28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) Theatrical

28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE picks up directly from the end of 2025’s 28 YEARS LATER. Kid protagonist Spike, unable to return to his isolationist commune and now alone in the Scottish wilderness, is captured by The Jimmies. These individuals are a cult led by Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal, a psychopathic man-child who forces his followers to wear wigs and clothing just like him. 

Spike is inducted into the cult. At first he is grateful to have found companions; strength in numbers count now that The Infected are crawling all through the woods. But soon Spike experiences the sheer level of depravity and sadism the Jimmies espouse. 

 For you see, every one of the Jimmies takes the name Jimmy. Everyone dresses alike, talk using the same lingo, and adheres to a twisted religion centered around “Old Nick” whom Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal claims to be the son of. No doubt all these are meant to tear down a person’s sense of individuality, committing their bodies and minds to the cult. The Jimmies travel the land, pillaging homesteads, and sacrificing other survivors by skinning them alive, slowly and painfully. And you either fall in line, or you might be replaced, which ends with you dead. 

 Spike unfortunately is mostly along for the ride. He is put through the emotional wringer by the Jimmies in an attempt to break him in. His childlike innocence and sense of right and wrong does eventually prove a pivotal aspect that contributes toward the movie’s climax. 

However in this installment, Spike’s development and agency as a character takes a back seat to Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal, played by Jack O’Connell, Dr Ian Kelson played by Ralph Fiennes, and an “Alpha” infected named Samson played by Chi-Lewis Parry. 

 Dr Kelson is the man behind the creation of the titular Bone Temple, a monument memorializing each individual lost to the infection. Eccentric in his own way, Dr Kelson has developed an uneasy alliance with the Alpha infected Samson and now hopes to unlock a secret that may help return human sensibilities to the infected. 

While a series of events lead Jimmy Crystal on a collision course with Kelson at the Bone Temple, Samson embarks on a journey of self rediscovery as Kelson’s cure starts to unlock memories of Samson’s time before becoming infected. 

 These 3 main plot lines are brought together in a spectacular climax that once again leans heavily on deconstruction of established post apocalyptic movie tropes. But the main draw of 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE is not spectacle. Rather it is the way each scene builds tension through a combination of dialogue, the framing of shots, and the raw yet ethereal soundtrack. The feeling of unease and uncertainty is palpable through each plot beat right up to its almost cathartic conclusion. 

 If there was one nitpick to make it would be that 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE does not play at all like a horror movie. If anything, it feels closer to a dark fantasy genre than horror. Jimmy Crystal the warlord, Kelson the sorcerer, Spike the reluctant squire, Samson the berserker. On one hand it feels “smaller” than its predecessor for losing all but one of those wild frantic escapes from onrushing Infected, and for being contained to just a small segment of the Scottish wilderness. But on the other hand, this makes it feel more intimate, bringing focus to a three pronged narrative that would have otherwise been messy. The diminished presence of the infected aside from Samson serve to drive home a key theme present in all the 28___LATER movies: people are the real monsters. 

 I look forward to the next 28 YEARS LATER installment with much anticipation. I want to cheer Spike on as he matures through the traumatic events in his life still clinging desperately to his innocence. I want to see Samson’s journey continued and what this may entail for the rest of the infected. The only way home, is forward.