Re-Kill (2015) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Tom Falkirk was bitten by a zombie sister kept in the attic of a house the squad was clearing. Since the bite would cause him to turn into a zombie, Sarge ordered him mercy-killed to prevent him from becoming one of the undead. This was standard protocol in the post-outbreak world where anyone bitten would inevitably transform.

• tom falkirk
• bitten
• mercy kill
• zombie turning

The Judas Project was a secret military program that conducted experiments on the zombies trapped inside New York City's walled-off Zone. Its stated purpose was to turn zombies against each other by creating an alpha zombie that could control other undead. The program was ultimately a failure, as the alpha zombie Elvis became too powerful and led a coordinated attack against humans.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, truckers mention rumors of a shadowy program testing zombies in New York.

• judas project
• secret program
• new york
• zombie experiment

During the ambush in The Zone, Omar insisted that Parker had been bitten and demanded the squad kill him to prevent another infection. Rather than submit to what he saw as an unjust execution, Parker opened fire on the group, killing Grizzly Adams in the process. Parker then escaped, though he was later killed himself.

• parker
• adams
• killed
• ambush

Winston was severely wounded during the ambush in The Zone and couldn't keep up with the retreating squad. Rather than be left behind to turn or be eaten, he grabbed a grenade and detonated it, killing himself and the zombies closing in on him. This allowed the remaining squad members to escape.

• winston
• sacrifice
• grenade
• death

The Zone refers to the forbidden heart of New York City, which was walled off after the nuclear bombing of San Francisco. It became a quarantine area where the most dangerous and intelligent zombies were contained. The government sent Division 8 into The Zone to investigate the Judas Project and gather intelligence, only to discover the experiments had created an even greater threat.

• the zone
• new york
• quarantine
• forbidden area

Elvis was an alpha zombie created by the Judas Project to rally and control other undead. He proved far more intelligent than typical zombies and led a coordinated horde against the squad. Elvis killed Jimmy and attacked Rose Matthews, attempting to strangle her before she killed him. However, his death triggered the start of a new outbreak as his followers attacked.

• elvis
• alpha zombie
• control
• hord

The new outbreak begins because Elvis, the alpha zombie created by the Judas Project, used his ability to rally and coordinate the undead. After Elvis is killed, the horde he was controlling becomes uncontrolled and violent, breaking out of The Zone. Additionally, the young girl who appeared at the beginning of the film is shown transforming into a zombie, symbolizing that infection still spreads among surviving humans.

• new outbreak
• elvis
• zombie
• spreading

Yes, the ark is confirmed to be real at the end of the film. Alex Winston mentioned in a posthumously broadcast interview that the government secretly prepared an ark for eligible survivors. In the final scenes, soldiers including Rose Matthews discuss having found groups of survivors, suggesting the ark represents humanity's last hope for survival beyond the failed containment efforts.

• ark
• government
• survivors
• secret plan

During the disastrous New Orleans raid, the journalist was bitten or scratched by a zombie during the chaos of the mission. When her voice began to falter and she started moaning like the infected, Alex Winston realized she had been turned and shot her to prevent a larger outbreak. This event leads to Winston being reassigned to Division 8.

• journalist
• infected
• new orleans
• bitten

Rose Matthews survived by killing Elvis after he attempted to strangle her. She used her weapon to kill the alpha zombie during their confrontation, then escaped from The Zone before the horde overwhelmed the area. She is shown in the final scenes as one of the soldiers discussing survivor groups, making her one of the few main characters to survive.

• rose matthews
• survived
• elvis
• escape

Division 8 was created as a new squad within R-Division, the paramilitary force tasked with hunting remaining zombies. After the New Orleans incident where Alex Winston killed an infected journalist, he was reassigned to form Division 8 along with new recruits including Tom Falkirk, Omar Hernandez, and others. The division was equipped with additional journalists for the Re-Kill broadcast coverage.

• division 8
• r-division
• squad
• formed

The zombie outbreak occurred five years before the film's events, killing 4.5 billion people worldwide and 10 million in the United States alone. The exact origin isn't detailed, but the government responded by detonating a nuclear bomb over San Francisco and walling off New York City. The outbreak was officially declared over, though remaining zombies continued to pose a threat.

• outbreak
• origin
• zombie
• 5 years earlier