Nia DaCosta (Candyman, The Marvels) directs this fourth installment of the 28 Days Later franchise, the second film in what’s being billed as the 28 Years Later trilogy. Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Ex Machina, Civil War) returns as screenwriter. Taking up where 28 Years Later (2025) left off, the story follows young Spike (Alfie Williams) being inducted into Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal’s (Jack O’Connell) gang of blond-wigged killers as Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) continues to hope for a treatment against the Rage Virus. (109 min.)
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
What’s it rated? R
What’s it worth, Anna? Full price
What’s it worth, Glen? Full price
Where’s it showing? Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria,
Movies Lompoc, Regal Arroyo Grande
Glen: Who are you going to be when the zombie apocalypse happens? That’s the question at the heart of this entire franchise. Will you be able to retain your humanity and morality, or will the need to survive—or worse, the desire for power and control—supersede your humanity and turn you into something terrible? The story begins as Spike, after being rescued by the Fingers gang, is forced to fight to the death for a place in the gang. Spike has witnessed so much horror, but he—unlike the members of the Fingers gang—still has a moral compass. The Fingers are Satanists who revel in cruelty, and things get very gory when they run into survivors only to torture and kill them. This film won’t be for everyone.
Anna: I had a hard time with Jimmy and his Fingers. Jack O’Connell as their leader is certifiably unlikeable and takes on cruelty with joy, reveling at watching even those closest to him suffer. Seeing young Spike in his grasp is even more disquieting, and all I could hope for is that the good doctor somehow finds Spike and saves him, or at the very least that Spike gets the chance to save himself. When Jimmy and his gang invade a small farm, Spike pleads with the lone pregnant survivor to take him with her as she flees, but charity is hard to come by in the post apocalypse, and Spike is left to make his penance with Jimmy, who deems it Old Nick’s (Satan) judgement call on the young boy’s fate. Covered in iodine to stave off the Rage virus, Kelson is a vision in red to the troupe of evildoers, and his communion with an Alpha lends even more to him being the supernatural Lord of the Underworld. I’ve enjoyed all of the 28 Days/28 Weeks films, but Fiennes has been an especially appealing addition for the 28 Years films. I’ll be ready when the third film makes its appearance on-screen.
Glen: Danny Boyle is scheduled to direct the yet-to-be-announced final film in this trilogy, and Garland is back as screenwriter, and they’ve certainly teed up the next one with this film’s epilogue that sees the return of Jim (an uncredited Cillian Murphy), the protagonist of the 2002 original, 28 Days Later. I too look forward to it but no release date so far. Credit to DaCosta for retaining the visceral spirit of the franchise. These films are dark, and the characters must battle not only zombies, but their own dehumanization.
Anna: Kudos to the filmmakers for making the zombies less frightening than the humans. Kelson’s aching desire is to find the human that is left in Sampson. Their bond proves to be quite sweet—the beast is tamed in many ways. Hopefully the franchise stays strong with the next film.
New Times Arts Editor Glen Starkey and freelancer Anna Starkey write Sun Screen. Comment at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in January 22 – January 29, 2026.