| Director | Neil Marshall |
|---|---|
| Budget | £17 million |
| Box office | $22.5 million |
In 2008, the Reaper Virus ravages Scotland. Unable to contain the outbreak or cure the infected, the UK government erects a 30-foot wall isolating Scotland. The quarantine succeeds, but the extreme method turns the country into a pariah state.
In 2035, authorities discover several people in London infected with Reaper. Satellite imagery spots survivors in Scotland, indicating the existence of a cure or immunity. To prevent an outbreak, Prime Minister John Hatcher orders Captain Nelson to send a team to Scotland to investigate, pointing at famed medical researcher Dr. Kane as a likely creator of the cure.
Nelson assembles a team led by Major Eden Sinclair, who hails from Scotland and was separated from her mother during the evacuation. Other team members include Sergeant Norton, Sinclair's deputy; virologists Dr. Stirling and Dr. Talbot; and several DDS troopers.
The team crosses the wall to Glasgow. While searching a hospital for survivors, they are ambushed by a group of marauders. Norton and Stirling escape, but the team suffers heavy casualties. Sinclair and Talbot are captured by a gang of brutal cannibals led by the power-hungry Sol, who plans to use Sinclair as leverage to cross the wall and invade England. Talbot is roasted and eaten. With the help of Cally, another prisoner, Sinclair escapes and kills Viper, Sol's second-in-command. She finds Norton and Stirling, and they flee on a train. Cally reveals that she and Sol are Kane's children. She also explains that Sol overthrew the previous government with his army of insurgents and refuted Kane's rule.
In London, the Reaper epidemic continues to spread. As he is being evacuated from the city, Hatcher is infected by an attempted assassin. Michael Canaris, Hatcher's Machiavellian advisor, uses it as an excuse to quarantine Hatcher and take command as the de facto Prime Minister. Hatcher commits suicide rather than succumb to the virus.
After leaving the train, Sinclair's group is captured by soldiers armed with archaic weapons and armor. They are taken to a castle and imprisoned by Kane, who reveals that there is no cure, but that people have developed an immunity to the Reaper Virus. After being left behind during the Scottish quarantine and losing his wife, Kane became a twisted and sadistic feudal lord who blamed science for the downfall of civilization. He sentences Sinclair, Cally, Norton, and Stirling to death. Sinclair is pitted against Telamon, Kane's executioner, in a duel. Sinclair wins, killing Telamon before escaping with the others.
They find an underground facility in the forest that contains various equipment and vehicles, including an intact Bentley. Before they can escape, Kane's knights arrive and kill Norton. Sinclair, Cally, and Stirling escape the facility but are soon intercepted by Sol and his gang. After a high-speed chase, Sol and many of his men are killed.
Sinclair calls Canaris and tells him she has the cure. Canaris arrives via helicopter, and Sinclair bargains with him to take Cally and Stirling back to London, where Stirling can use samples of Cally's blood to manufacture a vaccine. Canaris admits to Sinclair that he plans to hold back any cure until Reaper successfully eliminates much of the underclass in the form of social cleansing. Unbeknownst to Canaris, Sinclair secretly records the conversation using her bionic eye.
Instead of returning to London, Sinclair goes to Glasgow to search for her mother, but discovers she died during the quarantine. Nelson arrives, and Sinclair gives him the recording of Canaris' admission. Canaris is exposed on television, upon which he fearfully realizes that his career has ended and conviction is inevitable. Sinclair remains in Scotland and uses Sol's severed head as a means to assume leadership over his band of marauders.