Title – 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2025)

Director – Nia DaCosta (The Marvels)

Cast – Jack O’Connell, Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, Chi Lewis-Parry

Plot – In zombie ravaged England, young Spike (Williams) finds himself in the care and “charity” of Sir Jimmy Crystal (O’Connell) as the isolated Dr. Kelson (Fiennes) continues to try and unlock the mystery behind the rage virus.  

“Let’s turn this up to eleven”

Review by Eddie on 19/01/2026

Consider yourself warned.

If you found director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland’s return to the “28” series they started all the way back in 2002 a strange one with last year’s new trilogy starter 28 Years Later, you’d be best off avoiding Nia DaCosta’s direct follow-on The Bone Temple like you would a rage induced infected.

Starting right where the controversial ending of 2025’s film finished off, Temple takes no prisoners when it comes to delivering a wild, fresh, complicated and uneasy take on not only the zombie genre but the horror genre in general and if anyone out there is wanting a stereotypical man vs zombie exercise, they’re going to be left bitterly disappointed by a new series addition that rattles the cages of what’s come before.

Relegating 28 Years Later main protagonist Spike to more of a background role this time around, with young actor Alfie Williams asked to do a lot less than he was in Boyle’s first instalment, for this new outing DaCosta gives centre stage to Jack O’Connell’s unhinged Sir Jimmy Crystal, Ralph Fienne’s previously introduced Dr. Kelson and Chi Lewis-Parry’s ominous (and large) zombie alpha Samson, creating an instantly memorable collection of main characters who have been conjured up from the most depraved and equally humanistic recesses of Garland’s creative mind.

Forgoing much in the way of direct zombie action, with the horrors of Temple mostly inflicted from the hands of our long-suffering human contingent, DaCosta explores the rage ravaged world of England via the unhinged actions of Crystal and his band of “fingers” while Dr. Kelson begins a curious friendship/working relationship with Samson that sets in motion a series of escalating events that build towards what is likely to be one of the year’s most talked-about final acts.

Front and centre to this unapologetically grim and confronting tale, with the tone set very early on in the film’s opening scene, are commanding performances from O’Connell and Fiennes who both excel in their eccentric and energetic turns.

Arguably in danger of becoming somewhat of a typecast Hollywood villain type on the back of this turn and his noted role in 2025 horror hit Sinners, O’Connell is undeniable here as Crystal, with the British star continuing to showcase why he should be regarded as one of the most talented performers working today.

A detestable creation that also is able to show signs of vulnerability and human failings, O’Connell is immense here and is ably supported by Fiennes who stuns in more ways than one in DaCosta’s film that takes the journey of Dr. Kelson into some surprising, heartbreaking and even toe tapping areas.

Arguably not as visually inventive or noteworthy as past 28 experiences like the viscousness of the first outing or the originality of the i-Phone lead eccentricities of last year’s trilogy starter, there’s still much power to be found in Temple outside of its unflinching violence and scenery chewing characters and when accompanied by Oscar winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir’s fine work, DaCosta has crafted a divisive and haunting new addition to a series that continues to surprise and shock.

One can only hope that there’s enough support given to this latest addition to support the recently greenlight third and reportedly final outing that looks to bring Boyle and Garland’s creation full circle in a way that only they could do.

Final Say –

A film that’s more likely to work for the minority over the majority, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a brazenly bizarre follow-on that’s barely interested in the zombie space as director Nia DaCosta and her two on fire leads take us on a wild-ride that carves out its own unique path.

4 Iron Maiden records out of 5