28 Years Later was one of my biggest surprises of 2025, blowing me away upon first watch and landing itself in the top 5 in my year end list. I went in expecting a high-energy, balls-to-the-wall zombie flick, and I got that, but I also got a surprisingly meditative and touching story of grief and what it means to grow into a man in the apocalypse. It’s one of those horror movies that changes your whole view of the genre and makes you wish a thousand curses on the production houses that pump out low effort slop. And boy, let me tell you, when I found out that a sequel had been shot back to back and was coming out in early 2026? My throat is still recovering from all the cheering I was doing.

But with such big shoes to fill, does The Bone Temple manage to find its footing alongside it? For once, this segue has some good news. While Nia DeCosta has ditched much of the intensity and erraticism of the previous film, she has managed to recapture much of its emotional core, putting it at the forefront to create a much more character driven tale with huge developments for the film’s universe. At times you almost forget you’re watching a zombie movie, which could be a disappointing fact if the human elements weren’t so expertly expanded. There will certainly be debates over which is better, as each truthfully will appeal to different tastes. But that’s not the conversation I’m really worried about; I can’t help but to be thinking about how we’re potentially on the cusp of one of the greatest horror trilogies of the modern era.

In a somewhat surprising shift, young wanderer Spike is no longer the sole centerpiece of this story. We still get to see a lot of him, and we’ll get to that, but this is really a Dr. Ian Kelson movie. Ralph Fiennes’ impeccable work as the thoughtful and wise doctor has been thrust center stage, and the film truly benefits from it. Kelson’s passion for humanity makes him a phenomenal protagonist, as his understanding for the human condition expands to new realms you might not be expecting. Without spoiling anything, Kelson’s approach to the apocalypse is not only refreshingly optimistic, but it also potentially leads to huge ramifications for the rules of the world that I only hope continue to be expanded upon in the next film. Not to be too hyperbolic, but Dr. Kelson is just one of those film characters that I think should deservingly go down in history as one of the best horror movie protagonists ever. 

So while a big chunk of this film is devoted to Kelson, we do get to see more of Spike’s journey alongside it. Truthfully, I don’t think we get any notable developments in his character, but it still speaks volumes to see the persistence of good and innocence the elements of the zombie-infected land works day and night to obliterate. But as we all know, sometimes the zombies aren’t the most dangerous monsters out there; it’s the other humans. The film picks right up where the other ended with Spike joining the company of the Jimmys, track-suit clad psychos led by an equally suited and psychotic Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal. Now, a lot of people had some think-pieces about having a villain modeled after one of the UK’s darkest figures, but not to worry, the character never really goes in the direction you would fear. No, in fact, he’s the self-professed son of Satan, which…yeah, that checks out. Jimmy Crystal is yet another standout villain performance for Jack O’Connel, who impressed the hell out of me last as Remick in Sinners. The guy is sadistic, delusional and very funny. Having him genuinely believe himself to be the son of the Devil is not the direction I was expecting for this character, but I think it’s quite a funny decision in a meta sort of way. With that being said, I do wish his penchant for obsessing over his interests in childhood would have played a bit more of a role in the character’s personality and motivations, but I’m still pretty satisfied with what we get.

Now, this is a bit of a shock, and it may piss some people off, but there’s actually barely any zombies in this. That’s right, it went all Walking Dead on us here. So, yeah, there’s a much smaller amount of zombie-killing action as the film puts a lot more emphasis on the characters weaving around them and warring among one another. However, we do get the return of Sampson, the well-endowed alpha zombie with a penchant for Sub Zero-ing his prey. Believe it or not, he’s actually one of the most exciting characters in this entire story, with a few scenes involving him that absolutely floored me. I won’t say much else, but wow.

As I said earlier, this thing is shot and edited far less like a coke addict was at the reins. For the record, I love the shooting and editing of that previous film. With the film pivoting to a more character centric story, it makes sense that the visual style would be pulled back just a little bit. That being said, this is still a gorgeously shot film, with a lot of emphasis put on beautiful landscape shots of nature and, of course, the bone temple. The titular structure manages to feel both intimidating yet welcoming; a beautiful haven of trust and respect that just happens to be made out of thousands of bones. But while I’m pretty happy with the look of this film, I do wish it took a bit more stylistic risks like the prior film. There was a reckless energy to it that made some truly bold decisions, and sure, maybe that style doesn’t fit for this kind of story, but it still gave the film its own unique identity that I just didn’t really feel as strongly here.

That being said, even with this not being as action packed as its predecessor, this thing still has some genuine “holy shit” moments. Some of them completely change the fabric of this world and, another sounded so goofy on paper but are actually incredible in execution. That leads me to the climax, which I won’t go into the specifics of, but I have mixed feelings on it. The construction of it and, ultimately, the payoff are incredibly satisfying while also pretty somber. That being said, I feel like there was a huge emotional string here that kind of felt fumbled. The climax of the prior film actually made me cry, and this film tees up a similar response, but for whatever reason, it just didn’t resonate with me as strongly as I’d hoped. It’s a bit anti-climactic, but it does lead the future of this franchise forward. It’s a bit of a mystery exactly what’s in store for the future, but I’m excited either way.

At the end of the day, I did really enjoy this, even if it didn’t have the same initial punch as 28 Years Later did. But The Bone Temple feels like a much different beast, one that may need to linger in the mind a bit before it totally absorbs you. Despite a bit more of straightforward direction, this thing still nails the expansion of our characters and delivers on some impactful, incredibly entertaining moments that are hard not to love. This was seriously a real January treat, one we don’t get very often, so I’m quite happy. Now get that third film into production, like, yesterday. 

RATING