| Zone of the Dead | |
| Director: | Milan Konjević Milan Todorović |
| Producer: | Milan Todorović Loris Curci Vukota Brajovic Pierfrancesco Fiorenza |
| Starring: | Ken Foree Kristina Klebe Emilio Roso |
| Studio: | Talking Wolf Productions |
| Distributor: | Epic Pictures Group |
| Runtime: | 96 minutes (101 minutes director's cut) |
| Country: | Serbia Italy Spain |
| Language: | English |
Zone of the Dead, also known as Apocalypse of the Dead (Serbian: italic=yes|'''Zona Mrtvih''') is a 2009 Serbian horror film directed by Milan Konjević and Milan Todorović. It stars Ken Foree.
In 1986 Chernobyl, a mass grave is discovered, resembling victims of the Plague. The Chief of Bureau arrives there and learns that a man cut himself on a corpse's ribcage and died of infection minutes after. Seconds later, that same man rises up and attacks them both.
Twenty years later, a professor is trying to catch a train out of Pancevo, Serbia, but finds that all railroads were closed down as part of a military exercise. While he tries to make a call, a train arrives carrying a deadly biohazard agent monitored by a scientist in a hazmat suit, who asks for permission to pass through. Before he can, three drunken off-duty soldiers emerge and harass the station guard, taking his weapon and inadvertently rupturing the tank, releasing the agent into the atmosphere. All the soldiers and the station guard are infected by the gas, becoming zombies, but the professor escapes.
Meanwhile, INTERPOL Agent Mina Milieus is tasked with transporting a prisoner from Serbia to Belgrave while under the supervision of Agent Mortimer “Morty” Reyes, an ex-CIA agent and on the verge of retiring, along with his partner, Inspector Dragan “Dra” Belic.
The Chief of Bureau informs the President about the accident at the train station in Pancevo. He advises that he not bother with evacuation but contain the incident and let the National Guard deal with the rest.
In Pancevo, young reporter Jan is wasting his time at a concert, and is convinced by his girlfriend Angela to leave along with her friend, Jovana. Meanwhile, the professor tries to escape the growing number of infected. He comes across another escaped felon, Armageddon, who states the End of Days arrived and made it his personal mission to eradicate the zombies. The professor flees and meets Jan and the girls, who allow him to enter their car.
Two INTERPOL vans arrive in Pancevo as the driver, Petrovic, hits a zombie. When they leave to investigate, several more arrive, separating them from Agents Bottin and Savini. They attempt to contact Headquarters for backup, but there is no signal. Upon finding the second van, containing the Prisoner, Morty finds Bottin and Savini are dead with more zombies coming. The Prisoner tells them to shoot the zombies in the head, which proves to be successful, but they are overwhelmed: Petrovic is devoured, and Dra's hand is bitten. They are forced to take shelter in a nearby abandoned police station with little choice.
While reconnoitering the area, Morty and Dra find the professor, Jan, and the girls and bring them back to the reception. Meanwhile, Armageddon continues his rampage on the zombies, using multiple weapons. He enters a TV Station and broadcasts his declaration of the apocalypse. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Morty decides to activate the generator and find an exit. Dra has begun to succumb to infection, resulting in Morty freeing the Prisoner and taking him along. After turning the power on, zombies break in and nearly kill Morty, but the Prisoner saves him. Dra dies and reanimates, forcing Mina to shoot him. Jovana, driven insane by the turn of events, breaks down the barricade, allowing herself to be eaten. The professor also chooses death by Morty’s gun, as opposed to being eaten.
The group escapes and heads towards the river through the train tunnels. The Prisoner knows of the zombies because his father was one of them due to the incident in Chernobyl. The President will most likely ‘cleanse’ the city to prevent the spread of infection. At the shipyards, they find sleeping zombies which the Hazmat zombie awakes. Morty leads the zombies away while the rest of the group makes for the boat. Morty runs out of ammo and gets trapped inside a train, while Jan takes the boat and abandons Angela. As she is about to be eaten, Armageddon arrives and supplies Mina and the Prisoner with weapons. The three proceed to kill the zombies while Morty escapes the train, taking a gun from the Prisoner and helping them out. Armageddon finishes off the undead, and the Prisoner decapitates the Hazmat zombie, apparently ending the threat.
Later, the President announces that he will cooperate with NATO to bring all those responsible for the bioweapon to justice, much to The Chief of Bureau's chagrin. The President considers his decision to be “a necessary evil” and expects the Chief to resign. Mina allows the Prisoner to leave, despite having ammo in her guns, showing respect for him. Morty congratulates her on her efforts despite the mission not being completed, saying he messed up his first one as well.
Jan later takes the boat up the river, only for it to run out of gas. As he heads to a cabin to look for more, the infected captain tackles them both into the river.
The film was released on February 22, 2009. On 1 March 2010 Metrodome released the DVD in the UK and Ireland as Apocalypse of the Dead. On 1 September 2012 Epic Pictures released it on DVD in North America as Apocalypse of the Dead.
Zone of the Dead 2 has been planned since 2009.