28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Finds Meaning in Its Monsters

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

★ ★ ★ ½

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple takes place immediately following the events of last year’s film, 28 Years Later. This marks the third follow-up in the series and the second film in a planned trilogy that began with the June 2025 release. The two films were shot back-to-back, with a third installment likely arriving in 2027 or 2028.

The Bone Temple opens with Spike (Alfie Williams) facing an initiation with the group of scavengers that took him in at the conclusion of the last film. The group, called The Fingers, is led by Sir Jimmy (Jack O’Connell). Once you join The Fingers, you’re given a blonde wig, stripped of your own name and simply called Jimmy. The Fingers live in servitude to Sir Jimmy, who receives messages from an invisible entity called Old Nick. This pack dynamic serves to show how the people in a zombie-ridden, post-apocalyptic world are far more dangerous than the monsters themselves.

Jack O’Connell as Sir Jimmy Crystal
© 2026 Columbia Pictures

To become a Finger, Spike must fight another Finger to the death as there can only be seven members in this cult. Spike is preteen, small and scrawny. His opponent is at least in his later teens. If Old Nick exists at all, it seems Spike joining The Fingers was part of the plan.

We also follow Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), who has spent the last 28 years looking for a cure to the rage virus that upended humanity by turning its victims into mindless, violent, flesh-eating monsters. He has orange skin because he douses himself with iodine, believing it keeps him safe from the virus. Kelson lives in a place elaborately decorated with piles of cleaned human bones and skulls. To him, it’s an homage to the dead, a way of paying respect.

Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson and Chi Lewis-Parry as Samson
© 2026 Columbia Pictures

Kelson encounters a surprisingly fit, muscular, 7-foot-tall zombie, an alpha male that leads his own pack of raging zombies. This once-human beast could rip Kelson to shreds with his bare hands yet pauses when he raises a blowgun. It seems that the beast understands the business end of the blowgun means danger. It’s Kelson’s first glimpse that there might be some humanity left within the raging zombie after all. Of course he eventually charges, and Kelson fires a blow dart with a sedative strong enough to bring the man down at his feet.

Kelson names the beast Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) and uses morphine to calm his raging aggression. It seems, at least for the time being, Kelson may have found a crack in the virus’ hold on humanity.

The story takes place in a set geographic location, and as The Fingers wreak havoc among any group of survivors they come across, Spike is faced with the near-impossible choice of losing his soul to become the barbaric, cold-blooded killer the cult requires in favor of safety in numbers. When one of The Fingers, Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman), sees that Kelson has tamed Samson, she thinks she’s found the real-life embodiment of Old Nick.

Erin Kelly man as Jimmy Ink and Alfie Williams as Spike
© 2026 Columbia Pictures

The dynamic works well, putting us in the shoes of both the doctor trying to save humanity and a kid trying to keep his soul while surviving the impossible. Fiennes brings a compassionate regard for humankind to his role, willing to do just about anything to bring us back from the brink. O’Connell makes Sir Jimmy a compelling presence—menacing, controlled and quietly unhinged. Williams makes Spike a sympathetic character—we feel his conflict and want to see him escape the clutches of The Fingers. Lewis-Parry is more than a beast in a virtual non-speaking role, showing through action and facial expression that there’s more under the skin.

If the film suffers, it’s from the occasional slow pacing when it doesn’t always seem to know how to transition from one sequence to another. Fortunately this is rare and doesn’t pull us away enough to kill the momentum.

The Bone Temple seamlessly mixes action-horror with the human element in one well-written scene after another. From zombies to doctors to cult members, these characters feel real as does the danger that surrounds them. It’s thrilling and tragic, a reminder that there’s always hope—even when your former neighbor sees you as lunch.