In 2002, 28 Days Later brought the zombie genre back from the dead with a fresh new vision. It paved the way for franchises like The Last of Us and The Walking Dead. Last year writer Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle returned with 28 Years Later, a visceral continuation of the series, reinventing the genre again, leaning into arthouse and fantasy inspirations. This year, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple swarmed into theaters receiving high acclaim.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
Writer Alex Garland continues his trend of using genre films as metaphors for modern social dilemmas. The Bone Temple examines how leaders use faith to maintain and abuse power, creating systems that force obedience from their followers. It asks the question: do we conform to social groups or should we pursue our own personal freedoms? This idea is split between the film’s two storylines.
The first follows Dr. Ian Kelsing, returning from 28 Years Later and played by Ralph Finnes. Dr. Kelsing was one of the most interesting characters in 28 Years Later, creating a monument of bones and remains as a celebration of life. In this film, he studies the nature of the rage virus through Samson, a zombie who shows signs of an underlying human element not destroyed by the virus. Kelson treats Samson not as a monster but as any other patient in need of care.
Eventually through a mixture of medication Samson becomes docile towards Kelsing and even friendly (as much as a raging zombie can be). The growing bond between Kelsing and Samson is the heart of the film. As it shows the good in both humans and the infected through shared humanity.
This is juxtaposed by the second storyline following a satanic cult led by Jimmy Crystal. Coming off the success of Sinners actor Jack O’Connell delivers the best villain performance of 2026. His performance shifts effortlessly from a subtle menacing to an explosive and unsettling presence in a matter of seconds.
Jimmy recruits Spike, the previous film’s lead, into his cult and uses them to carry out depraved acts of violence under the guise of ‘charity’. Each member of this cult has fully bought into Jimmy’s ideology even dressing like him. His followers are unquestionably devoted to serving him until they find what they believe is the devil. In reality it’s just Dr Kelsing.
This event begins to show some of Jimmy’s followers the cracks in his facade. Jimmy strikes a deal with Kelsing in exchange for his life, where Kelsing would pretend to be the devil for Jimmy’s followers. As the walls close in around Jimmy his abuse of power and faith is revealed to never have been divine but a cult of personality to control others.
Samson continues to follow a journey of self discovery. After being treated by Kelsing, Samson struggles reconnecting with humanity and finding an identity separate from the horde mindset of the infected. Samson walks the line between human and zombie; the other infected now turn hostile towards him, seeing him as different. Similarly Spike’s good nature conflicts with Jimmy’s ideology where he must break free from the cult mentality.
*SPOILERS OVER*
The Bone Temple is an excellent exploration into cult vs individual mentality through the lens of the zombie genre. It’s thematically dense while being more digestible to general audiences than 28 Years Later.
The Bone Temple concludes with the promise of a fan-favorite character returning for the final installment of the 28 Years Trilogy. While stylistically weaker than the previous film due to Danny Boyle stepping down from directing, Nia Decosta Delivers as an excellent installment in the franchise and sets a great precedent for the zombie genre. A sequel has been green lit after the critical success of the bone temple with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland set to return.
