In 2009, Nelson confessed to shooting three men to death in Yellowstone National Park and despite his confession being accurately detailed, he was not convicted of the crimes because the crime occurred in an uninhabited area and as such, there is no chance of finding a jury to hear the trial.

Years later Julian T. Pinder examines the crimes and the legal loophole that allowed Nelson to walk free.

As the film progresses Pinder begins to receive strange and frightening items, evidence of Nelson's crime.

[5] Shock Till You Drop praised the movie, commenting that "Knowing that POPULATION ZERO is a hypothetical scenario played out is immaterial.

The point is that the federal government recognizes that there is a “Zone of Death” in one of its National Parks, making this film far more unsettling and disturbing than anything to spring from one’s imagination.