Prior to the events of the film, a scientist is ordered by his dictator to create a machine in the apparent name of progress. The Scientist uses his own intellect to create the B.R.A.I.N., a thinking robot. However, the dictator quickly seizes it and integrates it into the Fabrication Machine, an armature that can construct an army of war machines to destroy the dictator's enemies. Lacking a soul, the Fabrication Machine becomes corrupted and decides to exterminate almost all life on Earth. The Fabrication Machine reprograms the other war machines to turn against humans by using toxic gas and chemical weapons. On the verge of destruction, the Scientist uses alchemy to create nine homunculus-like rag dolls known as "Stitchpunks" using portions of his own soul via a talisman and dies upon finishing the last one.
Years after a zombie apocalypse, survivors have set up outposts across the United States, one of which, in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, contains a feudal-like government. Bordered on two sides by rivers and on the third by an electric fence, the city has become a sanctuary, with the rich and powerful living in a luxury high-rise called Fiddler's Green while the rest of the population subsists in squalor. The city's ruler Paul Kaufman (Dennis Hopper) has sponsored Dead Reckoning, a heavily armored vehicle that can travel through the zombie-infested areas with ease. Armed with remote-controlled heavy machine guns and video cameras, Dead Reckoning functions as a moving fireworks launch base, on the premise that zombies are fascinated by fireworks and will stare at them, ignoring their environment. Riley Denbo (Simon Baker), designer and commander of Dead Reckoning, has recently retired. Unlike Kaufman, Riley is respected for his work in protecting the city from danger, as well as for bringing critical food and medical supplies which the citizens can no longer acquire safely themselves.
In 2000, an earthquake strikes Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley floods, and California turns into an island from Malibu to Anaheim. An American presidential candidate who is also an outspoken theocrat has been saying that L.A. is sinful and has been punished by God.
The future United States is a dystopic irradiated wasteland known as the Cursed Earth. On the east coast lies Mega-City One, a violent metropolis with 800 million residents and 17,000 crimes reported daily. The only force for order are the Judges, who act as judge, jury and executioner. Judge Dredd is tasked by the Chief Judge with evaluating new recruit Cassandra Anderson, a powerful psychic who failed the aptitude tests to be a Judge.
After the space shuttle Patriot crashes on Earth, a fungus-like alien lifeform is discovered on the remaining parts scattered over US territory. Once people come into contact with the organism, they are controlled by it when they enter REM sleep. One of the first people infected is Tucker Kaufman, a CDC director investigating the crash.
Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a 29-year-old electronics shop salesman with no direction in life. His younger colleagues show him no respect, he has a strained relationship with his stepfather, Phillip (Bill Nighy), and a tense one with his housemate Pete (Peter Serafinowicz) because of Ed (Nick Frost), Shaun's other housemate and vulgar, unemployed best friend. Furthermore, Shaun's girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) dislikes their social life as they spend every date at the Winchester, Shaun and Ed's favourite pub. Because Shaun always brings Ed, Liz is always forced to bring her flatmates, David (Dylan Moran) and Dianne (Lucy Davis). After a bad day at work, Shaun forgets to book a table at a nice restaurant, and after suggesting the Winchester again Liz breaks up with him. Shaun drowns his sorrows with Ed at the Winchester. While celebrating at home, an enraged Pete — suffering from a bite wound caused by "some crackheads" — confronts Shaun on his flaws, telling him to sort his life out.
In the 26th century, humanity has left an overpopulated Earth and moved to a new star system, colonizing many planets and moons. The central planets formed the Alliance and won a war against the outer planet Independents—those refusing to join the Alliance. River Tam is among the young people being coercively conditioned by Alliance scientists to be psychic assassins. She is rescued by her brother Simon. Because top government secrets have been inadvertently exposed to River's abilities, an Alliance agent known only as the Operative is tasked with recapturing her.
In 3028 A.D., humanity has mastered deep space travel and interacted with several alien species. A human invention called "Project Titan" alarms the Drej, a pure energy-based alien species who attack Earth after breaching the Global Defense System. As the Drej start to attack Earth, Professor Sam Tucker, the lead researcher for "Project Titan", sends his son Cale on one of the evacuation ships with his alien friend Tek while Tucker and other members of his team fly the Titan spacecraft into hyperspace. When the Drej mothership destroys the Earth with an energy beam, the surviving humans become nomads, generally ridiculed by other alien species.
Fifteen years after defeating Lord Humungus, Max Rockatansky crosses the Australian desert in a camel-drawn wagon when he is attacked by a pilot named Jedediah and his son in a Transavia PL-12 Airtruk, stealing his wagon and belongings. Continuing on foot, Max follows their trail to the seedy community of Bartertown. While refused entry at first, Max is brought before the founder and ruler of Bartertown, the ruthless Aunty Entity. She offers to resupply his vehicle and equipment if he completes a task for her.
Cannibalistic zombies have overrun the entire world. The remaining fragments of the U.S. government and military hide out in fortified military bases and colonies, attempting to find a solution to the zombie pandemic. Sarah, Private Miguel Salazar, radio operator William "Bill" McDermott, and helicopter pilot John fly from their base to Fort Myers, Florida, in an attempt to locate additional survivors. They encounter a large horde of the undead, and return to their army base in the Everglades, where a small group of scientists, supported by a skeleton crew of soldiers, is searching for a way to stop or reverse the re-animation process.
Astronauts Taylor (Charlton Heston), Landon (Robert Gunner), Dodge (Jeff Burton) and Stewart are in deep hibernation when their spaceship crashes in a lake on an unknown planet after a long near-light speed voyage, during which, due to time dilation, the crew ages only 18 months. As the ship sinks, Taylor finds Stewart dead and her body desiccated. They throw an inflatable raft from the ship and climb down into it; before departing the ship, Taylor notes that the date is November 25, AD 3978, approximately two millennia after their departure in 1972. Once ashore, Dodge performs a soil test and pronounces the soil incapable of sustaining life.
Ultraviolet takes place in 2078, in the years following a global epidemic that causes vampire-like symptoms, including super-human strength and elongated canines. The infected "hemophages" die within twelve years after being infected. The "Archministry", a militant medical group headed by Vice-Cardinal Ferdinand Daxus, has taken control of the government and begun rounding up infected citizens and exterminating them in order to contain the virus.
Barbra (Judith O'Dea) and Johnny Blair (Russell Streiner) drive to rural Pennsylvania for an annual visit to their father's grave. This was their mother's request. Johnny teases, "They're coming to get you, Barbra," noticing Barbra's discomfort. She is then attacked by a strange man (Bill Hinzman). Johnny tries to rescue his sister, but the strange man throws him against a gravestone; Johnny strikes his head on the stone and dies. Barbra flees by car but crashes into a tree. She escapes on foot, with the stranger in pursuit, and later arrives at a farmhouse, where she discovers a woman's mangled corpse. She is confronted by strange menacing figures, running out of the house, like the man in the graveyard. Ben (Duane Jones) takes her into the house. Ben drives the monsters from the house and seals the doors and windows as Barbra slowly descends into shock and insanity.
In the year 3000, Earth has been ruled for 1,000 years by the Psychlos, a brutal race of giant humanoid aliens. The remnants of humanity are either enslaved by the Psychlos and used for manual labor or survive in primitive tribes living in remote areas outside Psychlo control. Jonnie Goodboy Tyler (Barry Pepper), a member of one such tribe, leaves his home in the Rocky Mountains on a journey of exploration. He joins forces with Carlo (Kim Coates), a hunter, but both men are captured by a Psychlo raiding party and transported to a slave camp at the Psychlos' main base on Earth, a giant dome built over the ruins of Denver, Colorado.
A man and his young son struggle to survive after an unspecified cataclysm has caused another extinction event. Civilization has collapsed, reducing the survivors to scavenging and in most cases cannibalism. The duo search for supplies as they travel south on a road to the coast in the hope it will be warmer. The man is armed with a revolver, but carries just two rounds.