28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Ending Explained

Last summer, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland reunited to give horror fans the sequel that we’d spent over two decades waiting for, with the 28 Days Later team delivering 28 Years Later. Though it featured no familiar faces from the original film, the movie proved a success and showed the storytelling potential for a post-apocalyptic England ravaged by the most unique virus in horror movies was still there. The best part about it is that the film wasn’t envisioned as a single entry, with an entire trilogy planned from the jump. There was a cherry on top too, that the second film was back-to-back with the first movie.

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Here we are, some 28 weeks (get it?) after the release of 28 Years Later, and the first sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, has officially been released. The new film picks up after the events of the first almost immediately, but continues the story in surprising and sometimes bizarre ways. By the end of the film, viewers are left with a third act that is quite unbelievable, but also a tease for what comes next that is pulse-pounding. Naturally, spoilers follow.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’s Two Storylines Explained

There are two key components to the plot of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. The first is Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) and his roaming band of evil Jimmies, which he also calls his “fingers.” AHaving been stuck in arrested development based on his experience on the outbreak day of the Rage Virus, Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal has created a persona and following where he leads his troop around to do sadistic harm to anyone that they encounter, which is a lot for young Spike (Alfie Williams) to take in as the latest “Jimmy.” He makes a note that the acts of torture he commands are being done in the service of his father, Satan, aka “Old Nick,” who has unleashed his demons on the world in the form of the infected. It’s clear that Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal is making all of this up as he goes along, but many of his followers are so eager to have a leader at all in the lawless world that they simply follow him in some twisted Peter Pan and the Lost Boys situation.

The second major plot is the return of Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) and his study of the infected in the titular Bone Temple. What becomes clear from the start of the movie is that Dr. Kelson, using morphine to sedate local alpha “Samson” (Chi Lewis-Parry), has had a surprise effect, as Samson appears to have become addicted to the substance and seeks out Kelson so he can be injected with the drug every day. Kelson speaks to Samson as if he can understand, noting that he still believes that those infected with the Rage Virus are afflicted via a psychosis and not a traditional biological infection.

One day, while Samson is sedated, he prepares to euthanize the Alpha, only for the infected man to speak, staring up at the celestiel body in the sky and saying one word, “Moon.” This single act inspires Kelson to not only continue seeking a treatment for the Rage Virus, but acts as a pivotal moment for Samson himself, who begins to have some self-reflection, not only wearing clothes to cover himself but also relishing in small acts like feeling water flow between his fingers. The cure he’s eventually given by Dr. Kelson takes time, but eventually frees him, as other infected humans attack Samson, though he survives thanks to his alpha strength. How these two stories collide for the finale is truly unbelievable, though.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Ending Explained

After attacking a family at a farmhouse out in the country, Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal sends Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman) out on a special mission. While out alone, she spots Dr. Kelson with Samson inside the Bone Temple, and returns to the Jimmys, revealing that she has seen Satan/Old Nick out in the wild. She’s convinced of this not only because of the monument of bones, but also the fact that his skin is red (a side effect of being covered in iodine) and he’s seen dancing with Samson. When she tells the group about this, they’re all skeptical, especially Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal, who has clearly been making up his Satanic rites on the spot for years at this point.

When Jimmy Ink leads them to the Bone Temple, though, sure enough, they see Dr. Kelson. Only Spike knows that he’s a harmless old doctor, but the aura of everything around him appears to check a lot of boxes for Old Nick. Though clearly confused and terrified, Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal confronts Dr. Kelson alone. At first, he believes that he really is Satan, but after the two have a conversation, it becomes clear he’s just a man. Despite this, Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal has a grand idea, enlisting Dr. Kelson to help him sell the illusion that he is, in fact, Satan, to his followers, which will squash any dissent in their ranks. After a threat, Kelson agrees, if only to preserve his own life and research.

That night, Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal brings his gang to The Bone Temple, where Dr. Kelson has planted an inverted cross and covered himself in ashen white with black accents across his eyes and mouth, like a living skeleton in a grand leather jacket. Kelson then begins to play the Iron Maiden song “The Number of the Beast” on hidden speakers in the temple, blowing drugs into the noses of the Jimmies, dancing to the heavy metal song, and later flinging fire and sparks around the camp, all an interpretative dance to convince these closed minds he’s Satan. It works, and after he’s done dancing, he gives the group three proclamations (all clearly fed to him by Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal): Continue carrying out his work on Earth (hurting people), don’t question any orders from Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal, and grow the number of his followers.

In a final twist, though, Kelson realizes that one of the Jimmies among the group is none other than Spike, who sought him out in the first film to help cure his mother. As a result, Kelson quickly reveals he has one more thing for the group, a final command, which surprises Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal. Kelson, having convinced his audience he’s Satan, demands a sacrifice, revealing he wants Spike to stay with him. In truth, it’s a ruse to save the young boy, but Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal isn’t having it and breaks the illusion to his followers by quickly stabbing Kelson in the chest. That proves to be a fatal error, though, as it gives Jimmy Ink and Spike the confidence to fight back, killing the other Jimmies and eventually subduing Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal, crucifying him on the inverted cross before they make their leave and reclaim their original names (Spike and Kelly), throwing out their platinum blonde wigs.

There’s one final bit, though, as Samson, now cured of his rage, returns to the Bone Temple to find the mortally wounded Dr. Kelson. He thanks him for his help and proceeds to carry his body away, seemingly taking him to a final resting place. Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal, nailed to the inverted cross, hallucinates that Samson is Satan, seemingly perishing from the now-cured Alpha in one last jump scare.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’s Set Up for the Third Film

There’s one last thing for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, a final coda that, like the introduction of the Jimmys in the first film, acts as a clear tease to the planned third film in the series. In a quiet moment, fans of the original 28 Days Later should immediately recognize the location that we’re introduced to after a fade to black. This quaint little cottage reveals a brand new character, a young woman, who is conversing with her father about the aftermath of World War II. Her dad is revealed to be none other than Jim, Cillian Murphy’s character from the original film, which makes this new character his daughter with Selena (Naomi Harris, who is unseen in the sequence).

As they talk about the fallout of the war and why it was decided that the economies of the Axis powers would be helped rather than hindered as a result of the war, they hear the cries of the infected in the distance. When they leave their cottage and spot the infected on a distant hill, they notice they’re chasing two people, who we can clearly see are Spike and Kelly. When Jim’s daughter asks if they’re going to help them, he says, “Of course,” cueing the iconic “In the House – In a Heartbeat” to swell as the credits roll.