MOVIE OF THE WEEK (1/16/26): 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE

"Admit it ... I'd be an awesome candidate to star in a Hellraiser reboot!" Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) prepares for quite a night in a scene from director Nia DeCosta's 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE. © 2025 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.

CAST: Ralph Fiennes | Jack O'Connell | Alfie Williams | Erin Kellyman | Chi Lewis-Parry | Maura Bird | Ghazi Al Ruffai | Robert Rhodes | Emma Laird

WRITER: Alex Garland 

DIRECTOR: Nia DeCosta

TRAILER:

THE STORY: Picking up after the events of 28 Years Later, THE BONE TEMPLE finds young Spike (Alfie Williams) picking up a new unwanted identity: "Jimmy," joining the other Jimmies already under the command of their Satanist cult leader Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell). Terrorizing the few non-infected he and his crew come across on the UK countryside, Spike is desperate to escape his newfound hell, almost longing for the days he was just dodging zombie-like humans.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) is busy living his best life in his memorial to the dead - and trying to make a connection with what's left of the humanity inside of Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), the naked, alpha infected he continues to pacify when he's not busy ripping heads from spines. But with his supply of morphine-enhanced tranquilizer darts running in short supply, Dr. Kelson knows he needs to come up with an alternative means to reach Samson or face the very real prospect of his head being next to be ripped from his shoulders. 

But with Jimmy Crystal and his crew lurking in search of "Old Nick" – a.k.a. the living embodiment of Satan – Dr. Kelson's bone temple might just be getting some new inhabitants.

THE REVIEW: As someone who loved the first 28 ... films, 28 Years Later left a little something to be desired to put it mildly. Unfortunately, whereas 28 YEARS LATER features a ... more intriguing storyline and a dynamite performance from Fiennes coupled with levels of hyperviolence rarely seen outside of a Saw or Terrifier mainstream release, it adds up to leaving little to desire from a planned third installment. 

It's really hard to not be impressed with Fiennes' performance, which is nothing short of the living embodiment of the phrase "commitment to the bit." His good doctor is a lone island of hope in a savage world filled with Satanists, the infected and the survivors who all go to extreme measures to combat one another. On one hand, with the cacophony of chaos that unfolds onscreen, one could argue that the film is playing upon the ideas of loneliness, false idols/politicians and survival instincts/the human fight-or-flight response, Fiennes performance set against that of young Williams and O'Connell being a near perfect case for it. 

Then again, whereas the first two films felt more intense and like they were building to a large story, both 28 YEARS releases to date feel like a story being stretched to its gory limits. Stylized violence can almost feel like violence for the sake of it at a certain point – and the barn scene in THE BONE TEMPLE drives that point home again and again and again. Likewise, outside of Fiennes, it's easy to be forgiven for not caring about the characters once they start to feel a bit stuck in their own arrested development. O'Connell, despite doing a good job at delivering a British version of The Joker in desperate need of an orthodontist, feels too much like a comic book character in a world where they could not realistically exist. Williams character, who's whole journey has been about becoming a man in a world where he can't be a child, takes zero steps forward, failing to add anything interesting to the mix.

The ending of THE BONE TEMPLE, without spoiling any potential surprises, is a clear set up for a final film. Problem is, nothing in the film's final 5 minutes establishes the need for that to happen. It's not compelling, it's complacent - and therein lies all the difference. 

And that's also the reason don't be surprised if you leave the theater with a bone or two to pick with the film.

RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):