Cherry Darling [Rose McGowan] is a fearless go-go dancer who crosses paths with her enigmatic ex, El Wray [Freddy Rodríguez], at the Bone Shack—a seedy roadside hangout run by the Hague brothers, J.T. Hague [Jeff Fahey] and Sheriff Hague [Michael Biehn]. Their reunion stirs trouble, but it’s nothing compared to the escalating danger as a demented Lt. Muldoon [Bruce Willis] strikes a secret deal with a chemical engineer named Abby [Naveen Andrews] to acquire a powerful biochemical agent known as DC2. When Muldoon discovers Abby has an extra dose, he seizes it and disperses the gas, releasing a chemical apocalypse that mutates a large portion of the town’s residents into grotesque, bloodthirsty zombies.
The mutated townspeople flood toward emergency care, where the hospital becomes a tense frontline. Dr. William Block [Josh Brolin] and his wife Dakota Block [Marley Shelton], an anesthesiologist who is described as bisexual, tend to the increasingly unstable patients. Dakota’s personal life becomes entangled in the crisis as Block’s controlling behavior turns abusive, casting a shadow over their strained marriage even as the air fills with danger. The outbreak spirals out of control as the infections spread, forcing everyone to confront both the collapse of civil order and the grisly mutations that threaten to annihilate the town.
El Wray and Cherry’s escape attempt is brutal but necessary after they’re knocked from the road by random, frenzied attacks; Cherry loses her right leg in the ensuing chaos. At the hospital, the medical team races to stabilize the wounded as the infection mutates further. Dakota, who has sheltered her son Tony from the surrounding chaos, must navigate a world where fear and desperation collide with raw survival instincts. Block’s hold on Dakota intensifies the tension, but the couple’s conflict is suddenly overshadowed by the escalating threat of the spreading infection.
As the hospital becomes a battlefield, El Wray and Abby—who has been quietly plotting a way to survive—work to get Cherry to safety. With Dakota temporarily escaping in a car, the two lovers push through a city overtaken by the undead, seeking a way out of the nightmare. The trio eventually takes shelter at the Bone Shack, where the remaining survivors regroup and reassess their options as the military presence tightens around them. The revelation that the soldiers are secretly siphoning the gas supply, combined with the realization that some individuals are immune, hints at a possible cure and stirs a rebellious hope in the group.
A tense confrontation unfolds as Muldoon and his men close in. The survivors discover that the soldiers infected by the gas are still dangerous, but they manage to outmaneuver the guards and search for Muldoon. Muldoon explains his brutal backstory, including a claim about killing a famous target before the infection set in, and he reveals he and his unit were tasked with guarding the area. The truth lands hard as El Wray, Abby, and Cherry mount a daring rescue operation to break free from captivity. Tammy Visan [Fergie], the former lover of Dakota, and Tony Block [Rebel Rodríguez] become mounting reasons for the band to push toward a fragile new sense of purpose.
In a climactic sequence, Cherry is forced to endure a savage assault as a soldier tries to control her; she retaliates with cunning grit and physical prowess, using a broken wooden leg as a weapon and eventually delivering a decisive strike. Dakota redeems her own power by weaponizing a syringe launcher to subdue another guard, while El Wray and Abby rush to rescue Cherry and Dakota. Their escape culminates in a fierce, improvised battle in which El Wray ultimately sacrifices himself to save the group. Cherry survives the night and, battered but resolute, embraces a radically new future.
With J.T. Hague’s explosives a last-ditch gambit, the group fights their way toward a helicopter escape, intending to flee to safety. Tragically, Abby’s head is blown apart by a ballistic missile, cutting the plan short and sealing the fates of several key characters. As the dust settles, Cherry is left to lead the remaining survivors toward a distant Caribbean beach in Tulum, where a small, hopeful society begins to form amid a worldwide zombie outbreak. The horizon holds a fragile promise: Cherry and El Wray’s daughter is born, a sign that life may still endure beyond the nightmare.
The story closes with a post-credits image of Tony Block [Rebel Rodríguez] sitting on the shore, playing with his turtle, scorpion, and tarantula, hinting at a quieter life that could someday bloom from the ashes of catastrophe.
