| Director | John Erick Dowdle |
|---|---|
| Genre | action film, thriller film |
| Runtime | 103 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $5 million |
| Box office | $54.4 million |
In an unnamed South East Asian country, the Prime Minister closes a deal with a representative of Cardiff, an American company specializing in water systems. After the representative leaves, a group of armed rebels initiate a coup d'état and assassinate the Prime Minister.
Seventeen hours earlier, Jack Dwyer, a new Cardiff employee, is already airborne en route to the country with his wife Annie and their young daughters Lucy and Briegel "Beeze", where they meet British traveller Hammond. 11 hours later after touchdown Hammond and his local friend, nicknamed Kenny Rogers, give the Dwyers a ride to their hotel.
The next morning, Jack leaves the hotel to buy a newspaper and inadvertently finds himself in the middle of a confrontation between armed protesters and riot police. The two forces clash violently as Jack makes his escape, and the protestors gain the upper hand. Jack witnesses rebels executing an American outside his hotel. A rebel soldier then spots Jack, forcing him to quickly climb a fire escape and enter the hotel through a window. The rebels break through the main hotel entrance and begin slaughtering the staff and guests.
Jack makes it back to the room but learns that Lucy is downstairs in the swimming pool. He goes back down to get her just as the rebels force their way into the pool area, Jack returns with Lucy and they all make their way up to the roof to join the other surviving guests. Hundreds of rebels are gathered at the base of the hotel chanting "Blood for water", and Jack learns the rebels are protesting against foreign corporations' control of their water supply. Suddenly, a helicopter appears holding armed rebels who immediately open fire. The Dwyers run for cover as the helicopter becomes entangled in electrical wires and crashes. As another group of rebels break through the barricaded door onto the roof, Jack and his family jump onto the roof of another building next to the hotel.
The Dwyers hide in the building until nightfall. Annie finds a map of the city and decides they need to make their way to the American embassy. They take clothes from the dead office workers to disguise themselves as locals and then make their way through the anarchy ridden streets on a stolen moped. Upon arriving at the embassy, they discover it has been overrun and seemingly deserted. A small group of rebels spot the family and they flee, taking shelter in a Buddhist shrine garden nearby.
The rebels enter the compound and, as Jack attempts to take one of their guns, Annie comes out of hiding to draw attention away from him. Jack tries to shoot the leader, Samnang, but the gun is unloaded. The rebels then beat and restrain Jack as Samnang prepares to rape Annie. Hammond and Kenny arrive and shoot most of the rebels, though Samnang escapes. The two men then take the Dwyers to a nearby safe house; Jack asks Hammond if he is 'British CIA,' he responds, "something like that." Hammond had been tasked with convincing poor governments to make expensive infrastructure deals with Western companies. Unable to repay their debts, the companies would then be able to control the poorer governments, leaving the citizens to rebel in anger.
Hammond tells Jack they must get to the nearby river where they can float downstream to the Vietnamese border and claim their right of asylum. During the night, the group is attacked by rebels from a nearby guard tower; Kenny is killed and Hammond is severely wounded. Hammond then sacrifices himself to stop a rebel following them in a truck. Near the riverbank, Annie hides with the children while Jack finds a fisherman, and trades his watch and shoes for a boat. Samnang reappears leading another small group. They capture Jack and prepare to execute him. Lucy runs to her father and Samnang catches her; he puts a gun in her hands and another to her head, ordering her to kill Jack or he will kill her. Annie attacks the group, bludgeoning Samnang to death with an oar. Jack takes the gun from Lucy and kills the remaining rebels.
The Dwyers paddle downriver toward the Vietnamese border. They are spotted by another group of rebels, but since the border is in sight, they keep paddling. The Vietnamese border guards challenge them, ordering them not to cross the border, but as soon the boat crosses the border marker, the Vietnamese border guards turn their guns on the rebels, warning them that any acts of aggression will be interpreted as an act of war; the rebels relent and walk away. The Dwyers embrace one another, having finally survived their ordeal, and Jack later recovers in a local hospital.