WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Albert Hughes’ Alpha, in theaters now.
Sony Pictures' prehistoric adventure Alpha depicts the friendship between a lost boy Keda (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and a wolf he befriends while trying to make his way back to his tribe.
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However, as sentimental as Alpha is, it's a survivalist tale that turns incredibly dark at crucial intervals. Keda and the wolf, Alpha, have to navigate dangerous terrain to reach their destination, with savage beasts and harsh weather conditions threatening them at every turn. As a result, they're placed in several precarious situations from which they must escape. Here are the film's most nail-biting moments.
5. Keda's Great Descent
The opening sequence follows Keda and members of his tribe taking part in the Great Hunt. Not being aggressive, Keda breaks ranks and ends up being attacked by one of the stampeding bison, and his hurled off a cliff in the process. He doesn't doesn't fall to the bottom, however, and instead lands on a ledge a few hundred feet below. Sadly, after waiting for days, Kenda's tribe leaves him for dead.
When the injured boy wakes, he makes the harrowing descent, slipping repeatedly along the way. If you have a fear of heights, this sequence isn't for you. Luckily, heavy rains come and the valley floods, so that when a tired Keda, after hours of climbing, falls off the side of the cliff, he's able to swim to safety, if only barely.
4. Keda vs. Alpha's Pack
Keda washes up in an area rife with predators; to make matters worse, his ankle is broken. After tending to his injuries as best as he can, Kenda spots a pack of wolves on the horizon, and chases the boy, who scrambles up a tree.
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However, as he does, the pack leader repeatedly bites at him, and tries to drag him down as the others are snap and snarl. Although reluctant to kill, Keda is left with no choice but to stab the wolf, allowing him to evade death. The pack spends a night waiting for him, but eventually leaves. Feeling sorry for the wounded wolf left behind, Kenda nurses her back to health, beginning his bond with Alpha.
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3. Keda Nearly Drowns
It takes Alpha a while to warm to Keda, but he the wolf to recover, feeding her and tending to her wounds. They begin a mutually beneficial relationship, as she helps Keda learn to hunt and becomes the man his tribe wanted him to be. When Alpha meets her pack again, Keda sets her free, recognizing she needs to be with her kind.
Soon afterward, however, he encounters them again as a snowstorm sets in. As he crosses a frozen lake to greet Alpha, the ice cracks and Keda falls through. The wolf responds by trying to help the boy break through the ice before he drowns or freeze to death. It's a suspense-filled sequence as Keda frantically attempts to locate a weak spot. Alpha eventually finds one, and jumps on the ice, and Keda uses his knife to smash through and escape.
2. Team Alpha vs. a Saber-Toothed Cat
Early in the film, Keda knew the danger the saber-toothed cat posed after it eats his friend. The beast is huge, swift, and able to operate in the shadows. When Keda and Alpha seek refuge in a cave from a pack of hyenas, little do they realize it's a trap set by the giant cat, which promptly attacks.
Alpha, however, battles the cat, and just when the wolf is about to be killed, Keda uses a bow and arrow he scavenged from a dead tribesman to slay their attack. Sadly, Alpha's injuries are life-threatening, which leaves Keda no choice but to hasten his journey home, hoping his tribe's shaman can save the wolf. It's one of the scarier sequences in the film.
1. Team Alpha vs. The Tundra
The finale presents Keda with his biggest challenge yet as he's stuck on the tundra while trying to take Alpha home. He first passes out, but in a dream, he remembers his parents discussing that he's stronger than he looks, which helps him to muster the courage to continue the trek. Watching him tote Alpha on his back proves to be one of the film's most emotional moments, reiterating Keda will never give up.
The boy struggles through the snow, but somehow he keeps getting stronger. Viewers are left thinking it'll be a sad ending, but Keda manages to power through, driven by love, and finally reunites with his tribe. There, his family nurses him and Alpha back to health, and the wolf also gives birth, allowing the story to conclude on a happy note.
In theaters now, director Albert Hughes’ Alpha stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson and Chuck (the wolf-dog).