Ralph Fiennes stars as Dr Ian Kelson in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Photo: Columbia Pictures.
Releasing 28 weeks after its predecessor, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple has been left with a herculean task of trying to bring people back to the zombie franchise.
The problem with the short turnaround between films is that people are still torn by the result of the previous film.
It’s strange tonal shift midway through the film turned a lot of people off, including myself. While there was a curiosity to see how the shift would progress into the sequel, the damage had already been done for a lot of other viewers, as seen by the early and severe drop-off in box office between films.
The Bone Temple begins mere moments after its predecessor, 28 Years Later.
Protagonist Spike has been taken by the mysterious, blonde wig-wearing cult led by the satanic Jimmy (this is a zombie franchise, btw), and now he must navigate whether it is safer to stay indoctrinated or run.
Meanwhile, the iodine-covered Dr Ian Kelson befriends an Alpha zombie in an attempt to return him to his human state.
With the groundwork laid, it’s important to acknowledge how weird all of this is. Both of these major arcs on their own are already crazy, but combined, it makes for a very tricky film to watch.
I was never fully invested in either plot because they would backseat one another, and it’s purely because of the foundations set by the previous film.
For context or as a refresher, the previous film started as a father and son navigating a zombie-filled country with the father teaching the son how to survive.
Yes, that’s a safe plot, but it’s what people wanted and expected.
Instead, in the latter half, it diverged into the aforementioned cult being introduced and laid the foundations of the Alpha zombie interacting with Dr Kelson.
These are two wildly different plots to be crammed together, neither of which is what people really wanted to see when they heard the 28 Days Later franchise was returning.
So, marking the film as a sequel while trying to keep my expectations in check, this film is a mess. Meanwhile, marking this movie on its own narrative is even messier.
When looking at the cult side of things, it is terrifying. Jimmy is clearly not well and is a disgusting human being. There’s one scene in a farmhouse that will stick with me for a long time.
But, while he is interesting, it is a zombie franchise, and there is about one scene where the cult engages with one. It makes the whole thing out of place.
On the flip side, the zombie curing plotline isn’t that gripping and feels like a bit of a comedy.
Dr Kelson is a solid enough character, and it’s cool to see his bone temple that the film is named after, but asking whether zombies can be cured 28 years after the fact is all a bit dumb and took me out of the entire thing.
The most frustrating thing about all of that is that there’s some good stuff in both Bone Temple and 28 Years Later; the issue is that the narrative around the action and the cinematography make everything else feel wasted.
Ultimately, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is more of the same from its direct predecessor. If you enjoyed the 2025 film, you will enjoy this. If you found the 2025 film divisive, this won’t do much to sway you.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is showing at cinemas across the country.
