Army Of The Dead Review, Ending Explained

Army of the Dead is Zack Snyder’s latest film and a spiritual sequel to his 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake. The zombie film is Zack’s return to his roots after a long and controversial series of unsuccessful superhero films. Snyder co-wrote the screenplay with Shay Hatten and Joby Harold. The film has an ensemble cast consisting of Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Huma Qureshi and Garret Dillahunt. The film follows a squad of soldiers who attempt a casino heist in a zombie-infested Vegas. Snyder, his wife Deborah and Wesley Coller produced the film. Tom Holkenborg composed the music while Dody Dorn supervised the editing. The film fell to Netflix on May 21, 2021.

Dave Bautista stars as Scott Ward, leader of the Las Vengeance mercenary group and a chef today. Ella Purnell plays Scott’s estranged daughter Kate Ward. Omari Hardwick plays Vanderohe, a prominent member of the mercenary group. Ana de la Reguera plays Maria Cruz, a mechanic and Scott’s friend. Matthias Schweighöfer plays the robbery group’s hermitage, Ludwig Dieter. Nora Arnezeder plays the Coyote. Hiroyuki Sanada plays a billionaire and the mastermind behind the robbery, Bly Tanaka. Garret Dillahunt plays Martin, Tanaka’s husband who guides the group to keep an eye on them. Tig Notaro plays Marianne Peters, the “helicopter man”. Raúl Castillo plays Mikey Guzman, a sniper and internet star famous for killing zombies. Huma Qureshi plays a refugee and a single mother. Samantha Win stars as Chambers, Richard Cetrone as the Alpha Zombie King, Zeus and Athena Perample as The Queen.

Army of the Dead Plot summary

It’s been years since a zombie outbreak hit Las Vegas. After several failed attempts by the government to exterminate the zombies, the city is quarantined. Bly Tanaka (Sanada), a casino owner, approaches Scott Ward, a mercenary. He offers Scott a job involving an incredibly dangerous robbery. Scott will have to team up and steal $ 200 million from the safe under a casino. And Scott’s discount would be $ 50 million. Scott hesitates but eventually accepts his offer, he wants a way out of the everyday life of his current life. Scott visits some of his old mercenaries to enlist them. After forming the team, Tanaka gives them a brief guideline on how to carry out the heist. The team then heads to the quarantine camp, where Kate finds out that Geeta has entered the zone.

Kate decides to join the team to get Geeta out of the zone, much to Scott’s reluctance and displeasure. The team consists of Scott’s former mercenary teammates and some other new members. There is a YouTube star, Guzman, who is famous for killing zombies and an eccentric German safe cracker. Guzman also takes two of his friends, but one of them goes out on bail as soon as he learns about the mission. Tanaka’s chief of security will also be added. The team enters the zone of the undead and learns about different types of zombies. They meet the “alpha” zombies – the unusual undead, those who can move significantly faster, think significantly sharper, and also possess cognitive abilities uncharacteristic of a regular “shambler.” As the team continues with the plan, Martin and the zombies jeopardize the plans. Will they be able to survive and do the robbery?

Army of the Dead Ending Explained

What happens at the end of the movie?

The ending of Army of the Dead sees Scott shoot Zeus after being bitten by him. While the helicopter crashes, we catch a glimpse of Marianne who is unconsciously still. It’s safe to assume she kicked the bucket. Kate emerges from the wreckage and sees Scott sitting by the rubble. When he dies, he has the final reunion with his daughter, and Kate says goodbye to him. However, as soon as he dies, the venom from the zombie bite comes in and Scott starts to act up. Kate then tragically rests the undead Scott by shooting him in the head.

One thing we can’t conclude on is whether Geeta is dead or survived? We never really get to see her dead the way we see Marianne. While there’s no clarity about her death, I think it’s best to assume she didn’t survive the crash either. Along with Kate, we also see Vanderohe survive the entire ordeal of the zombie + atomic bomb. After the bomb has razed everything to the ground, we see Vanderohe emerge from the rubble and come out of the vault. Vanderohe became trapped in the vault when Dieter saved him from Zeus by pushing him in and sacrificing himself. The nuclear attack is attacking everything in the area except the safe. As to why the vault is still intact, it is clear that such high-security vaults are made to withstand even nuclear explosions. However, the explosion damages / weakens the safe just enough for Vanderohe to break free.

What happened to Vanderohe?

As Vanderohe ventures out of the vault and into the open air, he finds the land around him burning and drenched in radiation. At the end of Army of the Dead, he takes a private jet and discovers he’s been bitten. The radiation would have killed someone, or at least made a person very sick. And although we see Vanderohe stumbling on the plane, seemingly sick from the radiation, he is still alive. What could be the reason for that? Well, we get the answer when he goes to the washroom and takes a close look at his arm. Zeus had bitten Vanderohe, and now he also carries the alpha-zombie blood. That is the best explanation for its apparent survival from the radiation.

Is Vanderohe the new Alpha Zombie King?

But what wreck is Vanderohe about to take on the world now that he’s also an alpha zombie? As the plane heads for New Mexico, one of the world’s densely populated cities, there will be a massacre. The radiation could also cause Vanderohe to somehow become a Zeus 2.0. Interestingly, there is also an omega symbol on Vanderohe’s chest. Could this be a nod to a possible handover of the baton in terms of the alpha king? Perhaps it is now Vanderohe who carries the alpha zombie king’s blood and with it the powers to create his own zombies. This perfectly sets up a possible Army of the Dead sequel. We’ll be there to tell you all about it if it ever comes out. Stay tuned to Otakukart for more content on Army of the Dead.

You can stream Army of the Dead Netflix.

Watch the trailer here: