Nia DaCosta’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Is a Brutal Zombie Hit

Genre– Horror, Drama
Director – Nia DaCosta
Writer – Alex Garland
Cast – Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, and Chi Lewis-Parry.
Runtime – 109 Minutes
My Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆

Where to watch/stream 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

It’s harsher, and more focused than the first one, and I liked that

I wasn’t completely sold on 28 Years Later, and while it had flashes of brilliance, I felt it was messy, even though I wasn’t bored, but I was a bit frustrated by it.

So what will The Bone Temple bring?

Plot Summary of The Bone Temple (Spoiler-Free)

The Bone Temple picks up almost immediately where the last film left off, where Spike is dropped into the world of the Jimmy gang, a violent, unpredictable group of survivors who seem to have built a society out of fear and chaos.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ian Kelson continues his solitary, meticulous life among the remains of the dead, dedicated to studying the Infected rather than trying to kill or control them.

The film slowly moves its characters toward the eponymous Bone Temple, which serves as both a literal location and a metaphorical battleground for different ways of surviving in a collapsed world, and along the way, the film explores the tensions between cruelty and care, impulse and patience.

The Bone Temple Review: Is It Worth Watching?

As mentioned above, I wasn’t completely sold on 28 Years Later, so I went into The Bone Temple with expectations intact, but I have to say, I enjoy this one more, a lot more.

It’s rougher, stranger, and more focused than its predecessor, which, let’s be honest, needed a bit of focus, and The Bone Temple doesn’t waste time easing you back into its world, where you’re dropped right in, and if you weren’t paying attention, you’d miss the memo.

Spike’s induction into the Jimmy gang is brutal, humiliating, and kind of uncomfortable to watch, but this isn’t a world where kindness gets you anywhere. and Jimmy Crystal is brilliant in the way only someone who’s equal parts charming and completely unhinged can be.

He’s funny in short bursts, terrifying at others, and never predictable.

Then there’s Kelson, as Ralph Fiennes, who again is excellenet where he gives the kind of quiet, steady performance that almost makes you forget the all chaos around him. He’s been alone for decades, living among the dead, and yet he’s careful, precise, and deliberate with everything he does.

What really sold me more about this film was how it handles violencem and yes, some scenes are deliberately disgusting, with bodies being ripped apart and treated like nothing, but it actually feels purposeful.

The contrast between the gang’s brutality and Kelson’s restraint becomes sharper because of it, and this time I respected the film for knowing exactly what it wanted to do, and while there were moments that felt a bit excessive, almost numbing, but I think that was deliberate too.

Spike, unfortunately, is less central this time, as he reacts more than he acts – I get it, he’s overwhelmed – but after the last film, I wanted him to make some moves of his own, and instead, he mostly watches the Jimmy gang with horro, which gets a little repetitive,.

Jimmy Ink is also fascinating, as she’s arguably the most human member of the gang, mostly because of her connection to Spike, and you can see her wrestling with doubt, hesitation, and maybe even guilt, but unfortunately the film doesn’t really explore it fully, and by the end, I wasn’t sure what she wanted or what her next move would be, and it could have been a brilliant choice to leave her ambiguous, but in practice, it sometimes felt like a missed opportunity.

Samson, the Infected Alpha, is another highlight too.

Chi Lewis-Parry gives him a commanding presence, but there’s vulnerability under the surface,as he’s not just a monster, he’s a reminder that the Infected aren’t just blank-eyed killers, as they were people once, and in Kelson’s eyes, they still are.

Kelson treats Samson as a being with worth, and that makes their interactions more emotionally resonant than you might expect from a zombie movie.

Nia DaCosta’s direction deserves a nod too, as she’s more controlled than Danny Boyle’s chaotic energy from the first film, and the result is a film that feels deliberate and composed, which works for a story about conflicting philosophies, but sometimes it felt almost too neat for the world it’s depicting.

But it’s the film’s final act is where it really earns its keep, as the showdown – or, rather, the meeting – between Kelson and Jimmy is tense and deliberate, where neither is simplified, and neither wins cleanly, and there’s no easy victory, and I appreciated that. It feels like a story that understands its characters, even if the audience is sometimes left unsettled.

I do think this sequel has arrived a bit too quickly, but it doesn’t feel like a cash grab, it doesn’t feel like it’s repeating itself, and it asks different questions than the first film.

But if, nothing else, it proves that this series isn’t about playing it safe anymore., as i’ts about exploring cruelty, care, and the weird gray spaces in between, and with the 3rd one already apparently greenlit, I suspect it will be the Cillian Murphy show?

What I liked (And What I Didn’t like)

Pros

• Strong performances from Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell.
• The story picks up immediately, no reset, no slow start
• Deliberate and focused direction from Nia DaCosta
• Violence feels more purposeful and heightens tension
• Kelson’s quiet, patient approach contrasts beautifully with chaos
• Samson as a character adds emotional weight to the Infected
• Film doesn’t shy away from asking complex moral questions

Cons

• Spike feels underutilized
• Jimmy Ink’s motivations are ambiguous, sometimes frustratingly so
• It can sometimes feel too polished for a post-collapse world
• Trailer teased a scene that never appears
• Ambiguity occasionally feels like omission

Who might like The Bone Temple

• Fans of darker, thought-provoking sequels
• People who were indifferent to the first film and wanted a sharper focus
• Anyoneinterested in moral complexity over action
• Those who can handle higher levels of on-screen violence

Who might dislike The Bone Temple

• If you want a straightforward zombie movie
• People uncomfortable with prolonged or graphic violence
• Fans expecting the messy energy of the first film
• Anyone wanting all character motivations spelled out

Final Verdict: Did I Enjoy Watching The Bone Temple?

Yes. I liked it more than 28 Years Later, and for me, it was a step in the right direction, and now look forward to the third film in the new trilogy a little bit more.

This series is asking different questions now, and I’m all for that.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Trailer

Simon Leasher

A lover of cinema for over 35 years, I have watched many films from around the world in many different genres, yet I still normally always come back to trashy slasher horror films when in doubt. More

And yes, The Godfather 2 is better than The Godfather.