7 Reasons Why The Reviews For 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Are So Positive

28 Years Later represented the triumphant return of one of the most distinct and storied horror universes, the Rage Virus-infected England from director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland. While Garland continues the story with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, it was award-winning director Nia DaCosta who took the reins from Boyle, and if the first reviews are any indication, she knocked it out of the park.

Each entry in the 28 Days Later franchise has progressed the decimation of England via the man-made Rage Virus forward, examining a different point in time on the Virus' evolution. The Bone Temple marks the first departure from the significant time jump and character switch trend, as it picks up right after the events of its predecessor with the same characters.

Critics applauded Boyle's 2025 effort for its distinct visual style and more aggressive swings as far as the story is concerned, but depending on who you ask, not all of them landed. The new chapter appears to be taking its own risks and departures from the established lore, but if The Bone Temple's record-breaking Rotten Tomatoes score is any indication, DaCosta and Garland succceeded even in the small ways 28 Years Later may have come up short.

7 Nia DaCosta Breaks From Danny Boyle's Visual Style (And That's A Good Thing)

Danny Boyle's more frenetic, gritty style of shooting helped give 28 Days Later, the opening of 28 Weeks Later, and 28 Years Later a unique visual identity, and helped give the world of the Rage Virus its own grimy, visceral personality. Nia DaCosta pivoted away from that aesthetic in favor of something more cinematic and intentional, allowing the grisly action unfolding to create tension and fear.

Rodrigo Perez of The Playlist noted that "DaCosta confidently eschews Boyle’s frantic visual vocabulary, opting for patience and stillness without losing intensity." Part of the trepidation coming into the film for some was that DaCosta's work would not feel cohesive with what Boyle had established, and while that may be the case visually, that's a feature, not a bug. DaCosta's careful balance of beauty and desolation has been universally applauded.

6 The Violence Is Brutal And Unrelenting

One element of the 28 Days Later franchise that has never wavered is the embrace of blood and violence as a powerful vehicle for storytelling. DaCosta understood the assignment in that regard, with Josh Korngut of Dread Central specifically calling out the movie's "punishing terror and nightmarish violence" in his review.

At its heart, the 28 Days Later franchise has always been about the violence that humans are capable of inflicting on one another, whether they are infected with the Rage Virus or not. Critics agree that The Bone Temple not only follows the mission to the letter, but may do so better than any other movie in the franchise.

5 Ralph Fiennes' Dr. Kelson Is One Of The Franchise's Greatest Characters

The Bone Temple's 93% Rotten Tomatoes score indicates that critics are near-universal in their approval of the movie on a pass/fail scale, but regardless of how they rated the movie individually I struggled to find anyone with a negative word to say about Ralph Fiennes' performance. His complete committal to the role yields a complex, compelling character that critics argue could be a career-best for Fiennes.

Although he was hinted at as a villain in the early marketing, Fiennes' Dr. Kelson was almost a soothing balm for the burning brutality of 28 Years Later. As a soft-spoken yet commanding presence acting as an angel of mercy, he stole every scene he was in, and we supposedly get that and plenty more from him in The Bone Temple.

4 The Narrative Embraces Dark, Ironic Humor

Oddly enough, for all the depth of character and bloody violence, critics seem to agree that 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple uses humor as a scalpel, cutting in at precisely the right times and in exactly the right ways so as not to lose the depth and darkness of the central narrative. Jack O'Connell's cartoonish villain and his minions are undoubtedly a major source of that humor, which is a good thing given how unconscionably dark some elements of his story supposedly are.

It doesn't appear to be subtle, either. Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press noted that The Bone Temple "...mixes dark, queasy disembowelment and laugh-out-loud humor in a way that both subverts the genre and leads a way out of it, too." That's a curious mix for a franchise with decidedly unfunny roots, but by all accounts Garland and DaCosta completely nail the balance.

3 Jack O'Connell's Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal Is A Top-Flight Villain

Jack O'Connell formally announced his presence to the world as the smooth-talking Irish vampire Remmick in the award-winning cross-genre sensation Sinners, but it's possible that he has already outdone himself with his tracksuit-clad villain Lord Sir Jimmy Crystal. We saw the character ever so briefly at the end of 28 Years Later, but as the savior of Alfie Williams' Spike.

It seems that as Crystal, O'Connell unlocks the darkest evil that the 28 Days Later franchise has seen. Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent noted that O'Connell "...understands what's needed to make a vastly complex and elementally evil character like this work." Jimmy Crystal is a highlight (lowlight?) of the movie for virtually all critics, and there is supposed to be one scene involving Jimmy that is so deeply inhumane that it's hard to watch.

2 The Bone Temple Balances Nihilism With Hope

Even in the darkest, most depraved depths of the franchise, one core principle has held true: hope. As Cillian Murphy's Jim tells Naomie Harris' Selena in the original movie, "It's not all f***ed." We saw that executed beautifully in 28 Years Later, as the death of Spike's mother (Jodie Comer in a brilliantly subtle performance) juxtaposed gut-wrenching heartbreak with the unimpeachable comfort and courage of love and memory.

Via Fiennes' angelic Dr. Kelson, that hope of beauty and a life beyond the dark veil of the Infected world permeates the gore and violence of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. As Ross Bonaime of Collider puts it, "The Bone Temple finds warmth and empathy in the darkest of places." That Garland and DaCosta were able to blend that with unflinching violence and high-quality humor is a nigh-incomprehensible feat.

1 The Sequel Ends Strong And Sets Up The Trilogy's Final Chapter

It's important to remember going into The Bone Temple that this is not just a sequel to 28 Years Later, but also the middle chapter in a trilogy. While I won't even hint at any spoilers here, critics applauded the movie's "bonkers" conclusion, and almost entirely agree that it leaves the audience hungering for the final chapter, which has already been greenlit with franchise star Cillian Murphy set to return.

The ending of 28 Years Later was perhaps the most controversial of the year, as audiences were simultaneously perplexed at the drastic tonal shift and intrigued about where the story might head. There doesn't appear to be any such nuance with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, as critics agree the conclusion is wild, entertaining, and most importantly sets up the finale in a satisfying manner.