Summaries

Synopsis

When the spaceship Odyssey experiences engine trouble in deep space, the crew is left with no choice but to flee the ship in an escape shuttle. The shuttle crash lands on a ship strangely similar to Earth, but with no signs of civilization. The ship crashes into a large lake, and the crew must swim to shore. Realizing that they had forgotten to tow in an emergency beacon that may be vital to their rescue, communications officer Cindy volunteers to swim back out and get it. Along the way, she is dragged under by an unknown creature and devoured. Fearing that the creature that killed Cindy may be amphibious, Captain Lee orders everyone to move away from the lake to dryer ground.

The crew walks for the remainder of the day, then camps for the night to take stock of their supplies: a few crates of food rations, some signaling mirrors, and a few laser guns. As they sit around a campfire bemoaning their situation, a terrifying roar can be heard somewhere in the distance. None of the crew has ever heard an animal make a sound like that, but Mike observes that the sound was "a hunting call".

The next morning, Jim wakes Lee up and takes him to a nearby clearing, where they see something that shocks them- a group of long-necked dinosaurs called brontosauri! The crew oberves the creatures for a time, before deciding to continue moving towards dryer ground. On the way, they see more dinosaurs- stegosauri, pterodactyls, and finally, a mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex! Realizing that they are no match for a creature such as a T-Rex, Lee orders his people to move to a plateau nearby, hoping that the mighty predator will not be able to follow them up the mountain. Jim, however, is beginning to chafe under Lee's leadership, saying that they should stay and fight the T-Rex, saying "It's just an animal. A dumb animal."

Lee is still the captain, and so the crew climbs the mountain and begins building a stockade on top of the plateau, hoping to keep out the smaller dinosaurs. During the construction, they have several close calls with other denizens of the planet- Harvey is killed by a triceratops after he tries raiding it's nest for eggs, and Nyla is attacked by a huge, aggressive spider and is rescued at the last moment by Jim. But it is not until Charlotte is attacked and nearly killed by an allosaurus that Jim has had enough of Lee's leadership. Jim tells Lee that they are no safer here than they were on the ground, and that the only way to tame this world is to start fighting back. Lee urges patience, saying that a rescue ship will come for them, and that they musn't risk lives for some foolish desire to play Tarzan on an uncharted world. But the crew, having spent days in fear of attack, sides with Jim, deciding to fight back.

The crew begins to track the allosaur that attacked Charlotte, intending to kill it. But when the find it, the allosaur is already dead- another dinosaur had already gotten it. Then Jim spies the huge footprint nearby- the Tyrannosaurus Rex has followed them up the mountain!

The crew knows its only a matter of time before the T-Rex attacks them, but Lee again urges patience, saying that the stockade coupled with the natural rock barriers of the plateau will be enough to keep the T-Rex out. That night, the T-Rex proves Lee wrong when it smashes through the blockade, devouring Derna in the process! Lee now realizes that they must stop the beast if they will have any hope of surviving until a rescue ship arrives. Jim wants to confront the T-Rex head on with spears and lasers, but Lee does not want to lose any more lives. The crew opts for the safer plan of poisoning the T-Rex with toxic berries. They kill an ankylosaurus and stuff its body with the poisoned berries, then carry the carcass to the T-Rex's lair, a huge cave, intending to leave it there for the beast to find. But the T-Rex surprises them, and it comes roaring out of the cave, charging right past the carcass and towards them! The crew runs, but Mike bravely stays behind, hurling a spear at the creature. But Mike is no match for the monster, and the T-Rex quickly devours him!

Lee and the crew return to camp, and Lee orders them to pack up. He wants to leave the plateau, to try for a valley to the west of them where they can farm and be safe from the larger beasts. But Lee now faces an all-out mutiny led by Jim. The crew will not run any longer, they will make their stand against the T-Rex or they will die in the attempt. They begin a plan to trick the beast, getting it to chase them and impale itself on large, poison-soaked spikes in the process. Fed up with Jim, Lee grabs a spear and says, "Let's settle this."

Jim tells Lee he'd be happy to fight him, but not now. "Not while that beast is still alive," Jim says, referring to the T-Rex. As if on cue, the crew hears the ominous roar of the T-Rex in the distance- it's coming now, and they haven't prepared the trap! Lee decides that he will lead the T-Rex away, and runs off, even as the crew tries to stop him. Using a signalling mirror, Lee succeeds in attracting the T-Rex and leads it to another huge carnivore! The two dinosaurs fight briefly, but the T-Rex quickly kills the other. Its hunger satisfied for the moment, the T-Rex returns to his lair, and Lee returns to camp.

The crew is ready to put their plan into action. Jim tosses Lee a spear and says, "We're waiting for you to give the word, captain". Lee realizes that the crew is behind him once more, and leads them to the T-Rex's lair for the final confrontation with the creature. They taunt the beast, and it comes charging out of its cave. The crew begins their desperate plan, and with the T-Rex right behind them, they begin to run to where the trap had been set. The creature is worked into such a frenzy that it doesn't notice the huge spike in its path, and charges directly into it, impaling itself in the chest! The T-Rex is finally defeated, and the crew finally feels like they have taken the first step in taming this new world.

Months later, we see the tiny farming community that the surviving crew has built. Their uniforms are gone, they now wear furs made from planet wildlife and hunt dinosaurs for food, and have even started having children. As the movie closes, Charlotte asks Nyla, "Do you think we'll ever be rescued?"

Nyla wonders for a moment, then says, "It doesn't seem to matter anymore."