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Plot Summary

What We Become (2016) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language
2016 · 85 min · Danish
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Directed by
Bo Mikkelsen

A seemingly peaceful summer in a suburban town is shattered when a devastating plague begins to spread. As the death toll rises and the government imposes a strict lockdown, the Johansson family finds themselves trapped and struggling to survive. They soon realize the danger isn't just the illness itself, but the escalating desperation and the increasingly drastic measures people take in a fight for survival.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 What happens: full plot
  3. 3 Plot questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Every angle
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Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in What We Become: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of What We Become (2016) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

A family of four—Dino, his wife Pernille, and their two children, the young Maj and teenager Gustav—are enjoying a peaceful summer in the picturesque Sorgenfri, Denmark. Life seems blissful until the arrival of a new neighbor, Sonja, who captures Gustav's attention. While Pernille showers affection on Maj, who is deeply enamored with her pet rabbit Ninus, a nearby picnic takes a dark turn. Here, a neighbor named Casper tries to convince Dino to accompany him on a hunting trip, but Dino refuses the temptation. Tension rises when a little boy at the picnic is seen throwing up, hinting at a lurking illness. Soon after, an elderly woman bursts in, distraught over her husband's mysterious disappearance.

As the days unfold, their idyllic life shatters with the onset of a deadly virus that transforms its victims into ravenous killing machines. Despite the growing danger, Dino reassures his children that everything is fine. The military steps in, enforcing a quarantine that keeps the families isolated and supplies limited, all while power outages create additional fears. As reports indicate that the research into the virus has yielded no results, panic ensues.

One night, neighbors are mysteriously taken from their homes by the military, supposedly for their safety. Driven by curiosity, Gustav sneaks out to check on Sonja and discovers her mother injured. When he investigates the "safe space," he finds it filled with the infected, brutally shot by the military. In his attempt to liberate them, Gustav inadvertently unleashes a horde of zombies, leading to the military’s retreat and leaving the remaining residents to fend for themselves. Against Pernille's objections, Gustav insists on taking in Sonja and her ailing mother.

As the zombie invasion escalates, Casper's partner Anna makes a daring escape from their home. Casper and Dino prepare for a siege while the family faces their own horrors, including the unsettling absence of Ninus. The atmosphere of dread thickens when Maj asks about her beloved rabbit during breakfast, and though her father tries to comfort her, hints suggest that the meat in their stew might be Ninus. With monsters roaming outside, their safety is further threatened when Gustav's tendency to peek attracts deadly attention.

Amidst the turmoil, Anna returns, haunted by her experiences. Tensions flare when Sonja and Gustav share a fleeting moment of intimacy, only to discover that Sonja's mother's condition has worsened. Gradually, Sonja comes to the horrifying realization that her mother is in rigor mortis.

Dino and Casper attempt to scout their desolate surroundings but are met with aggression from the military. In a shocking twist, they run into a woman looking for her missing partner, only to find themselves in dire circumstances with a Zombie ambush. The chaos continues as Maj ventures out to find Ninus, confronting the neighbor whose husband went missing. In a tragic turn, Maj is bitten, and despite her family’s desperate attempt to save her, the sound of a gunshot alerts the zombies.

Now cornered, the family strives to fortify their home, only to return to find that Anna has succumbed to the infection, and chaos boils over. As Dino faces the grim reality of having to kill his daughter Maj before she becomes a zombie, the scene spirals into a gut-wrenching climax as Pernille refuses to let go, leading to a horrific confrontation that seals their fates.

Gustav and Sonja barricade themselves in a room, finally confronting Sonja's reborn mother. Using fireworks as a diversion, the pair attempts to navigate through the chaos, barely escaping into the forest as the remnants of their world collapse around them.

The camera pulls back, revealing the smoke rising from their town, accompanied by the piercing sound of an air raid siren and the ominous whistling of an impending bomb. As tension builds, the screen fades to black, flashing the words "WHAT WE BECOME" while the end credits roll, leaving the audience to grapple with the haunting aftermath.

Last updated: November 08, 2024 at 02:00

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Plot questions answered

What We Become Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about What We Become (2016): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Why does Gustav release the zombies from the military safe space?

Gustav sneaks out to check on Sonja and finds her mother injured. When he discovers the 'safe space' is actually filled with infected people being held by the military, he tries to free them believing they are still alive. In doing so, he accidentally unleashes the horde of zombies, causing the military to retreat and leaving the residents to fend for themselves.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the military takes neighbors away 'for their safety,' which raises questions about where they are actually being taken.

  • gustav
  • safe space
  • military
  • infected
  • zombies release
Q2

What happened to Maj's rabbit Ninus?

Ninus disappears during the zombie outbreak, and when Maj asks about him at breakfast, the family avoids answering directly. The implication is that the meat in their stew is Ninus, as the family had no other food source and survival had become desperate.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the family notices the unsettling absence of Ninus, and the power outages have made food supplies extremely limited.

  • ninus
  • rabbit
  • maj
  • stew
  • food
Q3

Why does the military kill the infected people in the safe house?

The military was using the 'safe space' as a quarantine holding area for infected residents. Rather than cure them, they ultimately shot all the infected to prevent the virus from spreading further. This brutal method reveals the government's extreme measures to contain the plague.

Foreshadowing: The military's vague explanations about 'safety' and their forceful removal of neighbors planted doubt about their true intentions.

  • military
  • infected
  • safe house
  • quarantine
  • killed
Q4

Why does Maj go outside during the zombie outbreak?

Maj ventures outside to find her beloved pet rabbit Ninus, who has gone missing. Despite the danger, her childlike determination to find Ninus overrides the survival instincts of her family, leading her directly to the infected neighbor.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Maj repeatedly asks about Ninus during breakfast, showing her deep attachment to the rabbit despite the escalating danger.

  • maj
  • outside
  • rabbit
  • ninus
  • bitten
Q5

How does Maj get bitten by a zombie?

Maj goes outside searching for Ninus and encounters the neighbor whose husband went missing earlier in the film. This neighbor has become infected and bites Maj, sealing her fate despite her family's desperate attempts to save her.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, an elderly woman bursts in distraught over her husband's mysterious disappearance, hinting at the neighbor's eventual transformation.

  • maj
  • bitten
  • neighbor
  • zombie infection
Q6

Why does Dino have to kill his daughter Maj?

After being bitten, Maj begins showing signs of infection. With zombies closing in and no way to save her, Dino is forced to kill his daughter before she transforms into a zombie. This heartbreaking moment is the film's gut-wrenching climax, as Pernille refuses to accept the reality and the family falls apart.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the film establishes that the virus transforms victims into killing machines, and the family has witnessed other transformations.

  • dino
  • maj
  • kill
  • father
  • daughter
  • infection
Q7

What happens to Pernille at the end of the movie?

Pernille refuses to accept that Maj has been bitten and will turn into a zombie. In the chaotic confrontation, she is unable to let go of her daughter, leading to a horrific outcome. The specifics of her death are left ambiguous but tied to the family's final stand.

Foreshadowing: Throughout the film, Pernille shows intense protective affection for Maj, making her inability to accept Maj's fate inevitable.

  • pernille
  • maj
  • death
  • family
  • confrontation
Q8

What does the ending mean - is the town bombed?

The film ends with Gustav and Sonja escaping into the forest as the camera pulls back to show smoke rising from the town. An air raid siren sounds, followed by the whistling of an approaching bomb, suggesting the government has decided to bomb the entire area to contain the outbreak. This leaves the survivors facing an uncertain future in the aftermath.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the military is shown aggressively patrolling and shooting at both zombies and survivors, indicating extreme government measures.

  • ending
  • bomb
  • town
  • air raid
  • sirens
  • survival
Q9

Why does Sonja's mother turn into a zombie?

Sonja's mother was injured when Gustav found her and was taken to the 'safe space' along with other infected residents. When Gustav releases the zombies, her mother is among those freed. Later, Sonja realizes her mother has entered rigor mortis, confirming she has died and reanimated as a zombie.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Sonja's mother's condition worsens progressively, and Gustav discovers her injured in the safe space.

  • sonja
  • mother
  • zombie
  • rigor mortis
  • reanimated
Q10

Why doesn't the family evacuate the town earlier?

The military enforces a strict quarantine that keeps families trapped in their homes with limited supplies. The lockdown prevents anyone from leaving, and by the time the situation becomes clear, the zombie outbreak has spread too far for safe escape. The family's attempts to survive in place become their only option.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the military explicitly enforces the quarantine and takes neighbors away by force, establishing that escape is not permitted.

  • quarantine
  • lockdown
  • escape
  • military
  • family trapped

Movie threads

More Movies Like What We Become, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes What We Become tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Claustrophobic outbreak movies like What We Become

Families forced into lockdown as a deadly contagion tears society apart. If you liked the tense, trapped feeling of What We Become, explore more movies about families struggling to survive a deadly plague under strict lockdown. These similar thriller and horror stories feature claustrophobic settings, societal collapse, and the moral dilemmas of survival.

  • claustrophobic
  • tense
  • paranoid
  • desperate
  • oppressive
  • grim
  • Tone: tense, dark, bleak
  • Pacing: variable, starting slow then escalating
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Stories in this thread typically begin with a sense of normalcy that is violently shattered by a fast-spreading contagion. The protagonists are quickly confined to their homes or a small area under oppressive military or government control, forcing them to confront threats from both the infected outside and the panicked, desperate people trapped with them.

Why they belong together: These movies are grouped by their shared focus on the intimate, terrifying experience of a family unit being besieged by a biological threat. They share a high-intensity, tense tone, a variable pacing that builds from slow dread to chaotic action, and a heavy emotional weight centered on survival and loss.

Suburban dystopia films similar to What We Become

Orderly communities descend into violence and desperation when catastrophe strikes. Fans of What We Become who enjoyed watching a quiet neighborhood descend into chaos will find more movies like it here. These stories explore the loss of innocence and moral collapse in suburban settings during apocalyptic events, focusing on tense survival and grim realities.

  • grim
  • desperate
  • oppressive
  • chaotic
  • paranoid
  • dystopian
  • Tone: grim, tense, bleak
  • Pacing: variable, character-driven escalation
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern follows the rapid de-evolution of a familiar, safe community into a lawless battlefield. The conflict often shifts from an external threat (like a virus) to the internal threat posed by former friends and neighbors. The journey is one of losing innocence and facing the bleak necessity of hard, often morally ambiguous, choices to protect one's family.

Why they belong together: These films are united by their specific setting and theme: the destruction of the idyllic suburban dream. They share a bleak ending feel, a heavy emotional weight dealing with trauma, and a tone that is tense and grim, focusing on the psychological impact of watching your world turn savage.

Every angle

What We Become (2016) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about What We Become in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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