Who dies in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple? How ending sets up third movie

by

With ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,’ the horror series reaches a new level of intensity and gore. The film features numerous shocking deaths and culminates in an ending that cleverly prepares the stage for the final installment.

At the conclusion of “28 Years Later,” Spike (Alfie Williams) left baby Isla at Holy Island but decided to remain on the mainland. Just as he was surrounded by infected people, he was saved by Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) and his group.

In The Bone Temple, Spike realizes the people he thought were heroes aren’t what they seem. At the same time, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) is experimenting on Alpha Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) and uncovers something surprising.

Everything builds to a truly stunning scene – one of the best in the entire film series. Below, we’ll explain who doesn’t make it and how the ending prepares us for the next movie. Be warned: this contains major spoilers!

Who dies in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple?

Okay, so in The Bone Temple, the two biggest deaths that really stuck with me were Sir Jimmy Crystal, played by Jack O’Connell, and Dr. Ian Kelson, who Ralph Fiennes brought to life. But honestly, those weren’t the only ones – a lot of other characters met their end too, including…

  • Jimmy Jimmy (Robert Rhodes)
  • Tom (Louis Ashbourne Serkis)
  • Jimmima (Emma Laird)
  • Jimmy Fox (Sam Locke)
  • Jimmy Snake (Ghazi Al Ruffai)
  • Jimmy Jones (Maura Bird)
  • Jimmy Shite (Connor Newell)
  • George (David Sterne)

Most of Jimmy Crystal’s followers, known as the Fingers, don’t survive the resulting chaos. Only Spike and Jimmy Ink – who is later revealed to be named Kelly – are left.

Jimmy is the first to die, killed by Spike as part of a brutal initiation ritual. Spike clearly struggles with the act, but new members are forced to choose an opponent and fight to the death, with the winner joining the cult.

Several members of More Fingers, including Jimmima, die in a violent encounter with survivors at a farm, among them Tom and his pregnant girlfriend, Cathy (Mirren Mack).

Cathy escapes and climbs to the barn roof, where Jimmy and Fingers gather the remaining people. They brutally skin the torsos of these survivors as a horrifying offering to Satan. Spike is overcome with nausea and runs outside to vomit, and Ink decides to let him avoid witnessing the rest.

Jimmy tries to recruit Tom into his cult, but Tom chooses Jimmima instead, unaware of her fighting skills. As Jimmima is about to defeat her opponent, Cathy intervenes, dropping a large metal hook that fatally injures her.

The situation escalates into a fight, and Tom manages to start a fire. One person, known only as “A Finger,” is killed, and several others are burned. Although Tom dies in the conflict, Cathy manages to escape without injury.

Most of the deaths happen during the final showdown at Dr. Kelson’s temple made of bones. While the fight in the barn was happening, Ink noticed Dr. Kelson dancing with Samson amongst his collections of bones and skulls.

Through the story, we discover the dancing is linked to Dr. Kelson’s experiments on Samson. By the end of The Bone Temple, he might have even developed a cure for the Rage virus.

Ink is convinced Dr. Kelson is actually the Devil, known as “Old Nick.” Jimmy plans to talk to Dr. Kelson to see if he truly is who Ink suspects. During their conversation, the doctor figures out that Jimmy is experiencing schizophrenia.

Jimmy explains to Dr. Kelson that he’s in a difficult situation with his group, known as the Fingers. They demand proof that Dr. Kelson is actually Satan, and Jimmy threatens to kill him if he doesn’t comply. Because of this threat, Dr. Kelson reluctantly agrees to play along.

The movie then delivers its most thrilling moment: Ralph Fiennes’ character sets up a powerful sound system, applies face paint, and creates an incredible pyrotechnic display set to Iron Maiden’s ‘The Number of the Beast’.

While performing, he sprays things into the audience’s faces and creates a circle of fire around the temple. At first, the show goes well, but once it’s over, Dr. Kelson spots Spike in the crowd.

Taking on the persona of Satan, he attempts to persuade the others to sacrifice Jimmy. This infuriates Jimmy, who reveals that Dr. Kelson isn’t who they think he is – and in a fit of rage, he fatally stabs the man who might have held the key to a cure.

A fight breaks out, and Ink eliminates the last of the Fingers. Meanwhile, Spike stabs Jimmy. After this, Spike stays with Dr. Kelson as he dies. Ink then hangs Jimmy upside down on a cross, leaving him vulnerable to Samson’s attack.

The Bone Temple ending explained

After the Fingers are defeated, Ink—also known as Kelly—and Spike manage to escape, but quickly find themselves pursued by a large group of infected. Luckily, Jim and his daughter, Sam, arrive just in time to save them.

Following the events of the previous story, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” shows Jim and Sam now living a peaceful, secluded life in a rural home.

Jim is teaching his daughter, Sam, about history at home. They talked about the well-known idea that if people don’t learn from the past, they’re likely to make the same mistakes again – a quote often attributed to George Santayana.

The story suggests Sam is the child of Jim and Selena (Naomie Harris). While Selena isn’t currently visible, it’s not confirmed she’s dead – her current situation remains a mystery.

Jim and Sam were interrupted during their lesson by a siren. They rushed to their lookout point, where they had weapons ready, and spotted Spike and Kelly being chased by infected people while trying to climb over a wall. Naturally, they decided to help.

How the ending sets up third 28 Years Later movie

Jim’s reappearance neatly sets the stage for the next film, which will focus on the theme of redemption. We can expect to see a deepening connection between Spike and Jim, and potentially discover what happened to Selena, as well as learn more details about Dr. Kelson’s cure for the infection.

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland originally intended for ’28 Years Later’ to be a series of three films. However, they only filmed the first two consecutively, and Nia DaCosta directed the third film, titled ‘The Bone Temple’.

According to Deadline, Sony is moving forward with a third film, expected in December 2025. Dev Patel is reportedly writing the script, and Cillian Murphy is in discussions to reprise his role. While the studio hasn’t officially confirmed anything, things are looking promising.

Director Michael DaCosta explained to IndieWire that the three-part horror series will explore different themes with each film. The first will focus on family, the second on the concept of evil, and the third on finding redemption, as discussed with director Boyle.

Is there a post-credits scene?

Despite the strong possibility of a third movie, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple doesn’t have any scenes that play after the credits finish.

When the movie finishes, you can either watch the credits or leave. Leaving won’t cause you to miss any important story details.

Read More

2026-01-16 16:25