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R
for strong bloody violence, gore, graphic nudity, language throughout, and brief drug use.
Starring
Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, Chi Lewis-Parry
Director
Nia DaCosta
Producer
Alex Garland, Danny Boyle, And
Genres
Horror
Released by
Sony Pictures on
1/16/2026
Nationwide
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Trailer
Review
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Over the years, I have grown bored with zombie movies. Watching this film, I got the sense that the same might be true of producer Danny Boyle (who directed the previous entry and launched the series), writer Alex Garland, and director Nia DaCosta. The Bone Temple dares to be different, with a storyline that draws influence from both Frankenstein and A Clockwork Orange. Does it always work? No. There are times when it feels a little drawn-out, but it is hard to deny the ambition at work here. These aren't filmmakers rushing to release the next chapter in a franchise; they have put thought and energy into the movie, building on its predecessors with new twists and opening the door to another installment that I would actually be interested in seeing.
It is far too easy for a zombie movie to fall back into familiar patterns. To a degree, that is what we saw with the second entry in the series, 28 Weeks Later. After a significant break and an opportunity to recharge, Danny Boyle returned in 2025 with 28 Years Later, which introduced new elements to the storyline - not the least of which was Ralph Fiennes' Dr. Ian Kelson. That film ended with a cliffhanger, but viewers had to wait only about six months to see the continuation. The Bone Temple picks up nearly exactly where 28 Years Later left off. However, while certain narrative threads are resolved during Nia DaCosta's series debut, this very much feels like the "middle story of a trilogy," in that another film will be necessary to provide a satisfactory resolution. Unlike The Bone Temple, which was filmed back-to-back with 28 Years Later, the next production does not yet exist.
For approximately the first two-thirds of its runtime, The Bone Temple offers two disparate stories running in parallel. The first focuses on the integration of Spike (Alfie Williams) into a brutal cult of Satan-worshipping survivors - akin to a post-apocalyptic Manson family - run by Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell), who claims to be the son of "Old Nick." Spike's initiation is vicious, and his success is more accidental than intentional. The youngest of "The Fingers" (as they call themselves), he is generally disliked by the rest of the group, with the exception of Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman), who befriends him. Meanwhile, not far away, Dr. Kelson continues his work at the Bone Temple, trying to open a line of communication with Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), the monstrous infected alpha. Finding a cure is Kelson's "white whale," and he intends to experiment on Samson, even if it kills them both.
As was the case with 28 Years Later, the star of the show is Ralph Fiennes, though that is even more true here. The production number he choreographs to Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast" puts the dances by Jenna Ortega in Wednesday and the title character in M3GAN to shame. This turn is unlike anything previously done by Fiennes (and includes full-frontal nudity) and deserves recognition as such. Jack O'Connell is deliciously despicable in a performance that recalls Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange, but even he can't hold a candle to Fiennes when the latter "turns it up to eleven." Also returning from 28 Years Later is Alfie Williams, though Spike's storyline takes a backseat to everything else (his father, Jamie, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, doesn't even make a token appearance).
The horror elements - at least those represented by the infected - are no longer in the foreground. There are a couple of attacks, but only one legitimate jump scare, and the movie doesn't have the same vibe as the earlier films (credit must go to DaCosta for that). The film plays against expectations: the hulking Samson, who reminded me of the Sasquatch from the 1970s series The Six Million Dollar Man, is actually less of a monster than the sometimes-urbane Sir Lord Jimmy. To me, The Bone Temple is more of a post-apocalyptic adventure thriller than a horror movie. The exceptional, percussive score by Hildur Guonadottir amplifies this.
The door is wide open for future possibilities. The final scene features Cillian Murphy reprising his role as Jim (the lead from the original 28 Days Later) and promises a substantive continuation of his story within this new world order. (It has actually been 24 years, not 28, since Murphy made his last appearance in the series.) The Bone Temple doesn't work entirely well as a stand-alone, but as part of a larger whole, it is a very good continuation of the ongoing tale. It leaves me hoping for a successful box office run so we can see how the whole thing ends.
© 2026 James Berardinelli
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