Warning: spoilers for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple are in play from this point on. 

The advertising campaign for director Nia DaCosta’s potential moneymaker 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple has been sold on one huge promise. Boasting “the ending that changes everything,” anticipation for the continuation of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s horror saga climbed even higher – even for a die-hard fan like myself.

After having seen how it all played out, I have to admit that claim wasn’t just face paint and heavy metal; especially when considering the return of Cillian Murphy’s OG 28 Days Later character. I’m about to go deep into spoiler territory here, so consider this your official warning. (Don’t worry, our 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review is available for your reading pleasure – and it’s spoiler free.) 

With that warning officially issued, let’s turn things up to 11, and visit The Bone Temple’s big twists.

Jack O'Connell and Ralph Fiennes sit together in the sun in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

Dr. Kelson And Sir Jimmy Crystal’s Final Showdown At The Bone Temple

If you’d told me that the latest installment of the still growing 28 Days Later franchise was going to bank heavily on one’s love of Duran Duran and Iron Maiden, I’d have probably been open but surprised. Yet that’s exactly what Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) brought to the table in The Bone Temple; along with his medical expertise. 

The Maiden in particular helped create a huge set piece that truly sends us into uncharted territory. With Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) realizing he needs to show his Jimmy Gang he’s not full of bull, he makes a deal with the good Doctor: pretend to be “Old Nick,” aka Satan, aka his father, and he’ll let him live. Cue a fiery show of pageantry that allows Mr. Fiennes’ character to rock out to “The Number of the Beast.” 

Unfortunately, the moment he finds out that Spike (Alfie Williams) is part of Jimmy’s gang of “Fingers,” Dr. Kelson goes back on his deal. Convincing the Jimmies to crucify their leader, Sir Jimmy stabs the physician in the stomach. An all out brawl ensues as Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman) kills the rest of the Jimmies – leaving her and Spike to literally nail Sir Jimmy to an inverted cross.

Chi Lewis-Parry stands angrily in a field with arrows in his chest in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

There’s Hope For Samson After All

Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), the Alpha Infected who became a fan favorite in 28 Years Later, has changed for good. Throughout The Bone Temple’s story, we see Dr. Kelson successfully treat our well-endowed antagonist through a combination of rough pharmaceutical and psychological treatment. He even gets to the point where he can speak, giving us the most suspenseful line reading akin to Caesar’s first shout in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. 

Through an origin story flashback, and an all-out fight with his Infected brethren, another piece of my 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple endgame theory has been proven correct. Which, of course, means I’ll need new questions to ask and speculate about. And that leads to the moment you’ve all been waiting for.

Cillian Murphy looks up hopefully in 28 Days Later.

Why Cillian Murphy’s Jim Returns In 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

Just as Danny Boyle himself told me back at CinemaBlend, Cillian Murphy did make his return in the final moments of this Nia DaCosta directed barn burner. (In which a barn literally did burn.) Shown teaching his daughter Sam about the history of modern warfare, Jim is still wearing his red sweater from the 28 Days Later finale. Unfortunately there’s no indication of where Selena or Hannah may have gone off to, but we don’t get to linger too much on that point.

It isn’t long before Jimmy Ink (whose real name is Kelly) and Spike venture to a place she happens to know of: Jim’s home.Sam asks if they should help these strangers out, and Jim – the hero that he is – only hesitates slightly before confirming that’s exactly what they’re going to do. Cue the needle drop everyone’s been waiting over 20 years for, as “In the House, In a Heartbeat” aka “The 28 Theme” sends us off into the end credits – and the unknown future.

Alfie Williams looks up fearfully from his food bowl in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

Spike’s Part In 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’s Finale

I’m including this last section because some people are probably asking another huge question about how The Bone Temple fits into the grand scheme of things. More specifically you’re probably asking “What was Spike’s function in this movie?” As I noted in my own review of the film over at Mike vs. Mic, he does seem to become more of a supporting character.

That being said, Spike is still our protagonist, because he’s taken another huge step towards manhood. While he fell in with Sir Jimmy Crystal’s Fingers, Spike never gave into their brutality. By stabbing his would-be mentor, in addition to nailing him on that inverted cross he loves so much, he shows he’ll fight for what he believes in – but he won’t kill merely for terror. Spike still believes in something, and that’s going to be important wherever the next 28 Years Later movie takes him. Which, more than likely, will be straight home to Holy Island in the end. 

There are tons more questions I could run through after the conclusion of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple; and I’ll get to those in another feature. For now, I just want to marvel at this finale and what it’s done to push this impressive legacy-quel’s story along. 

Should you have read this rundown without seeing this movie for yourself, don’t worry. The Bone Temple still awaits at a theater near you, and you truly need to see it to believe it. And as always, keep a browser tab tuned to THS’ 28 Years Later archive, to keep up with all the new developments that take place with this ongoing franchise.