Evelyn Rose is a junior and a reporter for the Fishers Tiger Times. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
In 2025, when I watched the return of the ‘28 Days later’ series, I remember being amazed by how different ‘28 Years Later’ was. Though most audiences were not impressed with the film because of it being seen as too boring. So, when writer Alex Garland announced that he had already made a sequel titled ‘The Bone Temple’, I was hesitant yet hopeful until I heard the name Nia Dacosta.
The films she has directed underperformed at the box office with ‘Candyman’ (2021) and ‘The Marvels’ (2023) both making under their budgets according to Deadline reports. I remember giving her credit for creativity in each film in certain areas, but I thought the films were boring. Now I understand that we were not seeing Dacosta at her full potential.
‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ is now in my top three favorite horror films of all time. Studios have forgotten that horror needs to be creative and bold. The minute this film began, it took audiences straight into the adventure, telling us that what we were about to witness was something brand new.
These films have been actor-driven by nature since ‘28 Days Later,’ which is why casting Ralph Fiennes from ‘Harry Potter’ and Jack O’Connell from ‘Sinners’ was perfect. Every second these two actors share the screen is equally terrifying as it is a masterclass in acting because they make you forget they are playing characters.
At one point, I completely forgot the names of who was playing who because it just felt like these were real characters lifted straight off the script page. These fantastic performances were mixed in with some of the best cinematography horror movies have seen in years because of Dacosta’s choice to use the Alexa 35, a $70,000 camera which has one of the highest color ranges in the world.
Dacosta has a true eye for spectacle, and for the critics thinking that ‘28 Years Later’ did not have enough action, this film dials the violence all the way up. I kept thinking I should take my eyes off the screen because of the level of violence, but it was too hard to look away from this masterfully crafted film.
Horror fans are finally getting what they deserve with this film. Fiennes felt like he was having the most fun he has ever had in his career playing Dr. Ian Kelson because of the creativity and boldness that Dacosta allowed his character.
‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ overall is one of the riskiest films I have seen in a while because it chooses to swing without knowing if it is going to hit, but it hits a home run giving characters their proper arcs. I give this film 5/5 skulls and recommend seeing it more than once, because I certainly will be rewatching it a lot.
