Nightmare at Noon

In Canyonland, the mad albino scientist injects a substance into the town's water supply with help from a shadowy agency. The substance slowly turns anyone who drinks the water into a rabid zombie. The act sets off the central outbreak that will consume the town.

Two visitors in an RV observe the townspeople's transformation and realize something unusual is in the river. They witness rapidly changing behavior among the locals and suspect the water is responsible. They struggle to understand what they saw.

The visitors attempt to warn local authorities about the poisoned water and the zombie outbreak. Their warnings are frustrated by confusion and the inability to reach outside help. They fear the situation will spiral out of control.

The shadowy agency cuts all means of leaving or contacting the outside world, trapping everyone inside Canyonland. Surveillances and barriers isolate the town, making outside assistance impossible. The visitors and survivors realize they are effectively cut off.

Survivors at city hall brainstorm and conclude they are part of a test for a new bio-weapon capable of destroying a nation. They weigh the possibility that the outbreak was engineered on purpose. The idea deepens the town's sense of inevitability and danger.

The group deduces that the next phase of the experiment is to burn the town to erase all traces of the test. Tensions rise as they prepare for a desperate final stand. They prepare to confront the agency and their own fate.

The Sheriff learns too late that the water is poisoned, having already consumed some. He begins to transform into a zombie as his colleagues fearfully watch. His defiant act marks a turning point in the crisis.

In a final act of defiance, the Sheriff tries to force his way into a van that the townspeople suspect is the command center. Others set the van on fire to disrupt the operation and contain the outbreak. The act cripples the agency's plan, but the albino remains alive.

Reilly offers to lead the charge to kill the albino to atone for his past. The Sheriff's daughter, who is a deputy, agrees to join the pursuit on horseback. They decide to pursue the albino outside the town to escape the ruined streets.

The pair rides out of town on horseback, hoping to reach outside help and radio for assistance. They reason that horses are the only viable way to leave while the town burns or the agency acts. The chase intensifies as the albino is pursued.

A chase ensues as the albino evades pursuit, and the agency tries to extract him via helicopter. The situation escalates into a dramatic aerial duel between choppers. The albino's fate seems sealed as the gunfire erupts.

The pilot of another helicopter arrives after hearing a distress call and engages the albino's helicopter. The confrontation ends and the threat appears contained. The survivors regroup and consider the next steps.

With the immediate danger over, the sheriff's daughter and Reilly contemplate a relationship. They survey the decimated town and reflect on the heavy losses and the eerie calm that follows. The town's future remains uncertain as they plan to leave what remains behind.

Despite the duel and containment, the albino's survival lingers, implying the threat may not be fully gone. The final images emphasize the scale of the disaster and the agency's influence. The survivors vow to warn others if possible.