The Last Days on Mars (2013)

Plot synopsis of The Last Days on Mars (2013)

The movie opens with Vincent Campbell and Rebecca Lane dragging themselves through a sandstorm to reach an excavation location on Mars. In the desolate desert, Lane remarks that their crewmate, Kim Alrich, would be upset about the storm because it would disrupt her dig when they arrive at the dig location. Vincent instructs Kim over the radio to finish up, since they need to return to base and prepare to depart the planet in 19 hours.

Kim, on the other hand, does not answer and continues digging. While they wait for Kim, Lane asks Vincent to list ten things he won’t miss about Mars. Vincent makes it plain that he can’t stand Kim’s attitude by including her on the list multiple times. He then expresses his fear over the six-month flight back to Earth. Lane points out that the trek will be worthwhile because they will be walking on green grass under a blue sky at the finish.

When Kim eventually boards the rover, she worries that they will be returning to Earth empty-handed because they didn’t have enough time on her six-month mission to do anything substantial. Captain Charles Bruno instructs them to rush back to Tantalus Base because they need assistance fixing their communications link with the Aurora space station. Richard Harrington is able to restore the transmission, but the power goes out later.

Marco Petrovic begs Bruno to accompany him to one of their excavation sites, claiming that he needs to repair a faulty gamma sensor. Bruno reluctantly agrees but asks Marco to take Harrington with him and return before dusk. Vincent, Kim, and Lane arrive just as Marco and Harrington prepare to depart the base. Kim is outraged after finding that Bruno allowed Marco to go out on the drive to the site. Marco tells Harrington to prepare the sample boxes and label them “NA-1” for microscopic anomaly.

While Vincent is working on the cooling system at the base, mission psychologist Robert Irwin approaches him and offers him coffee. Vincent examines the Aurora lander’s approach trajectory and notes that the pilots would be arrested for drunk driving if they were on Earth. Irwin encourages him to put off thinking about the lander until he boards the ship. When Irwin asks if he’s excited to return home, Vincent responds that he’s not anxious about arriving home, but he is concerned about the travel and the time it takes.

Kim decides to look through Marco’s workstation to find out why he wants to go back outside. Not long after, the crew discovers an image of cavities on a rock. Lane notices that the cavities appear to be microbiological borings. When they examine the material under the microscope, they discover evidence of bacterial cell division. Kim realizes that Marco is refusing to tell Bruno about his finding because he does not want to share the credit.

Bruno contacts Harrington and Marco to proclaim the excavation site closed. Marco, however, urges Harrington to pretend that he didn’t hear Bruno because of the weak signal. As Marco examines the soil sample he has just taken, the ground underneath him collapses and sucks him in. Harrington jumps out of the rover to assist him, but he can’t see into the pit due to the steam. Bruno arrives with Lauren Dalby to save Marco. Soon after, Harrington contacts the base but deems Marco dead.

Dalby believes Marco is still alive and attempts to descend the hole, but Bruno stops her out of fear that she would be injured in an accident. Bruno and Harrington return to the base to obtain the necessary equipment to collect Marco’s body, while Dalby remains at the dig site. Kim inquires Bruno about disclosing their discovery. Soon after they approach the facility, Harrington points out that Marco died recently, but Kim indicates that it was Marco’s own responsibility for breaking protocol.

Mission Control gives them permission to retrieve Marco before they leave. Irwin tells Bruno to chastise Kim for her actions. He assures the captain that Marco’s death was not his fault, but Bruno points out that any mistakes done by the crew are his duty. Bruno returns Lane, Irwin, and Vincent to the site because he believes it would be unjust to send Harrington back. As Dalby waits in a rover, she hears someone attempting to enter the vehicle. She tries to notify Bruno via the radio, but he can’t hear her owing to interference.

When the team arrives at the dig site, Dalby is nowhere to be found, leading Bruno to believe she disobeyed his orders and walked into the hole. Lane, on the other hand, believes Dalby fell, because disobeying a command is not in her nature. After connecting his suit to a rope, Vincent quickly falls into the abyss. As he nears the bottom, he finds a microbiological creature growing on a rock formation. He descends further but begins hyperventilating as he recalls being locked in the Aurora space station.

Bruno instantly instructs Lane and Irwin to bring him back up. When Vincent has calmed down, he informs Bruno that he did not see anyone at the bottom of the pit. Irwin searches the area and discovers two sets of footprints that appear to be going toward the facility. Bruno is puzzled, since they could have taken the rover. Kim is quickly contacted by the crew, who advise her to brace herself for possible casualties. Kim speculates that Marco may be suffering from brain damage due to oxygen deprivation, because his suit was likely destroyed.

When Harrington examines the tracking system, he notices two people 50 meters from the base. As Kim tries to make radio contact, Harrington walks to the airlock to let them in. Kim notices a figure wobbling toward the bottom of the stairs on the monitors. When Harrington opens the airlock, Marco collapses to the ground, a hole in his helmet. Harrington staggers back in amazement after removing the helmet to reveal Marco’s gaunt face.

Marco takes an electric drill and stabs Harrington in the gut. Harrington falls to the ground, but not before sounding the alarm and alerting Kim. Kim quickly heads toward the airlock but soon retreats as she sees Marco approaching her. An infected Dalby quickly arrives at the airlock, but Harrington escapes despite his wound. Soon after, Marco and Dalby both catch up to Kim. Dalby sips from a spilled beverage on the ground while Kim fights to break away from Marco.

Bruno arrives quickly and discovers the base in ruins. Kim can escape and confine the two afflicted astronauts in a chamber as Marco smashes the glass door. Bruno orders Kim to put on a suit as he tries to protect their infected crewmates. Bruno attempts to talk with Marco after he escapes, but Marco does not seem to comprehend him. Kim quickly exits the base after putting on her suit. Bruno races to the airlock, but a zombie catches him and stabs him in the shoulder before he can leave.

The surviving crew members disable the door, trapping the zombies, and flee to the hydroponic dome for safety. Lane attempts to treat Bruno’s wound but realizes she cannot do it properly because she is not a medic. Bruno believes he is dying after forgetting the appearance of his family. He directs the crew to inform his family that he was thinking about them during the mission. Bruno then notices that he is thirsty, so Irwin brings him some water. Bruno suddenly grabs Irwin by the neck, but the other crew members pull his hand away and pacify him.

Bruno quickly settles down and gradually loses consciousness before passing away. He reminds the crew that they will never see home again. Kim binds Bruno to the table out of concern that his corpse may reanimate. Irwin asks her to stop, but Kim reminds him that Dalby and Marco were still moving after being exposed to the atmosphere. Vincent chooses to cover the body with a blanket. Suddenly, they hear an explosion outside. Kim glances at the monitor and sees that the zombies have escaped from the base after blowing up the airlock with an explosive.

Because the communication systems are down, the crew is unable to contact the space station. Vincent informs them that he will have to return to the base via the underground oxygen feed pipe to repair the sky link and request assistance. As Vincent crawls down the pipe, Lane takes a blood sample from Bruno and discovers that he has the same bacterium as Marco. After a few minutes, Vincent panics when he recalls what happened to him on the space station. Lane comforts him and tells him to forget what happened on Aurora.

When Vincent points out that Mission Control tends to select people like him, Lane argues that all crew members are just as terrified as he is. Vincent soon arrives at the main base and discovers blood all over the floor and walls. Meanwhile, Lane realizes they can try using antibiotics to neutralize the bacterium, so she collects another blood sample from Bruno to see how it reacts to an antibiotic solution. Bruno’s body contorts and writhes when the fluid is injected.

Lane speculates that he is fighting the virus, but Kim insists the movement is due to reflexes. When the corpse stops moving, Lane collects another blood sample and learns that the bacteria are no longer proliferating. Kim pours the solution into a decontamination spray that they can evaporate and deploy against the undead. Vincent makes contact with Aurora, but the power goes out before he can warn them of their predicament. Irwin notices on the monitor that the zombies are returning to the base.

Since they are unable to break down the doors of the hydroponic dome, the crew plans to open the entrance to lure the zombies into the airlock and spray them with antibiotics. Soon after activating the decontamination spray, one of the zombies enters the airlock and collapses to the floor. Lane discovers, however, that the effect is only temporary, as the microorganisms begin building resistance to the antibiotic. On his way to fix the power, Vincent encounters an infected Harrington.

He repeatedly smashes the zombie’s head with a torch, but it does not stop, so he retreats back to the oxygen pipe. Vincent requests that Lane open the panel but warns her that he was unable to seal the pipe at the other end. Lane advises Kim and Irwin to put on their helmets before opening the panel. After pulling Vincent out of the pipe, Kim throws two antibiotic bottles at the zombie. While Kim distracts it, the others attempt to exit the dome but are unable to open the airlock.

Irwin notices that Bruno’s corpse is reviving and locks the door, trapping Kim inside with the zombie. The survivors manage to open the door, but the zombie stabs Lane in the leg with a pair of scissors before they can flee. Once outside, the crew heads to the rover. Vincent administers an antibiotic to Lane to slow the infection and give her body time to fight it. They soon discover that the rover does not have enough power to reach the landing site. Irwin suggests traveling on foot, but Lane cannot walk due to her injury.

Vincent proposes returning to the base to treat her wound, but Lane suspects that he wants to leave her behind because she may be contaminated. Irwin points out that there are other options. Lane claims that Irwin may also be infected, since Bruno grabbed his neck earlier. Irwin recalls another rover near Marco’s dig site that still has enough power to reach the landing spot. When they arrive at the excavation site, Irwin approaches the second rover. After getting inside, he urges Vincent to leave Lane behind, believing she is contaminated.

When Vincent refuses, Irwin decides to go alone. The zombies begin tracking them, so Vincent and Lane drive the rover into a sandstorm in hopes of escaping. Vincent explains that after an hour of sunlight charging the rover’s batteries, they will have enough power to reach the landing site in the morning. Later, Lane admits that she wonders whether some part of Bruno’s mind remained while he was suffering. She fears that he may have been imprisoned in his body, unable to control it.

The Aurora lander soon departs the space station and heads for the planet. Vincent awakens the next morning to hear a transmission stating that an emergency crew is being dispatched to rescue them. He attempts to reply, but the space station cannot hear him. Vincent notices that Lane has left the vehicle and follows her footsteps. He finds her, but Lane urges him to stay back because the illness has already begun to take effect. Vincent rushes toward her, but Lane removes her helmet and suffocates.

Her body quickly reanimates and attacks Vincent. She begs him to kill her after he restrains her, and he reluctantly grabs a rock and crushes her skull. When Vincent sees the Aurora lander approaching, he rushes to the landing site. He spots three zombies approaching the lander and warns the crew not to open the hatch. Vincent can hear them over the radio, but they cannot hear him. He hears them screaming in terror as the zombies attack after they exit the ship.

When Vincent enters the spacecraft, he discovers Irwin in the cockpit. Although still conscious and self-aware, Irwin is showing signs of infection. Vincent tells him that he cannot let him return to Earth, as the disease must not spread. During a struggle, Irwin pierces Vincent’s helmet with a knife. Vincent seizes the knife and stabs Irwin as the ship launches into space. Irwin attacks Vincent, but Vincent repeatedly headbutts him until he stops moving. Vincent removes his blood-splattered helmet and opens the hatch, ejecting Irwin’s corpse into space.

Later, Vincent transmits a message to Mission Control, explaining that the entire Tantalus Base crew has been infected with a virulent disease and that the relief team has also perished. He states that he does not have enough fuel to reach the space station, but he has sufficient supplies to survive until a rescue arrives. He admits that he is almost certainly contaminated and outlines his plan to return the ship to Mars if he becomes ill, so he will not die slowly as it burns up in the atmosphere.

Vincent ends the transmission by saying he will wait for a response. Fifteen minutes later, the lander drifts silently in space, awaiting a reply from the Aurora.

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