The film 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple picks up where last June’s new zombie classic, 28 Years Later, left off. Danny Boyle, screenwriter Alex Garland and new director Nia DaCosta have officially claimed the mantle of Best Modern Purveyors of Zombie Mayhem.
Last year’s 28 Years Later, a resurrection of the 28 Days Later franchise, introduced characters like Jimmy (a quick appearance by Jack O’Connell), Spike (Alfie Williams) and Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), all of whom play a major part in this second part of an intended trilogy. DaCosta (Hedda, Candyman) takes over for Boyle and does a more-than-admirable job of continuing the story. The result, while not being quite as good as 28 Years Later, is still pretty damn good.
Young Spike, having survived the first film, winds up in Jimmy’s satanist cult/gang—a crew that is inflicting a brand of horror on the remaining, non-infected humans that’s perhaps worse than death by raging zombie.
The group comes across Dr. Kelson, who is seen hanging around with Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), an alpha zombie who featured prominently in last year’s film. Kelson is dabbling in tranquilizers and behavioral drugs in an attempt to lessen the symptoms of the rage virus. It is a virus, after all, and some viruses can be cured and/or treated.
In a bit of a silly turn, Jimmy looks to convince his cult that Kelson is his father—aka the devil—and Kelson is forced to participate to avoid a torturous fate. This leads to a grand finale in which Fiennes gets to show off some dancing skills.
The Bone Temple is definitely more twisted than the previous chapter, taking a deeper dive into the evil of man and the powers of Duran Duran and Iron Maiden. (The film does great things with music.)
The true star of this chapter is Fiennes, who gets a chance to expand upon what he introduced last year—and go all out. As for O’Connell, he gets my vote for Best Movie Villain for two years running, after his terrifying turn as the head vampire in last year’s Sinners. O’Connell is embracing the demented angles of his acting persona.
Last year’s 28 Years Later had an emotional payoff that was incredible—a complete surprise that helped the movie crack a lot of 2025 Top 10 lists (including mine)—resulting in perhaps the most “beautiful” zombie film ever made. It brought the scares as well, along with full-fledged performances from its cast, especially Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor- Johnson, who do not return for the new chapter.
The Bone Temple, while fitting comfortably into the franchise, has its own visceral vibe. It pivots from the family drama that helped shape Spike, into a twisted take on evil religion, modern medicine and human depravity. If you are looking for a pure horror film with zombie gore, you won’t be let down. You might be surprised by the terror humans inflict upon each other in this one. They get so bad that the zombies feel like kittens in comparison.
While Chapter 3 has been greenlit, with Cillian Murphy (star of the original 28 Days Later) slated to return, The Bone Temple underperformed at the box office in its first weekend. Some of that may have to do with people not realizing it’s a new movie: The prior film came just a little more than six months ago, and the marketing for Chapter 2 doesn’t really indicate it’s a new chapter.
Hopefully word of mouth and good reviews will give this one some shelf life and ensure the story continues. The Bone Temple ends with a cliffhanger that I very much would like to see resolved—and this new zombie story needs a proper ending.
