FRIDAY. The plot centers upon a man named Jonathan, 38, who has been out of work for several months and on the verge of a separation from his wife Ellie. Before this he had worked for Social Services until suffering from a nervous breakdown due to exhaustion and alcoholism. At a psychological research clinic, Jonathan alludes to feeling suicidal during a meeting with a colleague called Graham. Jonathan on the drive home from London is stuck in traffic when he witnesses the death of a young girl after she walks into traffic. Incredibly the girl, after first being hit by a car and despite her injuries, runs along the road before being killed by a lorry. When Jonathan arrives home he finds the house empty but finds some divorce papers left on a table.
SATURDAY The next morning Ellie is in the conservatory working on a clay sculpture. They argue about the letter and then Jonathan explains about the accident. Ellie leaves to work at the Health Spa which she owns but agrees to drive Jonathan into town. Outside they hear an argument from next door between their neighbors. Megan, 17, storms out the house while her stepmother shouts after her. At a boxing gym in East London three boys discuss their plans for a robbery. Denny, 14, has obtained a handgun for his two friends, Lewis and Duma. Denny lives with his mother in a council flat and his friends think he is “slow” because of his dyslexia.
Megan has problems with low self esteem because of the difficulties she has with her parents. Megan’s father, William, is a strict patriarch who runs an export business. Sometimes he is violently abusive towards his family and step-mother, Janine, who is a bitter woman obsessed with maintaining the household. Megan has a brother called Paul who is manipulative and tries to compete against her. Megan finds it difficult to relate to people and feels embarrassed due to her shame. She arrives late for her drama class at college where the students are rehearsing Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The teacher punishes Megan by making her perform a scene where Hamlet humiliates Ophelia. Megan feels distraught but agrees to go for a drink that evening with her friend Catherine.
At the night club the two girls meet a boy who gives them Ketamine tablets to swallow but who also spikes Megan’s drink with ecstasy. When the drugs take effect the rooms starts to spin, faces begin to blur, colours are changing and everything is going out of focus. Megan rushes to the toilet and attempts to calm herself but meets a girl vomiting in a sink. Megan steps forward to see if she can help but notices that the girl’s face is deformed. The girl begins convulsing and attacks Megan. The two wrestle on the floor until the sick girl hits her head and falls unconscious. Megan runs out the washroom to find Catherine and escape.
SUNDAY Duma, Lewis and Denny arrive at the shop they plan to rob. In the shop a tall man in a long coat behaves suspiciously as he attempts to chat with random strangers while his deformed hand steals things. Duma and Lewis, wearing scarves over their faces, take the gun out and threaten the cashier. Denny stands by the exit. The man in the coat fights with Lewis who rips the coat off to reveal the man holding shotgun. The man shoots Lewis while Denny ducks behind a trolley and Duma runs away. The man’s body is covered with grotesque limbs. Denny escapes but is then arrested by police. At the police station while Jonathan is giving a statement he recognizes a police officer called Martin. Martin talks about the events that have been happening, and that they arrested a boy called Denny who Jonathan worked with in social services. Before Martin allows Jonathan to escort Denny back home he shows Jonathan the body of the man who was shot during the robbery. It does not appear to be human.
At Ellie’s health spa, her friend Charlotte is giving massage to a rich client. Charlotte finds the man attractive and they argue when he asks if he can pay for sex. She refuses the money but accepts his proposal. While having sex the man suddenly grows tentacles, but despite the man’s grotesque appearance he is not dangerous and the women manage to lock the door before escaping. Megan is at home having a Sunday roast with her family. Her father William is in a rage and no one realizes he is mutating. Then during a domestic row with the stepmother Janine he takes an axe and kills her. Megan climbs out onto the roof to call for help. Ellie arrives home and hears Megan shouting next door. She enters the house and finds William in the garden building a petrol fire to burn the bodies. William chases Ellie into the house but is rescued by Megan who knocks him unconscious with a bat.
While Jonathan is escorting Denny on the London underground their train derails and the passengers start to panic. The passengers start to mutate but the two manage to escape above ground while the city descends into chaos. There are mobs of people carrying weapons to defend themselves or attack anyone who has become infected. Policemen carrying machine guns try to control the crowds. Denny and Jonathan hide but are apprehended until Denny hijacks a truck to make a getaway. As they drive away, tanks and soldiers wearing chemical suits appear and start to shoot people indiscriminately. They drive to Jonathan’s house where they find Megan and Ellie hiding. Together they travel to an isolated farm in the country. On the way they are surprised to find a young escaped elephant wandering on the road and eating leaves from the trees. They stop to take pictures before continuing their journey. When they get to the cottage they spend time recovering and visiting the forest.
MONDAY/TUESDAY A squad of roaming soldiers discovers the teenagers playing in the forest and then capture them. Denny fights with a soldier and is shot and killed. The soldiers drive them to a military base and put them in quarantine. Jonathan is taken to headquarters where he meets Graham (his friend and psychologist) who apologizes and explains that the virus is an engineered biological weapon he helped to create. Jonathan is then locked away in a cell. During a decontamination shower several soldiers notice strange marks on their bodies and realize that they must be infected. The soldiers begin mutating and attacking each another. The emergency siren goes off and the soldiers evacuate. Several mutant soldiers drag Jonathan, Megan and Ellie to a room where they want to abuse the women but Ellie manages to escape. When Jonathan is being tortured he transforms into a mutant and kills the soldiers. Mutant Jonathan carries Megan’s unconscious body outside where he finds Ellie. Ellie points a gun at him but Jonathan pacifies her by putting Megan in a truck for them to escape. After Ellie drives away Jonathan goes back inside to confront Graham. Graham has turned into a mutant but persuades Jonathan not to kill him. When Jonathan walks outside into the sunshine he is human again.
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