‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ Review: Does Nia DaCosta Successfully Guide Us to the Bone Temple?

BY ALEX KING

JANUARY 14, 2025 5:29 EST

©Sony Pictures

“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple”

“Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”

‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ picks up where ‘28 Years Later’ left off, 28 Years and some odd weeks after a “the rage” spreads across England and demolishes harmony. Spike, a young boy who has never known what was before, is thrust into the weeds of this twisted world and is forced to contend with his survival at the price of morality. This film successfully morphs from a celebration of the human experience to a critique of it. How the characters, and even yourself, choose to react and interact with the world present the paramounts and chasms of the human condition.

As a continuation of ‘28 Years Later’, Spike has to find his footing with the crew he encountered at the end of the last installment. As he dips his toes into their world, he is violently pulled in with no clear way out. One of the defining motifs of this film is the choices the characters make. That might sound like a meaningless statement, but this film goes out of its way to highlight that there is always a choice to be made. The characters define themselves by the risks they take and how they act (or fail to) under pressure.

As stated previously, many of the personalities grapple with their past and come to different conclusions about it. The film places a challenge to its viewers: what would you remember if society crumbles, and how would that shape how you live? Whether it be redemption, care, violence, or brutality, each reaction is closely tied to not only the experiences each character has, but the ones they choose to hold tight and remember.

©Sony Pictures

“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple”

Much like its predecessors, ‘The Bone Temple’ has a thick layer of unease seeing through every scene.This is attributed to the spine tingling volatility of Jack O’Connell as Sir Jimmy Crystal and the sheer presence that Chi Lewis-Parry brings back to Samson. Alex Garland recognizes that the least interesting thing about a zombie flick is the zombies. He gives the characters room to breathe, while still never feeling safe. Once you see them, the infected aren’t that scary, it’s the ones you don’t see that will drag you down to hell.

Overall, ‘The Bone Temple’ hits the ground running from where ‘28 Years Later’ left off, and it ties up the loose ends from the previous film. It chronicles the struggle of individuality and companionship; the need to remember and the want to forget; and what is worth standing for and protecting, above all else.