28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Movie Review

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026)

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Written by: Alex Garland
Directed by: Nia DaCosta
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, Chi Lewis-Parry
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
As Spike is inducted into Jimmy Crystal's gang on the mainland, Dr. Kelson makes a discovery that could alter the world.

Verdict
This entry is less about zombies and more about the people in this world. They're worse than zombies, at least more devious and cruel. Dr Kelson returns and we see more of the Jimmy cult, but I wasn't sure what this movie was about for most of the run time. It doesn't have an overarching goal, and that makes this movie feel like a collection of ideas more than a developed story.
It depends.

Review
It's the fourth movie in the 28 Days Later (2002) franchise, and a direct sequel to 28 Years Later (2025).

While seeing 28 Years Later isn't required, it would help to provide some context. This opens with the Jimmy gang, led by Lord Jimmy (Jack O'Connell) who rescued Spike (Alfie Williams) at the end of the last movie. They've captured him and force him to fight  as a means to join the gang. Neither is an option, and everyone in the gang is named Jimmy. The gang is ruthless. While Spike is surviving by being in the gang, he's distressed by their savagery.

Jack O'Connell, Ralph Fiennes plays Jimmy Crystal, Dr Ian Kelson

Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), who Spike met in the last movie, subdues an alpha zombie, Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). It's a strange relationship, but Kelson is trying to train the zombie not to attack. Just as he's about to kill Samson thinking the experiment is fruitless, the zombie speaks and Kelson's hope is restored.

This is violent and gory just for the sake of it. Jimmy's gang tortures a group of survivors they find. It's graphic, evidence of how deranged Lord Jimmy is. His followers capitulate to his demands because it's a means of survival.

Jimmy finds Kelson, believing him to be Satan due to the iodine on his skin the skulls and bones that make up Kelson's home. At least that's what he's playing at for for his cult. Jimmy needs Kelson to play the part. After a threat, they come to an agreement. 

Ralph Fiennes plays Dr Ian Kelson

This plays with a lot of ideas, but there's no clear goal. The overarching idea might be survival and adapting to the situation, but that's generous. Kelson has found a potential cure, but that's relegated to a side plot. This seems like a quick sequel that hoped to ride the success of 28 Years Later. Like that one, this is also scattered. Both have lots of ideas, but this one is more comical, darkly so. Jimmy is a psychopath that has styled his gang after the Teletubbies. Their depravity overshadows what would otherwise be silly. Then we have Kelson impersonating Satan for Jimmy at the threat of death because he wants to continue his research. I get why in the context of the movie, but it's a crazy sequence especially since there's a rage virus out there.

This ends with a nice callback to the original movie. This very well could be the second best movie in the franchise after 28 Days Later. The focus is the concessions one makes to survive a cruel world, but I want more. A second watch may improve my opinion, as this is almost a different genre. This movie isn't about surviving zombies, but surviving humans.