Army of the Dead

The curtain opens on a convoy transporting an enigmatic package from the mysterious Area 51, its contents shrouded in secrecy. As the soldiers speculate about the payload's nature, a newlywed couple drives down the same desolate stretch of road, their euphoria interrupted by a sudden and intense distraction. Their vehicle crashes into the truck, unleashing a catastrophic chain reaction that sends both drivers careening towards destruction. In the aftermath, the soldiers approach the package, only to be confronted by an enormous, gruesome zombie - Zeus (Richard Cetrone) - who systematically dismembers them with unrelenting ferocity. Meanwhile, the two hapless drivers are reanimated into the undead, their jaws and limbs torn asunder by Zeus' merciless grasp.

As the days unfold, Vegas becomes a war zone, overrun by hordes of ravenous zombies. A group of battle-hardened mercenaries descends upon the city, hell-bent on eradicating the undead threat. Amidst the carnage, Scott Ward (Dave Bautista), one of these seasoned warriors, finds himself working at a dingy diner when he's approached by reclusive billionaire casino owner Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada). Tanaka presents Scott with an audacious proposition: retrieve $200 million buried beneath his hotel in the heart of Vegas before the government unleashes a nuclear strike to eradicate the city and its zombie infestation. The catch? Tanaka offers Scott and his team a paltry $50 million, which they can split among themselves.

Meanwhile, Scott's daughter Kate (Ella Purnell) volunteers at a quarantine camp, where she befriends Geeta (Huma Qureshi), a woman desperate to secure funds to bribe the corrupt guards and escape the camps with her two children. Geeta seeks out Lilly, alias "The Coyote" (Nora Arnezeder), a cunning smuggler who can facilitate their escape from the city. However, their plans are foiled by the sadistic Burt Cummings (Theo Rossi), a volatile guard hell-bent on tormenting these women.

As the stakes escalate and the clock ticks down to doomsday, Scott must assemble a team of trusted allies to embark on this perilous mission, navigating treacherous terrain, treacherous characters, and a city on the brink of annihilation. The outcome hangs precariously in the balance as the fate of Vegas - and those within its walls - teeters on the edge of destruction.

Scott's troubled conscience has been weighed down by the unbearable memory of slaying his wife in front of Kate, an event that has kept him apart from her for years. Tanaka's plea to reunite forces Scott to confront his demons and reluctantly agree to embark on a perilous mission. He begins by assembling a team of old allies, including Maria Cruz (Ana de la Reguera), who trades her wrench for a weapon, and Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick), a retired soldier now tending to the elderly at a retirement home. They then track down Ludwig Dieter (Matthias Schweighofer), an expert safecracker, helicopter pilot Marianne Peters (Tig Notaro), and Mikey Guzman (Raul Castillo), a seasoned zombie hunter.

The team convenes with Tanaka to discuss their plan of attack. However, their meeting is interrupted by the arrival of Damon (Colin Jones) and Chambers (Samantha Win), who bring an air of unease with them. When Damon discovers the true nature of their mission - dealing with the undead - he promptly exits the operation. Undeterred, Tanaka supplies the team with blueprints for the job and dispatches Martin (Garrett Dillahunt), his trusted lieutenant, to guide them.

As they approach the city's entrance, Scott is reunited with Kate in a tense and emotional encounter. The reunion serves as a catalyst for Kate's decision to join the team, despite Scott's initial reservations. Lilly, who had been working under Geeta's guidance, is recruited, but her presence sparks controversy when Kate learns that Geeta had entrusted Lilly with a task and she failed to return from the city. A heated confrontation ensues, culminating in Kate delivering a brutal punch to Lilly's face.

Lilly, however, remains determined to prove herself and convinces Cummings to join their ranks. As they venture deeper into Vegas, they come across Valentine, a ferocious zombie tiger guarding the perimeter. The team takes cover as Lilly makes her move, shooting Cummings in the leg and binding him with rope. Her sinister intentions are revealed when she confesses that she plans to offer Cummings as a sacrifice to the alpha zombies, seeking retribution for his heinous crimes against women at the camps.

The team flees while the Queen of the Zombies, The Bride (Athena Perample), inspects Cummings before she and another zombie drag him away to the Olympus casino. Kate believes that Geeta might be held captive within its walls. Her suspicions prove accurate when Cummings is presented before Zeus, a monstrous alpha zombie, who transforms the cowering guard into one of his own kind with a devastating bite.

As the team ventures deeper into the underground tunnels, Lilly's cautionary warnings about hibernating zombies prove prophetic. The group's stealthy approach is compromised when Chambers (accidentally) stumbles upon one of the undead, prompting a gruesome sequence of head stabbings as they try to silently dispatch multiple zombies. However, their efforts are ultimately undone by the last zombie's arm, which triggers a chain reaction that awakens the entire horde. The team springs into action, unleashing a hail of gunfire against the shambling corpses, with Chambers managing to take down a few before being overwhelmed and bitten. In a desperate bid to save his teammates, Guzman remorsefully targets one of Chambers' gas tanks, triggering an explosion that incinerates her and the surrounding zombies, allowing the others to escape.

As they regroup further in, the team uncovers disturbing blueprints revealing Tanaka's true motives: he's been sacrificing previous teams for his own financial gain. Martin vehemently denies any knowledge of these atrocities, but his colleagues are skeptical. The group splits up to tackle various tasks, with Martin and Lilly conducting a perimeter check, Peters struggling to keep the helicopter airborne, Dieter and Vanderohe navigating the vault, and Scott and Kate working together to restore power. Amidst this chaos, Scott and Kate take a moment to reflect on their complicated past, with Kate revealing that her estrangement from Scott stemmed from his absence during a difficult time in her life – the aftermath of her mother's passing.

Meanwhile, Dieter's exploration of the vault yields a harrowing discovery: multiple skeletons of previous mercenaries, stark reminders of Tanaka's ruthless efficiency. Outside, Martin and Lilly stumble upon The Bride, but their encounter is short-lived as Martin overpowers and beheads her, deeming her head worth more than any treasure they might find in the vault. Later, Zeus rides by on his zombie steed, mourns The Bride's decapitated body, and cradles their unborn zombie child before summoning the other alphas to pursue the humans.

As tensions escalate, Vanderohe and Guzman devise a cunning plan to clear a path through the treacherous tunnels. They lure a zombie into a trap using a microwaved hand, which sets off booby traps and creates a safe route for their teammates. Simultaneously, the group learns that the nuclear launch has been accelerated, leaving them with mere hours to secure the loot and escape before sundown. Amidst this urgency, Peters must scramble to repair the malfunctioning helicopter, ensuring they can make a timely getaway.

As Dieter (character name not provided) successfully unlocks the vault, the team's collective enthusiasm is palpable. With shares distributed among them, they begin to file out of the underground chamber, their jubilation momentarily interrupted only by Maria's candid confession to Scott (character name not provided): she accepted the mission for reasons far more personal than pecuniary gain. Scott reveals his own regrets about the rift that had developed between them in the aftermath of the outbreak, but it appears they are willing to give their relationship another shot – just as an elevator full of undead invaders descends into chaos.

Meanwhile, Martin (character name not provided) seizes the opportunity to strike while Lilly is distracted, trapping her and making off with The Bride's head. His true intentions are revealed: Tanaka's plan all along was to harness Lilly's DNA to create a legion of mind-controlled zombies. As Dieter and Vanderohe valiantly fend off the hordes near the vault, Dieter meets his untimely demise, leaving Vanderohe stranded inside when the vault doors slam shut.

Panic sets in as Guzman falls prey to the very monsters they sought to escape. In a desperate bid to clear their path, he triggers a series of grenades, sacrificing himself along with the zombies that had been closing in. Martin's ill-fated attempt to make off with The Bride's head ultimately proves his undoing, as Valentine (character name not provided) discovers him and exacts a gruesome revenge.

As Scott and Lilly manage to reach their fixed helicopter, they're confronted by Zeus (character name not provided). With Lilly wielding The Bride's head as a makeshift shield, she cleverly distracts Zeus long enough for Scott and Peters (character name not provided) to make their escape. In a final act of defiance, Lilly uses the head to deflect Zeus' bar attack before allowing herself to be impaled – but not before ensuring that The Bride's head is safely out of reach.

As Scott's suspicions intensify, he deduces that Kate had ventured to the Olympus in a desperate bid to locate Geeta, and he persuades Peters to join him in a quest to find her. Unbeknownst to them, Kate has already stumbled upon Geeta and another woman, Sadie, only to be confronted by the undead Cummings, who mercilessly dispatches Sadie before a horde of zombies descends upon the scene. Kate's quick thinking allows her to take out Cummings with a well-placed headshot as she flees with Geeta in tow. The trio soon finds themselves face-to-face with Scott, who valiantly holds off Zeus with a grenade, securing their escape to the rooftop. However, Peters' sudden about-face sees her reappearing on the scene, and together they manage to board a helicopter as the nuclear strike on Vegas unfolds below. Amidst the chaos, Zeus manages to latch onto the chopper, engaging Scott in a fierce struggle before the pilot makes a hasty retreat, narrowly avoiding the blast's impact. In the aftermath, the chopper crashes, claiming Peters and Geeta's lives while leaving Kate shaken but alive. As Scott succumbs to his injuries, he imparts enough funds to ensure Geeta's children escape the refugee camp, his final act of humanity before passing away. Kate, overcome with grief, utters a poignant farewell to her dying father before delivering a mercy killing when he reanimates as a zombie. Just as she's reduced to tears, another helicopter materializes to retrieve her.

Meanwhile, Vanderohe emerges from the ruins of Vegas, clutching his share of the fortune stashed in the vault. He commandeers a vehicle and makes his way to an airport, where he rents a private plane, toasting to his good fortune with the stewardesses. However, as he sips his drink, a sense of unease washes over him, and he excuses himself to visit the lavatory. Upon inspecting his arm, he discovers a telltale bite mark, and the pilot's announcement that they're about to land in Mexico City only adds to his growing trepidation.