28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Blu-ray Movie Review

A tale of two devils.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 22, 2026

Because 28 Decades Later would've been too big a leap (although I'd probably watch it), writer Alex Garland's The Bone Temple serves as a direct sequel to last year's 28 Years Later, where he reunited with director Danny Boyle to hopefully recapture the magic of the original 2003 film. Truth be told, I wasn't fully won over by Years: it conjured up an absorbing portrait of post-apocalyptic life in the Scottish Highlands by pairing sporadic, visceral thrills with dramatic tension... but it also employed far too many showy camera tricks, struggled with momentum during the second half, and finally ended with the bizarre introduction of a roving, tracksuit-clad gang with bleached hair. I therefore had no choice but to approach The Bone Temple with morbid curiosity rather than real excitement but, with directing duties delegated to franchise newcomer Nia DaCosta (Candyman), at least a bold new direction was implied.

For a full synopsis and appreciation of The Bone Temple, please read my recent review of the 4K UHD edition, which does not include a Blu-ray copy of the film and, for now, is only available as a Steelbook.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As outlined in my review of the 4K UHD edition, there are several key differences between it and Sony's downscaled 1080p/SDR transfer seen in these direct-from-disc screenshots. While that linked summary provides enough context to pass for a review of both formats, I'll again repeat that this image appears noticeably warmer and brighter than its 4K counterpart, with an often more "readable" image and less defined fine details at the lightest and darkest ends of the spectrum. This is a flatter looking presentation with deeper but less nuanced black levels, and it unavoidably doesn't have the same level of depth and texture as the 4K disc (nor as high of a bit rate, obviously). But this is a still a very good and perhaps even excellent presentation within format boundaries and, in my opinion, the slightly warmer tone of its overall palette seems more agreeable with certain locations and times of day depicted in the film.

I say all this having not seen The Bone Temple theatrically and, as such, I don't have any concrete knowledge of which palette is more "correct". While I strongly suspect it's the 4K disc and overall prefer that presentation if forced to pick one (despite my "lower" star rating, which is much more of a format-proportionate score than a side-by-side grade), there are unique merits to this release that might make it the preferred version to a certain audience.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, my linked 4K review included details about that release's Dolby Atmos mix which, as usual for a Sony release, is sadly not included on the Blu-ray edition. I understand that those with room-filling audio setups may overwhelmingly be set up for UHD, but it's unfortunate we don't get a choice here given the Blu-ray's "different" visual identity outlined above. Even so, that linked review still offers a general overview of what you'll get with this 5.1 surround track, which offers a commanding sonic soundstage with equally crisp dialogue, frequent channel panning and discrete effects, a healthy amount of LFE, and more... just without the more precise object-based placement and side/height channels exclusive to Atmos. On its own terms, this lossless 5.1 mix is closer to 5/5 territory than my more modest rating suggests... but since there's room for Atmos here and we don't get it, a deduction is necessary.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are included during the film and all key extras listed below.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork, a Digital Copy, and several extras.

• Behind The Scenes Featurettes - A trio of short but enjoyable production pieces.

• The Doctor and the Devil (6:16) - Ralph Fiennes and Jack O'Connell discuss their characters and separate contributions to the story, with additional input by director Nia DaCosta.
• New Blood (6:07) - Nia DaCosta returns to speak about her lifelong love of the franchise (from the original 28 Days Later onward), being asked to sit in the director's chair, and what she brought to the table with the blessing of Alex Garland and Danny Boyle, who are also featured separately here.
• Beneath the Rage (5:19) - Ralph Fiennes and Chi Lewis-Parry discuss their characters' unique relationship, its important contrast to the film's less compassionate half, and Nia DaCosta again offers a few thoughts. As a bonus, we also get blurred-out nekkid screen tests for Samson.

• Audio Commentary - Director Nia DaCosta sits down for this engaging feature-length solo track, an totally relaxed and candid conversation that covers all of the expected bases including her first involvement with the film, location scouting and production design, cinematography, approaching the franchise as a fan but also an outsider, shout-outs to various cast and crew members, practical effects vs. CGI, the film's heavy themes and violence, music, editing, the climactic music "performance", a certain cameo appearance, and more.

• Infected Takes: Bloopers (2:44)

• Deleted Scene (0:52) - The Fingers have a chat after Dr. Kelson and Jimmy Crystal's first meeting.

• Previews (9:27) for 28 Years Later, Sisu: Road to Revenge, Nuremberg, and Kraven the Hunter.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Franchise newbie Nia DaCosta helms The Bone Temple, a direct sequel to 2025's 28 Years Later, and she may have made the second-best film in the series behind Danny Boyle's 2003 original (which I haven't seen in several years, so that opinion may actually change in the future). This is a compelling entry that's better-paced than its predecessor, and in my opinion the cinematography and music are both improved as well. Sony Pictures' separate UHD (Steelbook only) and Blu-ray editions offer solid but different A/V merits and a decent assortment of extras, with the former getting the clear edge with its Dolby Atmos audio and outstanding packaging, but this lower-priced Blu-ray will likely be good enough for more casual fans and newcomers. For different reasons, both are Recommended.