After a long shift, nurse Ana returns to her suburban neighborhood and her husband, Luis. Caught up in a date night, they miss an emergency news bulletin. The next morning, a neighborhood girl enters their bedroom and kills Luis, who immediately reanimates as a zombie and attacks Ana. She flees in her car but crashes and passes out. Upon waking, Ana joins with Police Sergeant Kenneth Hall, salesman Michael, petty criminal Andre and his pregnant wife Luda. They break into a nearby mall and are attacked by a zombified security guard, who scratches Luda. They are confronted by three mall guards — CJ, Bart, and Terry. The guards make them surrender their weapons in exchange for refuge. They split into groups to secure the mall and then go to the roof . They see another survivor, Andy, stranded in his gun store across the parking lot.
The next day, a truck carrying survivors enters the lot, pursued by zombies. CJ and Bart refuse to let the survivors in, but are overruled and disarmed. The newcomers include Norma, Steve Marcus, Tucker, Monica, Glen, Frank and his daughter , Nicole. A sick woman is wheeled inside by wheelbarrow, only to die, reanimate and be killed. The group determines that the infection is passed by bites. Andre leaves to see Luda, who has kept her scratch hidden from the group. They realize that Frank has been bitten and is a potential threat. Frank elects to be isolated. When he dies and turns, Kenneth shoots him.
Over time, Kenneth and Andy start communicating by writing messages on a whiteboard. Romance buds between Ana and Michael and between Nicole and Terry. One day, the power goes out. CJ, Bart, Michael, and Kenneth enter the parking garage to activate the emergency generator and find a friendly dog inside. Zombies attack and kill Bart, forcing the others to retreat after setting the zombies on fire. Meanwhile, a zombified Luda - tied up by Andre - gives birth as Norma checks on the couple. Horrified, Norma kill Luda. Andre snaps; they exchange gunfire and both are killed. The others arrive to find a zombie baby, which they kill immediately.
Concluding that staying in the mall is not a long-term choice, the group decides to escape. They plan to get to the local marina and travel on Steve's yacht to an island on Lake Michigan. They reinforce two shuttle buses in the parking garage and pack weapons and provisions on them. They also plan to pick up Andy. They strap food and a walkie-talkie onto the dog, Chips, and lower him into the parking lot. Chips gets into Andy's store safely, but a zombie follows through the dog door. Nicole, worrying about Chips, crashes the truck into the gun store and is trapped by a zombified Andy. Kenneth, Michael, Tucker, Terry, and CJ reach the gun store via the sewers and kill Andy, rescuing Nicole. They grab ammunition and go back to the mall. When Tucker falls and breaks his legs, CJ mercy kills him. Once inside,they are unable to lock the door, forcing a premature evacuation.
Everyone boards the buses. When fighting the horde, Glen loses control of a chainsaw, accidentally killing himself and Monica. Blood splatters on the windshield, causing the bus to crash. Surviving the crash, Steve is killed by a zombie. While several others looks for survivors, Ana kills undead Steve and retrieves his boat keys. After taking the remaining bus to the marina, CJ sacrifices himself so the others can escape. Michael reveals a bite wound and kills himself as Ana, Kenneth, Nicole, Terry, and Chips flee on the yacht.
The movie end with footage from Steve's camcorder. It shows the group running out of supplies before finally arriving at an island. There, they are pursued by a swarm of zombies. The camcorder is dropped, recording dozens of zombies chasing them, leaving their fate unknown.
4/5 (7/10)
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