The horror genre has been thriving for years now, resulting in some of the best horror movies getting new sequels. Case in point: Nia DaCosta's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which was filmed right after the last movie (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription). That sequel is now available to rent or buy digitally, and a new exclusive clip is all about the unique relationship between Samson and Kelson.
CinemaBlend's Bone Temple review raved about DaCosta's horror flick, in particular the surprise amount of comedy that's included thanks to the drug-fueled bromance between Chi Lewis-Parry's Samson and Ralph Fiennes' Kelson. As you can see in the clip above, Parry spoke about his interpretation of this relationship, offering:
The first thing that came to mind was it was a love story, effectively. That's how I interpreted it. You have the character of Dr. Ian Kelson seeing this monster, but seeing so much more within it. Seeing an opportunity, taking a risk.
I mean, he's not wrong. While Samson went viral in the 28 Years Later movie thanks to his giant prosthetic penis, the Alpha infected got to show some very different sides to him The Bone Temple. Kelson's drugs allowed his rage to settle down, and seemingly even helped to reverse the affects of the virus. Not only did the two of them bond while getting high, but they even sang, danced, and connected in a deep level. Sounds like a zombie apocalypse version of a love story to me.
In the same clip from 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple's special features, the great Ralph Fiennes spoke about his character's developing relationship with Samson., In his words:
Ian Kelson succeeds in slowly getting this violent infected person who was designed to be destructive to reveal his human-ness.
Seeing the Alpha regain some of his humanity was fascinating, including scenes where he's away from Dr. Kelson. We see as he begins to clean himself, dress himself, and even regain some memories. And his humanity was so palpable that fellow infected even attacked him.
Lewis-Parry went on to speak about another comparison to Samson and Kelson. Namely, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In his words:
It's a very unlikely duo. I feel like there's a Dr. Frankenstein and Frankenstein's monster kind of story there. In that Samson has more to offer. We see him with more of a consciousness and a desire to learn more about himself.
While Kelson ultimately perished at the end of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, it should be fascinating to see where Samson's story goes in the planned threequel. He was able to utter the doctor's name in this final scene, taking his new friend's body away from the titular Temple. Could Samson be the key to bringing the world back from the apocalypse? Only time will tell, but his bromance with Fiennes' character is part of horror history now.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is available to digitally rent or purchase now as part of the 2026 movie release list. Hopefully we get news about the third movie soon, especially now that Cillian Murphy has finally returned to the horror franchise.
