28 Days Later is not only a fascinating zombie film, but has spawned a unique and exciting franchise since. Releasing two films within the span of seven months isn’t something most film series can truly earn, but 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple continues to embrace the violent setting and genre while flipping the themes and styles of its predecessor on their axes. Nia DaCosta’s direction is far more patient and just as dark, but there also seem to finally be some cracks of optimism in the world that’s gone to hell, with people fighting against a terrifying virus, and some humans even killing one another. That hope comes in the form of Dr. Ian Kelson. Ralph Fiennes’ intelligence, compassion, and gravitas serve as a light in the film and to the circumstances that have turned the world into a landscape of fear and carnage. Equally captivating on the other end of things is Jack O’Connell as a vicious cult leader. O’Connell brings to life a character whose ruthlessness takes up so much space on the screen, led by his conviction that his duty is to spread Satan’s work and better the world by preying on the weak and selecting only the strongest to serve him as his acolytes.

Alfie Williams is a strong breakout star as the lead of this new trilogy within the franchise. Spike is a kid who’s lost so much but always determined to stay noble and do good to himself and others, even as he’s forced into a murderous cult. DaCosta brilliantly utilizes some soundtrack choices, and creates some stunning set pieces. Thematically, these films have thrived on the idea that as humanity is being threatened by the apocalypse, it’s actually doomed to tear itself apart, but here, the script proposes that maybe there’s something after those ideas of cruelty and nihilism, which is that goodness and integrity may still prevail. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple doesn’t answer all these questions, but it’s certainly one of the most unnerving and inventive horror films of the decade and the best one in the franchise yet.