Daylight's End (2016)
2016
Action / Fantasy / Horror / Sci-Fi
Daylight's End (2016)
2016
Action / Fantasy / Horror / Sci-Fi
Plot summary
Lone drifter Rourke (Johnny Strong) arrives at a deserted gas station in a car equipped with makeshift armor. He explores the area and discovers an unlocked deep freezer with something growling inside. He quickly locks it, and precedes to hook one end of a chain to it and the other end to his car. With his car, he drags it out of the gas station and shoots the lock. A female creature tumbles out, and screams as the sun torches her. He stares at her before driving away.Arriving at a deserted city, he decides to explore on foot. Looking for something. After awhile, he came upon a large building. Dead bodies litter the rooms. Cautiously searching the area, he immediately fires at a shadowy figure, which was a dead body. A trap. Creatures began to swarm him from every direction.On a rooftop, in the safety of the sun, a shirtless Rourke carves several marks into his rifle. His kill numbers. Nearby, singing followed by a police siren captures his attention.Sam (Chelsea Edmundson), and her group of scouts, exit the police car and approach the singing woman sitting in the middle of the road. Mike is immediately killed as a band of marauders attack. After a firefight, everyone but Sam is killed. She is outnumbered, and her ammo is dry. With the intention of taking what they want, and raping her, they surround her. She pleads with them. The leader pulls his pants down. But Rourke arrives just in time, and engages them. All the marauders are killed, but the leader is badly wounded. The leader begs for his life, and reveals that he is from Austin, and that the girl was treated very nicely. With Austin as his new destination, Rourke walks away.With her savior leaving, Sam approaches the woman that was used as bait. Her name is Annabelle. She carries a baby doll as if it were a real baby. She was found by the marauders five days back, and they took her in as part of their group. The two girls catch up with Rourke, and plead with him to take her back to her camp.Arriving at Dallas, the sun began to go down. Soon, darkness will blanket the city. Needing to hurry, and desperate to get through the city, he has Sam yell out directions, as the creatures come out of hiding. She contacted Ethan (Louis Mandylor) vie radio. Inside the police station, Ethan sounded the alarm to arm up and get to the garage. Once there, they headed outside in formation, and provided cover fire as the car arrived, with creatures hot on their tail. As they entered the garage, Rourke noticed a familiar face among the vampiric creatures. He was stopped from running back outside.Once inside the station, Rourke is introduced to Frank (Lance Henriksen), the leader of the Police Station camp. Sam reveals that her team of scouts were all killed by marauders, and that Rourke saved her. Rourke is revealed to have been from New York, and has driven alone from the Bronx to Texas, all while hunting the creatures. With tensions high, the paranoid Dugan accuses Rourke of being part of the marauders that killed the scout, causing Mike's brother, Chris, to try and attack him. Before things get worse, Sam reveals shocking news: the scouts found a cargo plane outside of Fair Creek.Sam shows Frank and the group where the plane is on a map. She also showed them the picture she took. Vince, a pilot, agrees that it could fly and carry them all to a save haven in the desert. Their plan is to survive the night, and leave at the crack of dawn. Frank walks over to Rourke, and plainly tells him that he doesn't trust him, and to held over his weapons. But before another fight can erupt, this time with guns, Sam steps in and asks Rourke to do as Frank says. As he relinquishes his weapons, Frank tells him he must be locked in a cell as a precaution.Ethan, Frank's son, leads Rourke to his cell, and reveals that Frank was the "Chief of Detectives when detectives still mattered." He reveals that their original plan was to hold out in the station, build up defenses and just wait the plague out. But it was a mistake, and they need a plane. He also learned that the big one in camo, the Alpha, just arrived in the city. Different than the others, and only watches. The creatures gather at a nearby Hotel.At night, he is shocked awake by a nightmare, and sees that Sam is watching him. She reveals that she was engaged to Ethan's younger brother Evan. During the plague, he told her to hide in the bathroom. But when the bathroom door opened, he wasn't Evan anymore. That's when Ethan arrived, and was forced to kill his own brother. Sam reveals that she noticed recognition on Rourke's face when he saw the Alpha. "Yeah, he took something from me..." he said, looking at a scar on his arm that spells out 'Katie'. "And I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get it back."In the security room, the camera feeds cut out, leaving them blind.Meanwhile, a creature sneaks in and heads to the cells, where it kills Rourke's guard. It roars at Rourke before rushing off. Using a hidden tool in his sock, he picks the cell's lock. In another area of the police station, Harker is attacked by a creature. Vlad, Sam and Ethan came to his rescue, but the beast ran off.Chased by a large beast, a group of women and children lock themselves in a large cell. The creature, with supernatural strength, bent the cell bars and was almost through, until Rourke ends him with a double barrel shotgun to the head. Frank and the rest arrive, curious as to how he escaped his cell, but thankful for the extra help. With no more uninvited guests, everyone regroups. Harker fails to hide his bite, and with everyone ready to shoot him, he pleads for his daughter to leave the room. Just as he starts to turn, Frank shoots him in the head.Dawn arrives, and the group prepares to leave. But with the garage door not working, they exit through the front entrance and come upon the cause of the noise at night; a pile of cars blocking the garage exit. Once back inside, they debate on a new plan. Moving the cars would take too much time, and the creatures would move them back once night arrives. They decide to try to at least find some working cars that can carry them all. But Rourke's plan makes them pause. "Take out their leader." He revealed that he's done it before, and the creatures turn on each other without an Alpha. Both Sam and Frank are distrustful of the idea.Even so, Drew, Chris, Ethan and Vlad decide to join Rourke. Bishop tells them if things go south, head for the marker he set, so he could provide cover fire with his sniper. While the group head out to kill the Alpha, the others try to find working vehicles. It's revealed that Drew was arrested by Frank for DUI right when the plague started. And that Vlad was found wondering the city half-naked and starving to death after him and some Russian commandos hijacked a plane and crashed it into Miami.Arriving at the destination, they head into the hotel, and traverse the dark corners until reaching the basement. Many creatures are sleeping in the dark. With the plan being to set charges at both exits, and bury the beasts under all the debris. The other exit lies on the other side of the sleeping horde. Drew was quick to volunteer. As Drew makes it to the other end, he is killed by the hidden Alpha, who vanishes out the other exit after waking the horde. With a swarm on their tail, Vlad sets off the charge, taking out several of the creatures, and causing a loud explosion. They realize that Chris has gotten separated, but before they could locate him, a swarm charges at them. Vlad tells them to go while he distracts them, and leads them away. But after awhile, Vlad gets cornered, and running out of strength after fighting one after another. He detonates a grenade, killing himself and taking a few with him.Ethan and Rourke make it to the safety of the rooftops. The Alpha and others end their pursuit of them, and vanish from sight. Fearing they're after Chris, they radio him. Sam and Frank listen in as Chris dies. They realize that Chris has the ropes needed to rappel. He's a floor below them. Ethan then notices something, the Alpha is after Rourke. Knowing that, Rourke decides to find the Alpha while Ethan finds Chris. He reaches Chris body, but when he grabs the rope, Chris attacks him, forcing him to kill him. Meanwhile, Rourke confronts the Alpha, only to be forced to retreat. Reuniting with Ethan, the duo fight their way to the roof. Ethan notices that Chris managed to bite him. Slowly turning, he sat on the edge of an empty pool. Rourke kills him, then rappels down the building, just as night begins to fall.Ethan and Rourke make it to the safety of the rooftop, where they radio a badly injured Chris who has the rope they need. The other survivors listen in as Chris dies. Ethan realizes that the Alpha has been after Rourke the entire time. With Rourke going after the Alpha, Ethan reaches Chris' body, but as he grabs the rope, an infected Chris attacks him, forcing Ethan to kill him. Reuniting with Rourke, the duo head to the roof, where Ethan realizes he has been bitten. Rourke kills him, then rappels down the building, just as night begins to fall.Sam and Dugan both find working cars, but it's enough to fit everyone. With darkness surrounding them, they begin to lose hope. Dugan even wanting to take their pilot and leave everyone. Burton arrives in a bus. But the cheering didn't last, as Rourke appeared with a horde of creatures on his tail. Everyone retreated into the station, minus Dugan, who hid behind a car. With the creatures now swarming into the station, the group manage to barricade the door to the stairwell, trapping the creatures on the first floor. Frank arrives and blames Rourke for getting his son killed, but is held back as he pulls a gun. He walks away back to his office. Rourke and the other head for the security room, and notice that Dugan has survived, and is attempting to make a run for it in a car. The group watch as a swarm of creatures pursue him. Rourke suggest using him as bait. It worked on all the creatures but the Alpha. As Dugan drives away, he ends up crashing into an alley. Surrounded, and with no other option, he shoots himself.Talking with Frank in his office, Rourke rallies him to fight for his people. Grabbing his weapon, Frank gathers his group and spoke about what's worth fighting for. And that is people. After the speech, Sam asks Rourke about Katie. He reveals that the Alpha turned her.As Rourke guards the barricade door, he drifts off and flashes back to Katie and her makeshift grave. Once again, he is shocked awake. But this time by a swarm of beasts breaking through the door. The Alpha watches as the creatures chase Rourke up the stairs and onto the second floor. Those armed took turns shooting at the creatures, leading them into different directions. But the swarm became too much. Burton and his wife are killed when they get trapped in the cells. Bishop is killed next when he gets surrounded and trapped in smalls room. Frank creates an ambush, using his cell phone to draw some into a trap, but is quickly overrun. Rourke arrives and hears Frank struggling. But before he could help, the Alpha sends several creatures after him, forcing him to run.He engages the Alpha. It's revealed the Alpha was a soldier, still clad in Kevlar armor and a military uniform. After stabbing the Alpha, Rourke leads him to the roof, and into the sunlight. With the Alpha dead, Rourke watches as Sam and the civilians emerge from the bus.Back at his car, Rourke is approached by Sam who was hoping he'd go with them. But with more of the creatures still out in the world, he tells her to "Hang on to that hope, Sam." With than, he goes in one direction, while the other group goes in another.