Character Relationship Map: 400 Days

Characters

• Theo (played by Brandon Routh) — protagonist

  Theo is the captain of the four-person astronaut crew conducting a 400-day underground simulation on Earth. As paranoia and hallucinations intensify, he helps decide to investigate the surface, confro...

• Emily (played by Caity Lotz) — supporting

  Emily is Dr. Emily McTier, one of the astronauts taking part in the 400-day simulation with Theo, Dvorak, and Bug. She awakens to find the others missing, helps Theo investigate the danger, escapes Ze...

• Dvorak (played by Dane Cook) — supporting

  Dvorak is one of the four astronauts in the long-term space-travel simulation. He doubts Zell’s explanation that a lunar impact caused the dust-covered world and continues believing they are still in...

• Zell (played by Tom Cavanagh) — supporting

  Zell is a man living in the inhabited town of Tranquillity, where he operates or welcomes people into a diner. He tells the astronauts that a lunar impact created a dust cloud covering Earth, offers t...

• Bug (played by Ben Feldman) — supporting

  Bug is a member of the astronaut crew participating in the 400-day underground simulation. After the group reaches Tranquillity, he takes the first watch at Zell’s diner and begins hallucinating that...

• Sam (played by Oz Kalvan) — minor

  Sam is Bug’s son, appearing in Bug’s hallucination during the crew’s stay at Tranquillity. Bug imagines following Sam while on watch, linking Sam to Bug’s deteriorating psychological state during the...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Bug → Sam (Family Father) — Sam is connected to Bug through a parent-child relationship that appears during Bug's psychological breakdown.

  During Bug's hallucination, he follows Sam, who is explicitly identified as his son.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Dvorak → Zell (Conflict Ideological Opponent) — Dvorak openly rejects Zell's account of the outside world.

  Dvorak scoffs at Zell's claim that the Moon was struck and that a dust cloud covers Earth.

• Zell → Emily (Conflict Adversary) — Zell's deception and attack place Emily in immediate danger.

  Zell follows Emily and Theo with two other men after denying that the missing crew members had arrived at the diner.

• Zell → Theo (Conflict Adversary) — Zell becomes a direct physical threat to Theo near the end of the simulation.

  Zell follows Theo and Emily with two other men to the ship, and Theo helps neutralize the attackers before Zell dies.

• Theo → Bug (Alliance Teammate) — Bug's disappearance becomes one of the central dangers confronting Theo.

  Theo and Bug begin the 400-day simulation as members of the same astronaut crew.

• Theo → Dvorak (Alliance Teammate) — Their team relationship deteriorates as Dvorak rejects the explanation for the surface conditions and leaves the group.

  Theo and Dvorak are both members of the crew that begins the underground simulation.

• Dvorak → Bug (Alliance Teammate) — Their team connection is part of the crew structure, although the plot provides little direct interaction between them.

  Dvorak and Bug are both members of the crew assigned to the 400-day simulation.

• Emily → Bug (Alliance Teammate) — Bug's disappearance directly affects Emily, who later wakes and searches for the missing crew members.

  Emily and Bug begin the 400-day simulation together as members of the same crew.

• Emily → Dvorak (Alliance Teammate) — Their shared mission is strained when Dvorak leaves the group after disputing the surface-world explanation.

  Emily and Dvorak are introduced as members of the same four-person simulation crew.

• Theo → Emily (Alliance Teammate) — They remain the central surviving partnership during the final part of the ordeal.

  Theo and Emily begin the 400-day simulation together as members of the four-person crew. They later search for the missing crew members together and f...

Story Analysis

An astronaut simulation becomes a psychological survival ordeal whose final reality remains deliberately uncertain.

Plot Progression

1. Beneath The Simulation — Four astronauts begin a 400-day underground simulation designed to study long-term space travel. Confinement gradually produces paranoia, hallucinations, and emotional separation.
2. The Intruder's Warning — A disheveled man enters the simulated spacecraft and then escapes. The crew responds by leaving the underground shelter to investigate the surface.
3. A Town In The Dust — The crew crosses a dark and desolate surface before finding the inhabited town of Tranquillity. Zell offers shelter and describes a catastrophic dust cloud covering Earth.
4. Vanishing Companions — Dvorak rejects Zell's explanation and leaves the group after visiting the bar. Bug experiences a hallucination, and Theo and Emily later awaken alone.
5. The Hatch Opens — Theo and Emily return to the spacecraft and fight off Zell and two other men. Zell dies as the simulation ends, but the film leaves the world beyond the hatch unseen.