It opens with a fork in a dirt road, and then we see Alicia, Madison, and Travis being led through a field of dead people. It’s not immediately clear who they are – it could be the group from La Colonia, who were led by Nick and Luciana. Alicia, Madison, and Travis are being taken to to a military base, where they are separated. There are a lot of military vehicles and soldiers milling around. The base is fairly large and seems protected. Travis is taken to a lock-up area. We can hear someone being beaten – and maybe killed. A number is written on the guy’s forehead. Travis is weighed and his height noted (6’2″, 190 lbs). An older guy is taken away. Travis is left with the other prisoners. Travis looks around and spots Nick and Luciana also in the holding area – making it much more likely that the group of dead people at the beginning is the remnants of La Colonia. Nick is staring off into space and his gaze falls onto Travis.
credits
Soldiers come through the holding area and while they aren’t looking, Travis inches toward Nick and tells him Madison and Alicia are here too, although they have been taken elsewhere. Nick asks after Chris, and Travis’ sad look and silence is all he needs to know. Luciana asks if they saw anyone at the border and Travis says only the dead. Nick replies that he thought this place was a refugee camp. Travis wants to spring them out.
Alicia and Madison are in an office room at the military base. They try to escape through the ceiling. Alicia tells Madison that they shouldn’t be looking for Nick. Troy walks into the office to bring them tea. Madison and Alicia tell Troy that they aren’t a threat, and that they’re looking for Nick.
Troy wants to know why they were coming from Mexico. Madison says they had a friend. Troy says there are no Americans here. Madison asks about Troy’s mom and he says his mom passed. Madison apologizes for that. Alicia wants to know what happens after they’re processed. He says he’ll let them go.
Troy goes back to the shower area to see the dead guy with the number on his forehead. He has duct tape covering his mouth, so it looks like they’re waiting to see him turn. And he does turn. They’re calculating how long it takes for him to turn.
Troy comes up to Travis, and wants to know if he’s Mexican. Nick asks where his mom and Alicia are. Troy counters with “we aren’t savages”, meaning that they are. Travis says that Luciana is dying, but is told to sit down. Travis sits only after a gun is pointed at his head.
Madison is looking for a weapon, and Alicia provides her with a knive that she has hidden. Alicia is edgy in this scene. She’s probably still coming down from killing Andrés.
The door opens to the cell where Travis is being held. Steven, another prisoner says he can get them out. Nick, Travis, and Luciana are being taken to the showers, along with another man. They shoot the man, point blank.
Steve and Travis plot on how to escape. One of the soldiers looks directly at Travis but chooses two other guys to kill first. The soldiers shoot the men. We’re solidly in Nazi territory now – killing people in horrific ways to get horrific results, for “scientific reasons”.
Time passes, and it’s the next morning. Alicia sleeps on a couch and Madison sleeps in a chair while Troy writes in his note book.
Madison wakes up and asks what he’s writing, and he says just observations. She wants to know if they passed the processing. She wants to know if Travis passed too. He says there’s different criteria for everyone and then adds that he’s not a bad person. Madison tells Troy that she loves Travis, and that she loves his life more than her own.
The soldiers say that the dead have senses. Travis want to know if the rest of the soldiers know what the soldiers are doing in this room. He says they do. They say they’re doing it for science. Travis responds with, ah, murder for science.
Travis tells the soldier to kill him. He volunteers. He says that he’s Maori. They fight and Travis beats him. The rest of the group fight the soldiers as well and escape.
Troy wants Madison and Alicia to go with him, and then they all hear a shot and Troy leaves.
Down into a man hole go Nick and Luciana. The soldiers kill Steve and then turn him loose in the manhole to get Nick and Luciana after he turns. “Happy Hunting” the soldiers say before replacing the manhole cover.
More fuzzy focus and Travis is being dragged in to see Troy. Troy says that Madison and Alicia are fine and that he’s going to take them home and keep them safe. Travis wants to know what Troy is going to do with him and Troy responds that Travis is special and orders the others to take him out back. More with the fuzzy focus.
In the manhole, Luciana isn’t doing well because of her wounds, and she wants Nick to go on without her. Nick tells her in Spanish that he won’t leave her, but that they have to move.
Troy unlocks the office door where Madison and Alicia are being held, and sees an empty room. Madison then surprises him from behind. Both Madison and Alica attack. Madison stabs him with a spoon. Madison threatens to take his eye out, while she directs Alicia to go find Travis. Back in the manhole, Nick and Luciana break out and Nick sees an army of walkers headed his way. Yikes!
With Travis — the soldiers say that after the blood goes cold the walkers lose interest. They throw Travis in a pit of walkers, to see how long it all takes for Travis’ blood to go cold and for the walkers to lose interest in him. So now we have gladiator fights, but for science.
Madison leads Troy outside, spoon held at his eye. One false moves and he loses the eye. The soldiers have their guns aimed at Madison, clearly wanting to take her out, but they don’t want to kill Troy in the process.
Back to Travis in the pit. He’s a walker killing machine! He’s punching, he uses concrete blocks to good effect. He practically slices and dices, chops and scallops too.
Alicia is hiding under cars while she looks for Travis – who is still in the pen killing walkers. He continues to bash in brains and stabs with gusto. He manages to kill them all, but then the soldiers release the rest of their walkers – a whole boatload of them!
Madison yells that she wants her family. Troy’s brother, Jake, steps up and tells her he’ll find her family. She doesn’t kill Troy. Troy tells Jake that Travis is in the pit.
Back in the manhole tunnels, the walkers are headed toward Nick and Luciana – and so is Steve.
Alicia is searching a car but hears Nick. Alicia fights to pry off the man hole cover. Luciana manages to kill Steve, but then soldiers capture Alicia.
Covered in blood, Travis has again managed to killed all of the walkers, and he is pulled out of the pit. The soldiers take Alicia to Madison – and Nick too. Nick and Madison hug. Nick manages to hug Madison and Alicia. Travis just looks on, exhausted. He’s not part of the group hug.
Madison and her group just want to leave and pack and prepare to go. Jake says they should come to the ranch, it’s safe, and there are good people there. Madison is skeptical. She wants her guns, and so Jake goes off to get them. Madison tells Travis thank you. She also tells Travis she’s sorry about Chris. Travis says he’s okay now. He doesn’t look all that okay to me.
Troy is being patched up and Jake asks to talk to Troy alone. Jake gives Troy a hard time about killing the sick and the wounded. Apparently Troy is the bad egg and Jake comments that their dad had him come to the military base ‘to cast out one to save the many”. Harsh.
One of the sadistic guards is alone in the shower area and hears a noise behind the wall. Might be a wall of walkers behind there – after all, the water has to drain somewhere, and Nick managed to breach the sewer system…
Anyway, the sadistic soldier wants to investigate the noise, and opens the grate. He is instantly covered with a horde of rats, and then the walkers – who were indeed also back there – pull him inside of the wall, kind of folding him him the small opening in the wall. The base is now compromised. I’m left with a couple of thoughts — are rats afraid of walkers? I also have an image of rats and walkers together, sort of like rats and Nosferatu together. I like it.
More shots and then the walkers arrive out of door from the building that houses the showers. Everyone rushes to escape the base. Madison and Nick fight as many walkers as they can. There’s a big battle as the group fights the walkers and try to get to the helicopter. Travis carries Luciana to the helicopter because she’s practically unconscious at this point. Nick and Madison continue to fight walkers. Troy, with his bad eye, comes through for them and kills walkers. Again our group is separated as Alicia, Travis, and Luciana end up in the helicopter and Troy, Madison, and Nick end up in the truck.
They all abandon the base and head off toward the ranch. The base is now over run with the dead.
Nice aerial shot of the country side.