Flu (film)

Plot

The opening scene shows a group of illegal immigrants that are being prepared to be smuggled to South Korea inside a shipping container. As they are about to be sent overseas, one of the traffickers notices people coughing. After the immigrants deny any illness, he seals the container which is then sent to Korea. 9 days later, on May 1, the container reaches Pyongtaek harbor, and is transported inland.

The movie then cuts to a rescue operation conducted by the Budang ERT (Emergency Response Team), WHO are attempting to rescue a woman who drove her car into an open shaft. One of the members, Kang Jigu rappels into the shaft and manages to rescue the woman, Dr. Kim In-hae, moments before the car falls to the bottom of the shaft. Despite having saved her life, In-hae was ungrateful towards Jigu, claiming that he was bragging when it was simply his job to rescue her. He later admits to his co-worker Bae Kyung-ub that he found In-hae attractive. He is then told by the station chief that In-hae has called him. Later on that night, Jigu met with In-hae, who tries to persuade him to go back into the hole to retrieve her handbag, as it contained a substantial amount of data. After Jigu pointed out that the hole had been sealed, and refusing to do the job for money, In-hae attempts to go down into the hole, but scrapes her knee tripping over a barrier. After Jigu attempted to comfort her, she stormed off.

Later that night, two traffickers locate the container carrying the illegal immigrants in the outskirts of Seoul. When they open the doors, they find the immigrants lying dead and covered with rashes and blackened blood. The traffickers, a pair of brothers named Ju Byung-woo and Ju Byung-ki, film the grisly and unbelievable scene on Byung-ki's phone as evidence to show to their boss. Byung-ki accidentally drops his phone on a corpse and as he reached for it, the sole survivor (Andrada) in the container revealed himself. After being unable to ascertain what had happened inside the container, the traffickers contained the immigrant inside of their van. On the way to deliver the man to their boss, the brothers stopped at a rest stop near Budang, with Byung-woo beginning to show signs of illness. When Byung-ki is distracted, the immigrant escapes from the van, and flees towards Budang itself.

Unable to catch the immigrant, Byung-ki takes Byung-woo to a clinic in Budang, believing his brother's illness to simply be an onset of the common cold. As he's receiving his medication, Byung-woo begins coughing more frequently, infecting several people including the clinic doctor, a small child and a high-school student. All of the affected people continue their daily routines, unaware that they had all been infected.

At the Contagion Center in Budang, In-hae is reprimanded for losing the data, but is covered by her co-worker, who claimed to their superior that others had not finished their work. The scene then cuts to Jigu, who ends up going into the shaft with the help of Kyung-ub. After retrieving the bag, In-hae's phone begins to ring. Jigu answers the phone to hear a child's voice, asking why he was answering her mother's phone. They arrange a meeting spot so that Jigu can give the bag to In-hae's daughter, Mi-reu. During the exchange Mi-reu demands Jigu's business card, so they could contact him if he had stolen anything, much to Ji-gu's amusement. As she left, Jigu noted that Mi-reu was definitely In-hae's daughter, with both having arrogant personalities.

As the day goes on, the virus begins to spread rapidly, with the clinic doctor infecting a bus, the high-school student infecting her class and the small child infecting his daycare. Meanwhile, as Byung-ki is searching for the missing immigrant, Byung-woo's condition deteriorates, becoming feverish, having rashes on his face as well as vomiting blackened blood. Byung-ki immediately takes him to the hospital. After being sent to the emergency room, and determining that Byung-woo has a flu of unknown origin (FUO) the medical staff put him into an isolation room and called In-hae in to the hospital to help identify and treat his disease. Despite the staff treating him with dopamine and standard flu treatments, Byung-woo's condition got even worse. In-hae went through his belongings and located his cell-phone, finding the video he had taken earlier of the immigrants. They realize that the container had served as a culture-room, mutating the virus. In-hae asks Byung-ki about the container, hoping to find the source of the virus, but the trafficker refused to tell her anything, possibly fearing retribution from the authorities. As the situation between Byung-ki and the hospital staff became violent, Byung-woo's condition deteriorated dramatically, forcing the hospital staff to call a code-blue. By the time Byung-ki reached the isolation room, Byung-woo had already died, now fully showing symptoms identical to the dead illegal immigrants. During his struggle to reach Byung-woo, Byung-ki exposed several of the hospital staff to the disease by knocking off their masks and accidentally smearing Byung-woo's blood on their faces.

The next day, Mi-reu went looking for a stray cat she had been feeding. It is then that she encounters the illegal immigrant, who initially avoids her, but intervenes when she is about to be hit by a car. After taking sympathy on him, Mi-reu feeds the immigrant, named Monssai, the food meant for the cat. Monssai is aware that he is somehow spreading the illness, and tries to prevent her from coming close to him. Unbeknownst to both of them however, Mi-reu is infected anyways. When Monssai begins coughing, Mi-reu goes to find help for Monssai, by calling Jigu. The two spend some time looking around the area for Monssai.

The doctors at the hospital begin to identify the nature of the flu, by drawing comparisons to the Vietnamese avian flu, which had identical symptoms. However, they noted that no avian flu had ever acted this quickly before. As they consider waiting for KCDC's results, they are alerted to the presence of even more patients arriving at the hospital, showing similar symptoms to Byung-woo. The virus is seen spreading rapidly throughout the city, with many of its citizens showing pronounced symptoms and exacerbating the spread of the flu. The effects are now seen in multiple people at Budang Central Park, at a wedding and even in civil servants, such as a police officer and a bus driver.

When the hospital staff locate the container with the help of KCDC, they accidentally release rats that had been feeding off the corpses and thus were infected with the disease. Despite attempts to sterilize the container with incendiary devices, several rats escape into the city. The doctors are able to determine that the flu being passed around the city is a mutated variation of the H5N1 strain, being able to infect humans rapidly and cause death within 36 hours. They note that traditional flu treatments had no effect whatsoever against this new, aggressive strain. Bundang's congressman, Choi Dong-chi as well as many other city administrators are unconvinced that the flu could reach epidemic proportions, refusing the head-doctor's idea to shut down and quarantine the city.

At the same time, Ji-gu and Mi-reu are at a diner eating lunch. Ji-gu is exhausted by what he believes is a wild goose chase, telling Mi-reu to call her father. Mi-reu responds that her father left her mother and herself and had moved to America many years ago, after Ji-gu leaves to get her a slushee, Mi-reu begins to show signs of light-headedness, one of the first symptoms of the flu. Ji-gu dotes over Mi-reu, slowly becoming more accustomed to the little girl.

Back at the meeting between the medical staff and the city administrators, the congressman showed resistance to locking down the city, claiming that over half a million people lived there and that it was practically a part of Seoul, due to its proximity. The head-doctor responded by saying that if it was genuinely a mutated avian flu, the consequences for not taking action would be catastrophic. However, the congressman brushed it off, holding up the example of the swine flu panic and its relatively low mortality rate. As the meeting temporarily convened for a lunch break, In-hae informed the head-doctor of the presence of a survivor from the container.

As Ji-gu is walking around the mall carrying Mi-reu, people begin showing signs of panic, with frantic phone-calls being made and people hurrying to get out of the city. Ji-gu receives a call from Kyung-ub, stating that all the members of the ERT had been called in to deal with the situation. At this point, the people previously showing symptoms begin exhibiting full blown effects of the flu, vomiting blood and passing out at their stations. Ji-gu puts down Mi-reu at a bench and saves a woman from falling off an escalator, only to have her begin coughing blood. Unbeknownst to him, Mi-reu wakes up and wanders off into the mall.

At the meeting, the administrators are about to dismiss the meeting, claiming that there was no reason to continue any further with such limited evidence. However, a commotion is heard outside, and the members of the meeting rush to the meeting, just in time to witness carnage unfold below on the streets. With many people vomiting blood and passing out in the middle of the day, especially when driving, directing traffic or performing hazardous tasks, the situation has deteriorated to multiple car-crashes, a bus running into a plaza full of people, and even a gas station exploding, all in front of the meeting hall. Staff then begin to report to the minister that the emergency lines were overwhelmed, with hospitals all over Budang receiving calls confirming positive cases of the flu. Scenes shown of the general hospital show the area overwhelmed with patients, and even staff showing second-stage symptoms of the flu (vomiting blood and passing out). Due to the evidence presented in front of them, Budang's administration agrees to locking down the city. In-hae is told to leave with the medical staff to go to Seoul, but stays in order to find Mi-reu first.

The police use buses to block off the highway entrance to Budang, with people neither able to enter nor leave the city. Public transportation is also shut down. The Budang administration and most of the research staff at the hospital evacuate to Seoul, where the Prime Minister and President are briefed on the situation in Budang. The minister is adamant to keep the situation as low-key as possible to the rest of the populace, fearing that the resulting fear and panic would cause even more problems. After consulting with the head-doctor and the Bundang congressman however, the minister makes an announcement on national television, describing the events in Bundang, as well as the virus itself, raising the infection warning level to 'critical'.

Upon hearing the news, the citizens of Budang begin panicking, with the notable example of mass looting in a supermarket. Unfortunately, this is the same supermarket that Mi-reu wandered into, and she is surrounded by people fighting and grabbing everything they can carry. Jigu and In-hae meet at the supermarket, the former having tracked Mi-reu's movements through the mall's CCTV system. The two split up in order to find Mi-reu, with In-hae suggesting to Jigu that he cover his face to prevent becoming infected. The situation in the supermarket becomes even worse when several people begin vomiting blood in the middle of the store, causing the police to lock down the market, utilizing riot troops and the supermarket's steel shutters. Jigu manages to find Mi-reu, and the trio attempt to escape from the store. Though they manage to successfully do so, many people are still trapped behind the shutters. In-hae manages to secure a seat on a helicopter to Seoul for the three of them, but Jigu refused, stating that he had an obligation to help people. In-hae and Mi-reu leave for the town-hall, while Jigu stayed behind, attempting to break apart a steel gate. His attempts appear to be in vain until Kyung-ub arrives with ERT equipment, allowing for the people inside to escape.

In-hae and Mi-reu manage to reach the town-hall in time for the last helicopter to Seoul. Unfortunately, right after they pass the inspection, Mi-reu begins coughing, with the KCDC officials stating that symptomatic people would not be allowed to leave the city. In-hae tried to pass the coughing off as a previous flu infection, but the officials are unconvinced and force her to remain in Budang. During the rest of the day and night, military forces from both the ROK Army and reserve forces as well as troops from the United States Forces Korea and additional KCDC forces are deployed to Budang, reinforcing the perimeter and establishing a quarantine zone. The soldiers are instructed to keep their gas-masks on at all times, lest they risk being infected by the virus. The military forces begin herding the population of Budang into the Tancheon quarantine zone, a holding camp constructed outside of a sports stadium, using breaching tools and heat-sensors to locate civilians that were hiding. An APB bulletin is put out for Monssai, with the hopes of harvesting his blood for the antibodies needed to create a vaccine. Despite this, he manages to remain hidden and is sent to the camp. Ultimately, Jigu, Kyung-ub, In-hae, Mi-reu and Byung-ki the trafficker are sent to the camp.

In the camp the people of Bundang are given a number, in order for KCDC to effectively track individuals in the camp, then are forced to strip to their underwear and undergo a physical examination, in order to determine if they have any of the visible symptoms such as rashes on their bodies. Next, they were given a PCR test, which would serve to determine if the individual was infected, but not showing physical symptoms yet. It was also promised that individuals not showing any symptoms of the disease would be allowed to leave the camp after 48 hours. The head-doctor expressed his reservation about keeping the healthy and infected in such close proximity to each other, worrying about the infected spreading the virus to the unaffected. However, his concerns are overruled by the politicians and WHO official. Cell towers and internet services are shut down in Bundang, to prevent people from spreading false rumors. This however, has the effect of isolating the people in the camps from the rest of their country, resulting in unease in the camp populace.

During the physical examinations, In-hae notices that Mi-reu is beginning to form rashes on her face (luckily covered by her hair). When Byung-ki attempts to escape the physical check-up line, In-hae manages to smuggle Mi-reu through the checkpoint during the commotion, but not without Jigu noticing. In-hae urges Mi-reu to hide her illness and avoid coughing. They are housed in the uninfected zone without any complications.

The relatively affluent citizens of Budang do not react well to being housed in quarantine camps, complaining about the living conditions. An incident occurs where a rather mouthy uninfected civilian complains to the military troops about their poor living standards, resulting in their commander aiming his sidearm at the civilian and then assaulting an elderly man that tries to defend the first civilian. Jigu questions the commander's actions, resulting in the officer to point his sidearm at Jigu as well, threatening to shoot him. This set of incidents begins causing tension between the residents of the camp and their guards. Jeon Gook-hwan, a former operations officer for the ERT defuses the situation, as the commander and he were acquaintances. Civil servants such as Jigu, Kyung-ub and Gook-hwan are then drafted to perform camp-duties.

In-hae checks up on Mi-reu's condition in their tent, realizing that the rashes were getting even worse. People that tested positive during the PCR test are forcefully moved into the Infected Quarantine Zone of the camp, located in and underneath the stadium itself. It is stated by the officials to the rest of the camp that the people in the IQ Section are receiving medical treatment. It is revealed that Gook-hwan is collaborating with the soldier from before, bribing his way into the safe-zone. He also spreads rumors that the infected are shot and killed rather than treated, causing even more tension and panic within the camp. Jigu confronts In-hae about Mi-reu's current condition, with In-hae certain that Mi-reu would not infect anyone else, as she had her mask on. In-hae does not want to send her daughter to the IQ Section, as she knows there is no cure for the flu. In-hae expresses guilt about not properly looking after Mi-reu, and Jigu promises to keep Mi-reu's situation a secret from the rest of the camp.

The next day, the citizens are awoken by gunshots, fired by the soldiers to scare away birds, in order to prevent the disease from spreading. Supplies are distributed adequately to the civilians, and the situation is calmed for the time being. Meanwhile, at the Infected Quarantine Zone, Monssai is discovered by members of KCDC, and is recognized due to the APB put out on him. Byung-ki, who is also in the IQZ, recognizes Monssai as the soldiers take him to the medical treatment center of the camp. In-hae is informed by her colleagues that Monssai has been discovered, and she is hopeful that a vaccine can be made from his anti-bodies. She entrusts Mi-reu to Jigu's care, and gives her a walkie-talkie to communicate with her in case anything goes wrong. Mi-reu's rashes are already quite visible, so she is wrapped in a blanket in order to hide the physical symptoms. At the medical center, In-hae suggests injecting antibodies directly into a patient, but is overruled, with WHO staff and her colleagues stating that it would be far too dangerous. Mi-reu is almost exhibiting secondary symptoms, and out of desperation, In-hae retrieves Mi-reu in order to take her to the medical center to attempt the antibody transfusion. However, as the trio were leaving the tent, KCDC officials come looking for Mi-reu as the PCR test had returned positive for her number. Jigu masquerades as Mi-reu by using her card and claiming it is his own. When Jigu is transferred to the IQZ, Byung-ki attempts to escape, knocking off the mask of a ROKRF soldier, Sang-myung.

Meanwhile, in Seoul, the president learns that the uninfected are kept, even after 48 hours. The WHO doctors explain that the virus was so infectious, that they would not risk letting anybody out of the camp. The Bundang congressman, Dong-chi and the Prime Minister both suggest further fortifying the camp. The President expresses resistance to the idea, but is ultimately overridden by Leo Snyder, a WHO official. Back at the camp, Gook-hwan bribes the camp commander to transport him into a safe-zone. In-hae manages to get the survivor to herself, then begins a blood transfusion between her daughter and Monssai when the latter agrees to it after recognizing Mi-reu. Unfortunately, Gook-hwan is able to see what is happening through a gap in the tent and alerts the camp authorities, who tranquilize In-hae and takes Mi-reu away to the IQZ. Meanwhile, in the camp, the uninfected citizens of Bundang are getting extremely agitated as they have been held for nearly a week inside the camp, despite being told they would be released in two days. Fights break out in the camp, which escalates to a near riot. Gook-hwan attempts to escape in a USFK truck masquerading as an American soldier, but the soldiers refuse to transport him when they see the rashes on his face, fleeing the vehicle.

After Jigu is released from the IQZ, after being vouched for by Kyung-ub and testing negative on the PCR test, he notices Mi-reu's hairband on the floor, and realizes he has been taken towards the "treatment" section of the IQZ. After running into this area, he realizes that it is merely a parking garage turned into a place where second-stage victims are brought to die, with no medical treatment being provided for them whatsoever. The bodies are wrapped in plastic, with some of them still (barely) alive, then are dumped into a mass grave in the stadium itself, where the bodies are being burned by the KCDC. The grave is already filled with thousands of bodies, by the time Jigu witnesses the horrific scene. He plunges into the gravesite itself, looking for Mi-reu, he is able to find her, still barely alive, when he hears her phone playing the theme song from a cartoon she watched with Jigu. In-hae regains consciousness and also heads for the IQZ, seeing the parking garage full of dying citizens.

Sang-myung, the ROKRF soldier that had his masked knocked off by Byung-ki, is now showing signs of the virus, by rashes appearing on his face. He heads to the IQZ to turn himself in, but is followed by his worried friend, Chul-gyo. When Chul-gyo tries to persuade Sang-myung to hide his infection, he sees his mother being transferred to the IQZ by KCDC troops, as she had been infected when she came to Budang to visit a friend. Out of grief, Chul-gyo takes off his mask and embraces his mother, intentionally infecting himself. When KCDC troops try to stop them from leaving the IQZ, Sang-myung and Chul-gyo mutiny against them, fleeing the IQZ with Chul-gyo's mother. They are stopped at the entrance by ROKRF and ROK Army forces, but incite unrest in the camp when they announce that the people taken to the IQZ are being left to die, that there is no treatment, and that the bodies are being burned. The situation becomes a full-blown uprising when a ROKA captain shoots and kills Sang-myung, with the enraged people attacking and overwhelming the military forces and KCDC units at the IQZ. The mob breaks through the barricades, and gain entry into the stadium, where they realize that what the two mutineers were telling them was true. They see Jigu and Mi-reu trying to escape from the grave, and they believe that the infected are being burned alive, further angering the people of the camp who overrun the rest of the camp, forcing all the military personnel, KCDC units and medical research staff to flee.

A van filled with medical research staff and Monssai are ambushed in the IQZ garage by a mob led by Byung-ki, when they stop to pick up In-hae. Byung-ki stabs In-hae's colleague and Monssai to death, believing him to have killed his brother. In-hae and the staff in the van manage to escape, due to USFK soldiers killing Byung-ki and threatening lethal action on the others, however, they are unable to rendezvous with Mi-rae and Jigu. At this point, Mi-reu is beginning to recover, with the fever going down and having stopped vomiting blood. When Jigu reports this to In-hae, she realizes that Mi-reu developed the antibody, and that there is still hope despite Monssai's death. She instructs Jigu to head towards the highway exit to Budang. However, Gook-hwan kills several of the remaining USKF forces in the command truck, and commandeers it, taking control of the mob. Gook-hwan also realizes that Mi-reu is carrying antibodies for the disease, but Jigu manages to escape with her after a confrontation with Gook-hwan.

The next day sees the mob led by Gook-hwan heading for the highway exit, overwhelming the police and ROKRF forces in the first line of defense with weaponry they had looted from the camp's military forces, as well as sheer numbers. Gook-hwan convinces the mob to head to Seoul and infect its citizens, as only then would the government take true action against the disease. Upon hearing that the anti-body carrier had been killed, and being faced with the quarantine zone being breached, the Prime Minister authorizes the second-line of forces consisting of soldiers and tanks from the ROK Army, Reserve Forces and Special Forces, to use lethal force to prevent the civilians from escaping Budang. Though the citizens are initially halted from threats of being fired upon by the soldiers, Gook-hwan escalates the situation when he attempts to shoot Jigu, but misses and kills an ROK Army soldier when Kyung-ub prevents him from doing so. The soldiers then open fire on the crowd, killing dozens of civilians. Kyung-ub, Jigu and Mi-reu survive unscathed, with Gook-hwan being shot in the leg and Chul-gyo being killed while protecting his mother. The President is outraged when he hears that the Prime Minister ordered the troops to use lethal force, but the Prime Minister reveals that the rest of Korea supported the quarantine at Budang, and that they had to think about the nation as a whole, rather than one small part of it.

Mi-reu and Jigu take shelter in a nearby supply tent, with Mi-reu having made a full recovery. In-hae reaches the quarantine defense lines, but is unable to make it past the soldiers. Gook-hwan discovers Mi-reu when Jigu goes to help the citizens who had been shot by the soldiers. Though he tries to forcefully transfuse Mi-reu's blood he is discovered by Kyung-ub, who attacks Gook-hwan out of rage. Jigu returns when he hears Mi-reu's screaming, but is unable to prevent Kyung-ub from being shot by Gook-hwan. After a lengthy brawl, he manages to kill Gook-hwan by impaling him on a tank trap. During the brawl, Mi-reu escapes from the tent, and accidentally wanders into the mob, having reorganized and regained the courage to approach the defensive line. Snyder orders the troops at the defensive line to shoot anyone that crosses a line drawn in the highway. Jigu goes searching for Mi-reu after stabilizing Kyung-ub, but is unable to find her before she is pushed to the front of the crowd. In-hae rushes past the soldiers and stands in front of the defensive line, looking for Mi-reu. When Mi-reu sees her mother, she instinctively runs towards her. In-hae and Jigu run towards Mi-reu, attempting to prevent her from crossing the line. The ROKA defensive line commander forces one of the soldiers, at gunpoint, to fire on the Mi-reu as she crossed the line. The soldier fires, but hits In-hae in the shoulder instead, having closed his eyes at the prospect of shooting a child. Mi-reu is distraught at her mother's wounds, and shields her mother from the soldiers, pleading with them not to shoot her mother. Moved by the sight, the soldiers do not fire at her. The crowd, also moved, surges forwards and shields Mi-reu from the soldiers. The president, watching the entire thing in the command office, orders the commander to stand down. However, Snyder orders a secondary strike, using fighter-bombers launched from Osan Air Base to bomb the crowd in case of the ROK Army losing control of the situation. The president, upon being told that Mi-reu contains the antibodies to fight the flu, threatens to shoot down the incoming fighters using Seoul Capital Defense's SAM installations. After a tense confrontation between the President and Snyder, the latter aborts the bombing run. The President then makes a speech to the citizens of Budang, promising that the government would not fail them, as well as halting all attacks on the civilians and dispatching medical teams to Budang. Mi-reu is sent to Seoul with the head-doctor, in order to create a vaccine and cure from her blood.

An after credits clip shows life at Budang returning to normal, with the people having been completely cured and services restored. It is revealed that Jigu married In-hae and Mi-reu is back with her family. Kyung-ub also makes an appearance, attempting to free a woman's skirt from a bus door but ripping it in the process, much to the anger of the woman. The movie ends with Mi-reu sneezing.

Cast

English voice-over cast