“Okay, let’s turn this up to eleven.” – Dr. Kelson
If you remember this past July I wrote a review/article on 28 Years Later (2025) and it was one of the best horror films of 2025. I can once again safely say that the sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) is just as good and quite certainly delivers. Turn up the Iron Maiden and get ready for a review!
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) is set almost three decades after the rage virus first devastated Britain. The story follows survivors living in a world where society has not only collapsed, but reshaped itself in disturbing ways. When a group comes across a settlement built around a strange, ritualistic structure known as the “Bone Temple,” they begin to realize how fear, belief, and the need for order have evolved into something dark and dangerous.
The film is directed by Nia DaCosta, whose previous work has focused on blending character-driven drama with intense horror, making her a fitting choice to continue the bleak, emotional tone of the franchise. And she had certainly delivered. The screenplay is once again written by Alex Garland, returning to the world he helped create with 28 Days Later (2002), and carrying forward his interest in how trauma, violence, and the breakdown of society reshape human behavior over time.
This installment also pushes the brutality further than before, leaning into more graphic and unsettling imagery as the violence of the infected and the cruelty of survival are shown in harsher detail. Much of the story follows Spike after he becomes trapped with the dangerous Jimmy crew, forcing him to witness the worst sides of both the living and the infected. At the same time, Dr. Kelson conducts disturbing experiments on an “alpha” zombie named Samson, attempting to rehabilitate him and draw him back toward a more human state of mind, blurring the line between monster and man in deeply uncomfortable ways.
As the middle chapter of a planned trilogy, The Bone Temple carries high expectations in setting up what is to come, and the standard is clearly being raised for the final film. With the surprise (and spoiler) appearance of Cillian Murphy at the end, it strongly suggests that his character will return in a major way for the third installment. Depending on how that concluding chapter delivers, the series has the potential to stand as one of the strongest horror trilogies ever made, especially if it successfully builds on the legacy of 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later (2007) while pushing the story into even darker and more ambitious territory.
Overall, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a strong continuation of the series that delivers solid tension and memorable moments without feeling overblown. It works both as a follow-up for longtime fans and as a setup for what comes next in the trilogy, carefully expanding the world and its themes without relying only on nostalgia. As an early horror release for 2026, it sets a good tone for the year and is definitely worth seeing, especially for viewers interested in character-driven horror that also builds toward something larger.
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