28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) Review

After 28 Years Later was released last year, we knew that a sequel was set to come out the following year. That film came out earlier this month and now I have found the time to watch the sequel The Bone Temple. After watching the film, here is my review. The premise of the film sees Spike facing the problem with the gang that he met at the end of the last film, while Dr Kelson attempts to find out a discovery that could save the world. 

Main Character

Ralph Fiennes reprises his role as Dr Kenson and he is so much fun in this film. He gets way more to do and that shows off more of his personality and he is easily the most charming part of the film.

Jack O'Connell as Jimmy also has way more screen time in the film and he gives a wacky and deranged performance that he rises above and makes the most out of, too make a pretty memorable character. 

Supporting Characters

Alfie Williams reprises his role as Spike and he actually has way less to do in this film but he still gives a strong performance. He is really stuck amongst this group of bad people and you really want to see him get away from the situation and he is still a great young actor. 

We get to see way more of the Alpha, who has a name now of Samson and his story arc is really important. The dynamic between him and Kenson was the highlight of the film and it was really cool seeing some new dynamic towards the infected. 

However, the rest of the cast are pretty dull. This pretty much is the rest of the Jimmy gang, the main one is played by Erin Kellyman who was in Solo & Falcon & Winter Soldier but her character offers very little and the development felt really rushed. 

Story

The story is decent, it really focuses on these two different things and both are handled well. The relationship between Kenson & Sampson was well done and it provided some lighter notes in this dark film. Also seeing the misdeeds of the Jimmy Gang shows how humanity can also be just as dangerous as the infected. But, similar to 28 Years Later the story is a bit all over the place and doesn't feel overly connected until the last 15 mins which are pretty good. Also, this is another major cliffhanger ending which is just their to set up future films. 

Script

The script is really well written. There are so many good character moments in the film and we see real development with these people and how they impact the world. There is more humour here that had me chuckling mixed with some well done emotional work. 

Style

The film does look really good and has some wonderful cinematography. Also, some of the stranger camera techniques are gone and I am happy to see that as it made the film feel more realistic. I guess, my main problem is that pacing and the fact that the two stories don't really come together till really late in the film. 

Overall

Overall, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a good film and an improvement on 28 Years Later. I think if you are a fan of the Zombie genre and this franchise then this is a film to watch.

Rating - 7/10