During the
Vietnam War,
U.S. Army Captain Norman Hopper leads a rescue mission of American
POWs. Two of the prisoners, Charlie Bukowski and Tommy Thompson, have resorted to
cannibalism after months of starvation. When Hopper rescues them, the prisoners bites him. In present-day
Atlanta, Bukowski is released from a
mental hospital. He calls Hopper by phone, inviting his old comrade out for a drink. The call comes in at an inopportune moment, as a young neighbor girl named Mary is trying to seduce him, so he turns down the invitation. Hopper falls for her charms, and he bites her. He gets into his car. Mary reveals that she enjoyed the bite. Meanwhile, an armed Bukowski barricades himself inside a
flea market, killing a security guard and a
biker in the process. Hopper convinces Bukowski to surrender to the police, but in the process, Bukowski bites an officer. In custody, Bukowski is reunited with Thompson. Hopper instructs his wife, Jane, to wait for him in the house and walks in front of Mary's window. He admits to the incident and his wish to bite a fellow human to his wife. Bukowski and Thompson fight the guards, and Bukowski bites nurse Helen's leg. Dr. Phil Mendez calls Jane and tells her that Hopper might be experiencing the same symptoms and that she should bring him to the hospital for a checkup. He listens to the conversation, then leaves the house. The police get the coroner's report on the mall shootout, and it contains warnings of cannibalism. Jane meets Dr. Mendez, who has been trying to seduce her before. They are at a fancy piano bar, and speculate that the veterans are suffering from an
epigenetic craving for human flesh brought about by extreme
PTSD, which has mutated into a virus that is transferred via bite. Hopper voluntarily goes to the hospital and talks to a doctor about his symptoms and his well-founded suspicions about Dr. Mendez's intentions with his wife. The doctor also takes a blood sample. Meanwhile, the bitten police officer and Nurse Helen both suddenly develop cannibalistic urges and kill their colleagues. Helen frees Bukowski and Thompson, and Hopper kills a staff member who tries to notify the authorities. Hopper and Bukowski leave the hospital in an ambulance. When the phone rings, Jane returns to an empty house and searches for Hopper. Dr. Mendez notifies her that Hopper has disappeared. The police are on high alert and looking for the escapees. The escapees break into a tire shop and find a gun. Bukowski uses an
angle grinder to slice up a victim. Thompson steals a station wagon and leaves the infected with a pistol and a bag of snacks. They get confronted by the biker gang that Bukowski previously fought at the flea market. They run away on foot and escape into the sewer just as the police arrive on the scene. The police coordinate a blockade of the sewer exits to trap the suspects. Jane cannot make a telephone call and goes next door to ask Mary's aunt to use the phone. Mary and her brother greet her and let her use the phone to call Dr. Mendez, but the aunt is nowhere to be seen. The children behaved suspiciously and asked her why her phone was not working, but they let her leave. Helen gets attacked by a rat just as the cannibals are about to slip away from the police. She ends up being shot along with a cop. The police kill Bukowski while Hopper is wounded. Thompson goes berserk and is killed with a
flamethrower. Hopper crawls out of the sewer and leaves the scene. Jane tries to leave the house in her car but cannot start it. She hears strange noises and calls for Hopper. She finds him in his dress uniform. Hopper is hurt and dying, and Dr. Mendez walks into the house. Jane runs over to him, but he bites her as Hopper shoots him. Jane points his gun at her head, and two shots are heard just as the police arrive on the scene. The infected children watch as the bodies are being hauled away. The boy asks Mary if they will be looking for their aunt. Her hand is seen inside the fridge. ==Cast==