A Masterpiece of Transgressive Horror: Why 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Defines a New Era
Building on the immense momentum and critical acclaim of last year’s blockbuster revival, 28 Years Later, Nia DaCosta’s The Bone Temple arrives as a stunning and vital second chapter.
While the previous film reintroduced us to a world scarred by nearly three decades of the Rage virus, this installment plunges deep into the surreal and gruesome societies that have risen from the ashes.
It is a bold, visionary expansion that cements this new trilogy as a landmark in modern horror, proving that the franchise has plenty of terrifying new ground to cover.
Visual Poetry and the Match Cut of the Decade
Handing the directing duties to Nia DaCosta was a stroke of genius. DaCosta is an incredibly forceful filmmaker, and alongside Director of Photography Sean Bobbitt, she creates a visual language that honors Danny Boyle’s original while elevating it to something more operatic.
While they don’t rely on the digital grain, low-fi aesthetics of the 2002 original, they use classic tricks: wide shots framed through broken glass or tall grass, which mimic the voyeuristic POV of a lurking predator.
The film’s crowning achievement is a match cut that rivals the famous bone to satellite jump in 2001: A Space Odyssey. DaCosta juxtaposes a smouldering, ruined cityscape with the gleaming, bone spires of the titular temple. I
t is a visual statement of intent: the old, destroyed civilization giving way to a new one built by the painstaking, lonely work of Dr. Kelson. It is the kind of high concept filmmaking that makes a good movie great.
The Cult of Jimmy: The Mirror of the Monster
The "Jimmys," a band of psychotic killers led by Jack O’Connell’s Jimmy Crystal, are the most terrifying antagonists the series has ever seen. O’Connell is magnificent, portraying a cult leader whose followers, the "Fingers," are every bit as mindless and aggressive as the infected.
This beat echoes the military blockade in the original 28 Days Later, where Major West famously noted that the virus only accelerated the inevitable human urge to kill. By styling the cult after a real world national figure who hid dark secrets, DaCosta and screenwriter Alex Garland create a seriously sharp satirical edge.
The "satanic charity" they practice is harder to watch than any zombie bite because it is a choice. It reinforces the franchise's core theme: the monsters mirror our own potential for monstrosity.
Fiennes, Samson, and the Evolved Pathos
Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson provides the film’s soul. This is "favorite flavor" Fiennes: wise, gentle, and weary. DaCosta positions his performance so deftly that every time he’s funny, he’s hilarious, and every time he’s sad, he’s unbearably tragic.
The most surprising success is Kelson’s relationship with Samson, the returning Alpha infected played by Chi Lewis-Parry. Much like the subtle evolution we glimpsed in the earlier films, Samson is no longer just a rage fueled heavy. The wordless communication between the doctor and the "monster" is told with remarkable efficiency. I
t is a beautiful, unlikely relationship that makes sense in a world where the lines between "human" and "infected" have blurred over 28 years.
"The Bone Temple reaches a level of absurdity that’s absolutely necessary, punctuating quiet conversations with men engulfed in flames or morning shaves with deer heads. It is a pitch perfect 'gross-funny' vibe."
Final Verdict
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a wild, unexpected, and vital expansion of the lore. It is a companion piece that demands your attention and rewards it with one of the best Iron Maiden infused climaxes ever put to film.
Off-hand Thoughts & Observations
- Is there anything Ralph Fiennes can't make heartbreaking? That man could make a grocery list sound like a Shakespearean tragedy.
- That Iron Maiden sequence... was that the most "pure cinema" moment of 2026 so far?
- The way the Bone Temple itself mirrors the church scene from the first movie, but with 28 years of accumulated grief, is a brilliant structural callback.
- Do you think the evolution of Samson suggests that the "Rage" is finally turning into something sentient, or is it just Kelson's empathy projecting onto him?
