More than any other genre, horror has a way of holding on, especially when it comes to its franchises. No matter how definitive an ending may seem, if audiences are still invested and the title still means something, another chapter usually isn’t far away. That’s especially true in today’s IP-driven landscape, where very few properties are ever truly finished. Even by those standards, the 28 Days Later franchise kept fans waiting. After more than two decades of rumors, stalled development, and behind-the-scenes complications, the long-gestating follow-up, 28 Years Later, finally arrived in theaters last summer.

That film had its admirers and featured some genuinely striking filmmaking, with Danny Boyle returning to direct and Alex Garland back on writing duties after both sat out 2007’s 28 Weeks Later. Ambitious and visually bold, it was also wildly uneven, a movie that often felt like it was searching for its own focus. Now, barely six months later, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple arrives with Nia DaCosta stepping behind the camera. Given the quick turnaround and the change in directors, a little skepticism was understandable. Thankfully, those worries are largely unfounded. The Bone Temple is a noticeable step up from its predecessor, delivering something leaner, darker, and somewhat more satisfying.

Picking up immediately where 28 Years Later left off. The sequel follows young Spike (Alfie Williams), the reluctant young hero of that movie, who now finds himself caught in the presence of Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), a deeply unhinged cult leader who believes the devil is literally his father. Jimmy commands a roaming group of followers who dress in tracksuits and blonde wigs (modeled after disgraced British media personality Jimmy Savile), each answering to some variation of the name Jimmy. It’s a setup that sounds strange and slightly ridiculous, but DaCosta wisely leans into the weirdness instead of trying to tamp it down. The result is unsettling and strangely compelling.

Still, the emotional core of the movie lies elsewhere, specifically with Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), who first appeared in the previous movie and remains the most intriguing character in this world. Living beneath the towering monument of bones that gives the movie its title, listening to vinyl records, and quietly going about his work. Kelson has devoted himself to a radical experiment. He’s attempting to rehabilitate an infected Alpha, a towering rage zombie he’s begun calling Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). The relationship between the two provides the movie’s most fascinating moments. Their scenes are unsettling but also oddly tender, and Fiennes brings such warmth and gravity to the role that it keeps the whole thing from drifting into camp. Whenever the film focuses on this storyline, it finds an eerie, almost hypnotic rhythm that works beautifully.

Frustratingly, though, The Bone Temple spends much of its runtime bouncing between Kelson’s meditative storyline and the far more chaotic Jimmy Crystal storyline, and the two tones don’t always fit comfortably together. The plotlines eventually collide when Jimmy and his followers stumble upon Kelson and the bone temple itself. A misunderstanding leads Jimmy to believe that Kelson can help perform a ritual that will strengthen his followers’ devotion. And Kelson, recognizing that refusing probably means immediate death, reluctantly agrees to play along. What follows is easily the strangest and most audacious sequence in the entire movie, the kind of scene that could sink an entire movie in lesser hands. Still, Fiennes commits so completely that it becomes mesmerizing. The scene stands out as one of the most memorable moments in the franchise and a vivid reminder of why he remains one of the best actors working today.

Like many middle chapters, The Bone Temple also carries the burden of setting up what comes next, and some characters suffer for it. Spike, who was such a compelling presence in the previous movie, spends much of this one reacting to events rather than driving them. You can also occasionally sense the narrative machinery shifting pieces into position for the proposed third installment. One striking aspect of this movie is how much the infected themselves have been pushed to the margins of this story. In earlier movies, they were an omnipresent threat capable of turning any quiet moment into instant chaos. Here, aside from a few brief encounters, they largely fade into the background. The focus shifts toward the human antagonists, and while that change isn’t necessarily a bad idea, the absence of the infected is noticeable.

Even with those issues, DaCosta handles the material with impressive confidence. Rather than simply mimicking Boyle’s style, she understands what made the earlier films work and builds on that while still taking her own approach. Alex Garland’s script also continues to wrestle with bigger ideas beneath the chaos, particularly the question of what it means to remain human after the world has collapsed. Beneath the violence and cultish madness, The Bone Temple remains a story about survival, memory, and the fragile attempt to find meaning in a broken world.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple isn’t flawless, and it may not completely satisfy fans who waited decades for this series to return. But it is a tense, frequently unsettling continuation that sharpens many of the ideas introduced in the previous movie while pushing the story into stranger territory. If this new trilogy is building toward something bigger, The Bone Temple makes a strong case that the journey will be worth taking.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is currently playing in wide release.

REVIEW: “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple”

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