At the hospital, a doctor wonders why an X-ray was ordered just because a man was bitten on his hand. He asks nurse Ana to find this patient, so she checks the system and discovers he’s been sent to intensive care, which is also strange for just a bite. After her shift is over, Ana goes home to her husband Luis.
Because they spend the night getting busy in the shower, they don’t notice that a TV show is interrupted to announce a special news bulletin. The next morning Luis wakes up when he notices the neighbor Vivian standing outside the room. When she steps into the light, Luis is horrified to notice blood all over her face.
He tells Ana to call an ambulance and approaches the girl to help her, only for Vivian to suddenly bite his neck. Ana rushes to push Vivian into the corridor while Luis collapses on the bed, but Vivian still tries to attack again. A terrified Ana immediately locks the door before checking on her husband, covering his wound with a pillowcase.
Then she tries to call the emergency line, but a recording says all circuits are busy. As Vivian continues to pound on the door, Luis dies on the bed but just for a second. He wakes up as a zombie and attacks Ana, who manages to push him off and grab the car keys before he starts throwing the furniture around.
Ana runs to hide in the bathroom, accidentally falling into the tub. Next she tries to open the window, but it’s stuck. At that moment the house goes silent, so she approaches the door and says her husband’s name.
Luis responds by bursting through the door, so Ana tries the window again and this time manages to open it. As she climbs out Luis tries to grab her, so she kicks him off before jumping out of the house. On the streets people are running and panicking.
Many houses are on fire and explosions can be seen in the distance. Ana tries asking a neighbor for information, but the man tells her to stay away while threatening her with a gun. Suddenly an ambulance runs over him and leaves without checking on him.
When Luis comes out of the house too Ana quickly gets in the car, only for Luis to jump on it and punch the window. Thankfully he falls off when Ana begins driving away. It’s difficult to drive through town because other drivers are acting crazy and people sometimes throw themselves at the cars asking for help.
The radio host tells people to stay inside and lock all doors and windows, he also announces that not even military bases are safe. Eventually Ana reaches the hallway, where more crashes and explosions are happening, not to mention zombies eating any exposed person. Ana screams when someone suddenly opens the door to grab her, pushing the guy off as she tries driving away again.
In the struggle the car goes off the road and crashes against a tree. As the zombie apocalypse takes over the world, authorities try to talk to the press, but they have no idea how it happened or how to cure it. Soon people are rioting on the streets asking for the government to do something, only for the military to take over cities to try to control both humans and zombies.
Hospitals are at full capacity and buildings are blowing up every day. When Ana wakes up, she’s found by police officer Kenneth, who makes her say something to confirm she’s human. They leave together and come across three other survivors, who open fire until they realize they aren’t zombies.
The trio has tried multiple roads and they’re all taken by zombies, so everyone agrees to go to the mall instead. While they’re trying to break the door a bunch of zombies come closer, so Kenneth shoots the lock and they can get inside. Before they can close the door a zombie manages to grab it, but Kenneth quickly kicks him back and the door is finally shut.
Afterward they turn on the lights, but the phone isn’t working. They find themselves in a store with locked doors, so they throw a toilet at the window to go into the mall itself. While Ana washes all the blood off in a fountain, they check the front doors and confirm these are closed as well.
Andre and Michael volunteer to check the other entrances while the rest of the group keeps an eye on the front. At the back exit, Andre is startled by a zombie pressed against the glass, but thankfully it’s shatterproof. At the arcade, Michael grabs a big hammer from a game before following some noises behind a door.
A zombie jumps out and tackles him to the ground, so the hammer falls and breaks. Michael manages to keep the zombie’s mouth away from him and grabs the broken hammer handle to stab the creature through his head. Back at the main entrance, a zombie appears and grabs Andre’s pregnant wife Luda.
Kenneth hits the creature with his gun so the zombie attacks him instead, pushing him into the fountain and causing Kenneth to scratch his arm. As they fight in the water, Ana picks up Kenneth’s fallen gun and shoots the zombie. It only hits his shoulder but it’s enough to create an opening.
The trio begins running and reunites with the guys to get in the elevator. When they reach the upper floor, they’re blocked by three armed guards who want them to leave. After a short argument, Ana convinces them to let them stay, but the guards take their weapons.
On the TV, they watch the chaos, death, and destruction that has taken over the world. They also learn that the only way to kill zombies is to attack their brains. An officer mentions Fort Pastor is safe and Kenneth recognizes it as the place where his brother works.
Andre takes Luda to the bathroom and discovers she has a cut on her arm, but since it’s small he thinks it’s nothing. Ana searches for a first aid kit and ends up having a breakdown, but she puts herself together to take care of Kenneth’s wound. Michael points out they should board up any weak spot in the mall and paint a sign on the roof in case rescue helicopters fly by.
The guards go downstairs and find the twitching zombie in the fountain. He used to be a guard too, but now his friends have no choice but to shoot him in the head. Then they go around the other stores and shoot every zombie they find.
Moments later the guards throw the zombie bodies off the roof while the others finish their S. O. S.
signs. At this height they have a good view of the whole town and notice zombies everywhere. When they hear some shots, they use binoculars to discover Andy on the roof of his gun store.
He’s holding a sign that says he’s alone, but he puts it down to point at something in the sky. There’s a helicopter passing by and the group starts waving their arms, yet the chopper ignores them and flies away. That night the guards lock the group up in a store so they won’t steal any supplies.
Michael thinks they should do something because help won’t be coming, but Andre thinks the helicopter will come back. Kenneth doesn’t care about their argument because his only goal is to reach Fort Pastor to find his brother. Meanwhile the guards watch TV and hear a pastor say the zombies are a punishment sent by God for humanity’s sins.
The next morning everyone is woken up by the mall’s automatic timers that turn on all the lights and music. The TVs only show static, which means the signal has gone down. Guard Terry goes looking for the control unit and is seen by Ana, who convinces him to open the store so her group can go to the bathroom.
Terry makes it to the control unit and turns off the music before checking the security cameras, only to discover there’s a truck coming to the mall. When Terry tells the others, everyone rushes to the roof and they discuss what to do. Ana says they should welcome all survivors, but C.
J. and Bart don’t want to trust strangers. Terry disagrees with his friends, so Michael and Kenneth take the opening to punch the other two guards and disarm them.
While Terry leads the guys to the mall cell, Ana and Luda make a sign to guide the truck to the back entrance. However the vehicle starts going in reverse and crashes against the building, so Andre and Michael have to go out to fight the zombies to help. They shoot every creature that gets too close, killing quite a few of them until they run out of bullets and have to run back inside.
Thankfully the survivors on the truck are fine, they pushed the vehicle against the mall on purpose so they could climb on it and go inside without being exposed. Once everyone is inside, Ana announces she’ll check them for injuries, including a very sick woman that they’re pushing around on a wheelbarrow. Kenneth wants to take the truck to Fort Pastor, but Steve and Norma explain they come from there and it’s been overtaken by zombies too.
A frustrated Kenneth goes to the roof, where he sees Andy asking for information. Using another sign, Kenneth tells him that the fort is gone and no help is coming. Andy responds with sarcasm, which makes Kenneth chuckle.
Meanwhile Ana is taking care of everyone’s injuries. Terry checks on the sick woman, who suddenly passes away. Ana confirms it after checking her pulse and covers her with a blanket, only for the woman to suddenly sit up.
The group starts running when they realize she’s become a zombie and Ana grabs a fire poker, so when the woman comes too close she stabs her in the eye. Having seen this woman change and remembering her own husband, Ana tells the others that getting bitten by a zombie is what triggers the transformation. Frank has been bitten and Ana wants to quarantine him, but Michael thinks they should kill him before he transforms and Kenneth agrees.
Ana runs ahead to warn Frank and his daughter Nicole asks for mercy, but her pleas are ignored. She’s given a moment to say goodbye, then Frank is taken to a closed room where Kenneth waits for him to turn to confirm their theory before shooting him in the head. Days begin to pass so the group tries to keep themselves entertained.
Kenneth plays chess with Andy by writing their moves on the signs, Bart and C. J. play cards in the cell, Ana likes watching movies with Michael, Nicole and Terry bond while looking at the stars, and Steve gets dirty with Monica when he’s not playing golf on the roof.
The balls sometimes hit the zombies outside, since the crowd forming at the mall’s entrance gets bigger every day. The group often writes requests on the signs and Andy shoots the zombies they asked for, showing excellent aim. One night the survivors are having dinner and sharing stories about the people they lost when the power goes out.
Andre rushes to check on Luda, who has been very sick so he’s tied her to the bed. Four men go looking for the generator and notice blood on the walls. There’s something moving in the darkness, so the group gets ready to shoot until they discover it’s just a dog.
Michael calls him over and the animal appears to be good, but then he starts barking. Suddenly a zombie appears on the ceiling and jumps on Bart to bite his neck. All the noise gets the attention of more zombies, who show up at the end of a corridor.
The group immediately begins running but it’s too late for Bart, who is left behind as zombie food. Kenneth and Michael open a gate for them to cross and C. J.
hits a zombie in the face so they can close it again. They put a padlock on the door for extra security before they open fire to kill the zombies trying to climb over the gate. There aren’t many bullets left and when a zombie falls, he brings part of the gate down with him.
Michael finds a fuel pump so he pours gas all over the zombies and C. J. throws a lighter, causing a big explosion that burns all the creatures to death.
Back to Andre, he watches Luda take her last breath and kisses her goodbye. When he checks the pregnant belly, he’s shocked to see the baby still moving. However he has to step back when Luda wakes up as a zombie.
Moving carefully, Andre grabs a belt and puts it around Luda’s mouth to keep her from biting while she’s giving birth. At the same time Norma realizes she hasn’t seen Luda in a while and comes to check on her, only to find Andre with a baby in his arms and Luda growling in the bed. Norma immediately opens fire to kill Luda and a furious Andre shoots back.
Since Norma keeps on firing, they end up killing each other. The rest of the group hears the gunshots and runs into the room to hear Norma’s last words. Terry wants to shoot her, but Ana assures him she died of the gunshot and won’t transform.
Then they check on the baby and discover she’s a tiny zombie, so they have no choice but to kill her. After moving the bodies and fixing the generator, Kenneth tells the group that waiting to die is actually worse than death itself and Ana says she doesn’t want to die there. Michael mentions he saw two buses in the garage, so they could try reinforcing them to escape.
Steve makes a joke about sailing on his boat, but the group realizes that leaving for the nearest island is a good idea. Soon everyone is using all the tools they can find around the mall to reinforce the buses, spending most of their time working hard. When they catch a break, Ana and Michael have their first time together.
There isn’t much ammo left, but they plan to pick up Andy so he should have extra guns. Kenneth tells him about the plan using signs and Andy responds with “hungry”, causing Kenneth to notice how much weight he lost. The group still needs time to finish the buses, so they must find a way to send Andy food or he won’t make it to Escape Day.
Remembering that the dog had been fine during the attack, they decide to send him out with some supplies and a radio. Their theory is confirmed when the dog runs among the zombies without getting attacked. However when Andy opens the dog door, the zombies try reaching inside.
Andy immediately shoots them off and closes the door again, but when he grabs the radio he tells the group that he’s been bitten. Nicole freaks out and gets on the truck to drive to the gun shop to rescue the dog. She parks it right in front of the door and goes inside the building while the zombies climb on the vehicle.
The group hears Nicole rescuing the dog on the radio while Kenneth checks the store roof, only to discover Andy is already a zombie and his sign only has bloodstains. When Andy goes back inside, Nicole has to hide to avoid him. A few men decide to rescue Nicole since it’s their only chance to get more guns too.
They enter the sewers after leaving Steve at the door as a guard. After a long walk they come out in the middle of the street, where they immediately have to open fire to keep the zombies at bay. Kenneth manages to kill several enemies, but a zombie pulls the gun from his hands in the process.
The guys climb into the truck to make it to the other side and enter the store through the dog door, closing it right before the zombies can reach them. Afterward they grab as many guns as they can carry and follow a blood trail on the floor until they find Andy pounding on a door. Kenneth apologizes to his friend before shooting him in the head to finally rescue Nicole.
They need a good plan to be able to go back, so C. J. goes to the roof and throws a fuel tank which he shoots to make it explode.
While the zombies catch on fire, the group uses the distraction to run through the street, shooting any creature that isn’t burning until they make it back to the sewers. A few zombies push Tucker and cause him to fall into the hole, so he ends up breaking a leg. C.
J. tells the others to keep moving while he stays to help Tucker. Soon the zombies are jumping into the sewers too so C.
J. shoots a few of them before giving Tucker the guns, that way C. J.
can drag him through the ground while Tucker shoots at the incoming attackers. Unfortunately there are too many of them and they reach Tucker anyway to start eating him. Tucker asks his friend to end it, so C.
J. shoots him in the head before running to join the others. Eventually the group makes it to the mall door, but Steve isn't there to open the door.
The zombies are starting to climb the stairs and the men open fire until Ana shows up to let them in. They can’t close the door again because the zombies are holding it, so the team can only run. Once they reunite with the other survivors, the group plus the dog rush to the elevator and close the doors before the zombies can reach them.
They make it to the garage and insult Steve when they find him there. The group splits into two to get on the buses and finally leave the mall by bursting through the garage gates. The zombies immediately surround the vehicles, making it hard to move.
The survivors open fire through the windows and Steve even uses a chainsaw to kill a few zombies. Since the crowd is still too thick to move through, C. J.
throws another fuel tank and shoots it to create a new explosion that easily opens the way. The buses speed through town, only finding cars as their obstacles. Kenneth notices a zombie hanging on a bus and makes a sudden turn to try to throw him off which makes Glen fall with the chainsaw on top of Monica.
The bus loses control and ends up crashing against a fence, causing it to land on its side. While the other bus comes back to help, Steve picks up a gun and refuses to assist Keneth. He comes out alone only for a zombie to jump on him.
The other survivors come to pick up his friends and Ana is devastated to discover the chainsaw has killed both Monica and Glen. When she turns around, a zombified Steve tries to attack her, so Ana shoots him in the head. Terry kills the zombie that came with the bus, and the shots attract the attention of a horde.
The guys open fire to buy some time because Ana is behind taking the boat keys from Steve’s body. She shoots a few zombies too and thanks to her friends’ backup, she reaches the bus. Michael pulls her in and C.
J. kills the creatures at the door so they can finally close it. The bus takes off at full speed and goes through a gate to reach the pier.
It almost falls into the water but luckily it gets stuck on the edge. The survivors immediately start running toward the boats while the zombies make it to the area too. Unfortunately C.
J. is soon surrounded, so he shoots his last fuel tank to bring down all the enemies, dying in the process. The rest of the group gets ready to go but Michael announces he can’t join them because he’s been bitten.
He says goodbye to Ana and pushes the boat so once his friends are at a safe distance, he self-deletes with a shot. In the end Ana, Kenneth, Nicole, Terry, and the dog survive. While sailing, they find a boat with a zombie inside and quickly kill it.
Many days later when their boat runs out of fuel and the food is rotting, they finally make it to an island only to discover it’s full of zombies too.