Reviewed By: Flickman
Alright… so I just finished watching “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” and let me just say, I wasn’t really impressed at all. This is a continuation of 28 Years Later, which I thought was pretty awful, and while this one is slightly better, it still isn’t a great film by any stretch of the imagination.
My biggest issue with this new installment is that it barely feels like a zombie movie. Yeah, there are technically zombies in it, but most of the deaths and gore come from a group of “Jimmys,” who are part of some satanic cult that’s mostly made up of teenagers. Now, that concept on its own isn’t necessarily bad, but it just doesn’t feel like it belongs in the 28 Days Later universe. It feels more like a Hollywood spin-off about edgy satanists that just happens to take place in the same world.
If you’re wondering what the movie is actually about, here’s the quick breakdown. The film picks up where 28 Years Later left off. Spike, played by Alfie Williams, gets recruited by Sir Jimmy Crystal, the leader of this satanic group. In order to join, Spike has to fight another member and, if he wins, he takes that person’s place. Well, Spike ends up stabbing the guy in the leg, hits a major artery, and kills him. Congrats, Spike, you’re officially a “Jimmy” now. The group travels around murdering people as part of their satanic rituals, even though Spike clearly doesn’t want to be involved. He’s basically sticking with them because, you know… survival.
Eventually, they run into Dr. Kelson, who Sir Jimmy Crystal claims is Satan himself (apparently because he’s orange… which is actually iodine to help fight infection). In reality, Dr. Kelson is just chilling in his bone cemetery while working on a cure with Samson, who happens to be the Alpha zombie. Dr. Kelson plays along with the Satan thing so he doesn’t get murdered by this group of unhinged teenagers. During their meeting, Dr. Kelson recognizes Spike through his mask. If you remember the previous movie, they became friends when Spike was trying to find a cure for his mom’s cancer. Dr. Kelson then tells the group that one of Satan’s “commands” is to sacrifice their leader, even though that’s absolutely not what he and Sir Jimmy agreed on.
And… that’s basically the movie. There’s a little more going on, but that’s the bulk of it. There’s barely any zombie action outside of the occasional infected person chasing someone for a few seconds. Most of the film focuses on Dr. Kelson trying to cure Samson and the movie following the “Jimmys” around while they terrorize random people. For something that’s supposed to be zombie horror, this is incredibly disappointing.
Like I said earlier, I do think this is slightly better than the previous installment, but not by much. The acting is fine and the film looks decent enough, but it’s missing the one thing that a zombie horror movie kind of needs… zombies. A lot more of them. Without that, the whole movie just feels boring. At least the previous film had zombies, even if it was still pretty bad overall.
So yeah, I’d probably recommend skipping this one if you’re in the mood for a zombie flick. If you’re a diehard fan of the franchise, you might want to check it out just to see where the story goes, but don’t go in expecting anything special. Just like the first 28 Years Later, I can safely say I won’t be revisiting these installments, and the franchise is quickly losing me.
I wouldn’t say the film is straight-up horrible. It just doesn’t feel like it belongs in a zombie franchise that’s supposed to be connected to the original two films. I’ll give this one a 4.9 out of 10 and label it a hung jury for those reasons. Some people might enjoy it, but for me personally, it was another giant crap shoot, just like the first 28 Years Later.
Overall Verdict: If you're looking for a zombie/horror film, unfortunately you're not really going to find that with this installment. However, if you want to listen to British accents and follow along with a group of satanic children no one should really be afraid of (because they're children), then this might be for you.
Releasing: February 27, 2026
Releasing: March 6, 2026
Releasing: March 6, 2026