained than 28 Years Later, a contrast that reflects the very different sensibilities of DaCosta and Boyle. Boyle’s approach favors nervous energy through jagged editing and aggressive camerawork, while DaCosta adopts a more classical, formalistic approach, privileging performance over propulsion. Her restraint allows us to focus on the characters’ inner lives, an appropriate choice for the themes in this installment. What’s happening inside these characters ultimately matters more than what’s chasing them.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a smart, unsettling sequel that succeeds by getting smarter rather than bigger or bloodier. Instead of returning to the raw panic of earlier entries, it asks a quieter, more unsettling question: what beliefs and power structures take root once fear becomes permanent and the past is forgotten? With Alex Garland expanding the mythology and Nia DaCosta bringing a more measured, character-driven approach, the series proves it still has something meaningful to say. This isn’t just another sequel; it’s a thoughtful evolution in a franchise that’s become a series of parables about human nature.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opens in theaters on January 16, 2026.