Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill

Darrell was fleeing from a pursuing female cop after a cocaine deal went wrong. He threw a brick of cocaine through her windshield to escape, but his car broke down during the chase. With no vehicle and the police behind him, he was forced to walk into the desert, where he stumbled upon the mysteriously appearing town of Sunset Valley.

The population sign already reads 99 when Darrell arrives, hinting the town has been waiting for victims.

Bloody Bill Anderson was a Confederate war criminal who was hunted and hanged by Sunset Valley's residents. According to legend, he made a deal with the Devil which granted him supernatural powers, allowing him to return from the dead as an undead leader commanding a horde of zombies seeking vengeance against the town.

Jerry explains the legend of Bloody Bill while the group shelters in the house, establishing his supernatural origin.

The population sign tracks the number of undead residents in Sunset Valley. Every time a person dies, whether they're a new arrival or a surviving character, they become another zombie, causing the sign to tick upward. The sign climbs from 99 to 107 as more victims are killed and reanimated.

The sign reads 100 when Earl arrives with the debate team, showing the town was already populated by undead.

Earl doesn't actually become Bloody Bill. In a twist, the man wearing Bill's clothes and wielding his rapier is revealed to be Bloody Bill himself impersonating Earl. Bill's face peels away from Earl's disguise, showing he has been masquerading as the living character to lure the survivors into a false sense of security.

The earlier scene where Earl dons Bill's clothes sets up this deceptive twist.

Mary Anderson was someone from Bloody Bill's past, likely a victim of his original killing spree. Mandy, Gwen, and Jerry discover a photograph of Mary Anderson with a note addressed to Bill. Gwen bears a striking resemblance to Mary, which becomes crucial when Gwen impersonates Mary at Bill's shrine in the church to get close enough to attack him.

The photo found in the house explicitly shows Mary resembling Gwen.

Jerry was bitten by the zombie version of Darrell earlier in the film. Even after Earl shot the zombie Darrell to protect him, the bite had already transmitted the infection. Jerry gradually succumbs to the zombification, experiencing delusions before fully turning into one of the undead and attacking Earl.

Jerry begins showing symptoms of infection, confusion and detachment from reality, before his full transformation.

Gwen discovers Bill keeps a shrine to Mary inside the church, indicating he has some connection or obsession with her. When Bill chases Gwen into the church, she uses this knowledge to pretend she is Mary's reincarnation or spirit. This ploy allows her to get close enough to Bill to seize his rapier, which she uses to decapitate him.

The photo discovery and the shrine in the church foreshadow this deception strategy.

The population jump accounts for all the deaths that occur during the intense siege at the house. When Bill's zombies overwhelm the survivors, several characters die in quick succession, including Avery being stabbed, the characters overwhelmed during the barricade collapse, and Jerry's full zombification. The exact count isn't shown on screen, but the sign reflects multiple losses happening during this chaotic sequence.

The rapid succession of deaths during the siege explains the sudden increase.

Sondra follows what appears to be a young girl zombie into a house, but it's a trap. Inside, she discovers a group of zombies feasting on human remains. She is overwhelmed and killed by the horde. Her mutilated body is later found by the surviving group, and her death causes the population sign to increase to 101.

The earlier moment where the young girl zombie leads Sondra away establishes this as a predatory tactic.

Bill was a Confederate war criminal who committed atrocities and was eventually hunted down and hanged by the residents of Sunset Valley. His death at their hands, combined with his supernatural deal with the Devil, drove him to return as an undead to destroy the town and kill anyone who enters as payback for his execution.

Jerry explains that Bill was hunted and hanged by the town before gaining supernatural powers.

After being chased into the church, Gwen notices Bill's shrine to Mary Anderson. She pretends to be Mary's spirit to approach him. When Bill lowers his guard, Gwen grabs his rapier and uses it to decapitate him. This act destroys Bill and causes his remaining zombie horde to fall, ending the undead threat.

The discovery of Mary's photo and the shrine earlier sets up Gwen's deception strategy.

Earl was Darrell's partner in the cocaine trade. When the group is cornered by zombies during the siege, Earl uses the remaining cocaine he stole during the carjacking to create an improvised explosive. He detonates it as a last-ditch effort to give the survivors a chance to escape, buying time by throwing back the zombie horde.

Earl's introduction as Darrell's partner establishes his connection to the cocaine.