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Arrowhead (2015) movie poster

Timeline

Arrowhead (2015) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2015 · 95 mins · English
Directed by
Jesse O'Brien
Starring
Christopher Kirby, Adam Tuohy, Akira Bradley, Aleisha Rose, Dan Mor, Jak Wyld

A prisoner of war, Kye finds himself caught in a conflict he doesn't support. Offered a chance at freedom, he embarks on a rescue mission that goes awry when his ship crashes on a desert moon. Stranded and facing a harsh environment, Kye discovers that the greatest threat to his survival might be his own inner demons and primal instincts.

Cast, crew & box office
On this page (5)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (14)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Arrowhead (2015)

Where can you watch Arrowhead? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Hoopla, Fandango at Home Free and Amazon Video: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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14 events in order · contains spoilers

Arrowhead Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Arrowhead (2015) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Escape from prison on the mining colony

    Kye Cortland escapes from a political prison on a mining colony. In the chaos of the breakout, he amputates his own foot to prevent the machinery from tearing apart the other prisoners, saving lives at the cost of his mobility.

    When
    During the escape
    Where
    Mining colony

  2. Rebellion recruitment and plan

    Cortland is recruited to join the rebellion against General Lang. General Hatch explains that Cortland’s father, a key rebel figure, is slated for execution in months on Lang's victory anniversary, and Hatch wants Cortland to hijack a scientific vessel to retrieve data to help free him.

    When
    Months before the anniversary
    Where
    Rebel base

  3. Arrowhead mission begins

    Onboard the Arrowhead, Cortland wakes from suspended animation and hacks into the vessel’s data banks to aid Hatch. He worries the action might lower the ship’s defenses, but Hatch reassures him that it’s temporary and safe.

    When
    During the hijack mission
    Where
    Arrowhead

  4. EMI flare and escape pods

    A dangerous EMI flare damages the ship and forces it to eject all escape pods. Cortland escapes in a shuttle and lands near the pods on a desert moon, starting a new survival chapter.

    When
    During escape from Arrowhead
    Where
    Desert moon

  5. Meet Hollis and awaken RE3F

    Exploring the moon, Cortland discovers the body of Arrowhead’s security chief and an undamaged pod containing biologist Tarren Hollis. He revives Hollis and uses her biometric data to activate the ship’s AI, RE3F.

    When
    Shortly after crash landing
    Where
    Desert moon

  6. Hollis distrust and plan for rescue

    Hollis accuses Cortland of being Hatch’s operative, claiming Hatch has been conducting terrorist acts. Cortland dismisses her charges as propaganda and she proposes a fair trial if he accompanies her to a rendezvous for rescue.

    When
    Immediately after revival
    Where
    Desert moon

  7. Engine login denied and insect attack

    RE3F refuses to start the shuttle’s engines without Hollis’s login. A hostile insectoid attack occurs, seemingly killing Cortland and preventing the rescue attempt.

    When
    During the shuttle launch attempt
    Where
    Desert moon

  8. Obelisk resurrection and symbiote

    An obelisk resurrects Cortland after the insect attack, infecting him with a symbiote that heals his wounds and unlocks latent powers. He and Hollis then drag Oleander’s body to the obelisk and revive him using biometric data to unlock RE3F's functions.

    When
    Immediately after the resurrection
    Where
    Desert moon

  9. Oleander's hostility and Hollis shot

    When Oleander revives, he becomes hostile and shoots Hollis. Cortland retaliates, killing Oleander, but collapses from his own wounds in the process.

    When
    Right after Oleander’s revival
    Where
    Desert moon

  10. Death, return, and plan to rescue father

    Cortland revives again; RE3F reveals he was dead for thirty-four days. The symbiote revives him, and with RE3F’s help they work to restore the shuttle’s power and escape the moon to rescue his father.

    When
    Shortly after the Oleander incident
    Where
    Desert moon

  11. Time-dilation twist and corporate plans

    Cortland discovers that his symbiote triggers transformations under stress, and learns the moon is the subject of a relativistic time-dilation experiment. He also realizes Hatch and Lang intend to use the moon offensively.

    When
    Around escape attempts
    Where
    Desert moon

  12. Three-year exile and mastery of transformation

    Over the next three years, Cortland bonds with RE3F and learns to control his insectoid transformation while surviving on the moon. He and RE3F defend the refuge against a recurring insectoid threat and prepare for a final escape.

    When
    Three years later
    Where
    Desert moon

  13. Hollis survives and RE3F upgrades

    Hollis is revealed to have possibly escaped the moon. Cortland scavenges parts from the shuttle to upgrade RE3F with a mobile frame and launches an expedition to learn Hollis’s fate.

    When
    Post three-year period
    Where
    Desert moon

  14. Final confrontation and escape plan

    Exploration reveals the planet’s connection to a time-dilation experiment, with Oleander and Cortland’s original bodies merged into a planetary organism. Hatch arrives, captures Hollis and demands the data, but Cortland wounds him with a grenade in his cybernetic foot, then kills him by transforming; Hollis helps him return to human form as they plan to leave the moon to free Cortland’s father.

    When
    Climax
    Where
    Desert moon

Last updated: October 09, 2025 at 16:02

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Timeline questions answered

Arrowhead Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Arrowhead (2015): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why did Cortland amputate his own foot?

During the prison escape on the mining colony, Cortland was caught in the mining machinery about to shred him and the other prisoners. He made the desperate choice to amputate his own foot to free himself and save the other prisoners from being torn apart by the relentless equipment.

  • prison escape
  • self-amputation
  • mining colony
  • machinery
Q2

What is the symbiote that infects Cortland?

The symbiote is an alien organism from the obelisk on the desert moon. It resurrects Cortland after death, healing all his wounds including his severed foot. The symbiote also grants him the ability to transform into an insectoid creature during times of extreme stress or pain, though it also compels violent behavior in others infected by it.

  • symbiote
  • obelisk
  • transformation
  • alien organism
Q3

Why did Oleander become violent after revival?

When Oleander was revived using the obelisk's biometric data, the symbiote infection turned him hostile and aggressive. Despite Hollis urging Cortland not to abandon him, Oleander immediately attacked and shot Hollis, forcing Cortland to kill him in self-defense.

  • Oleander
  • revival
  • hostility
  • symbiote infection
Q4

What is the time-dilation weapon on the moon?

The desert moon is the target of a relativistic time-dilation experiment. Both General Hatch and General Lang intend to use the moon as a weapon in their ongoing civil war, exploiting the time-dilation properties for military advantage.

  • time dilation
  • weapon
  • moon experiment
  • Hatch
  • Lang
Q5

Why did Hatch betray Cortland?

Hatch never intended for Cortland to survive the mission. When Hatch arrives on the moon, he reveals that only minutes have passed for him while Cortland has been stranded for years. He captures Hollis and threatens to kill her unless Cortland yields the data, demonstrating that Cortland was merely a disposable asset in Hatch's plan.

  • Hatch betrayal
  • Cortland sacrifice
  • data
  • Hollis capture
Q6

How did Cortland survive being dead for 34 days?

After killing Oleander, Cortland collapsed from his wounds and died. The symbiote from the obelisk resurrected him, revealing he had been dead for thirty-four days. The symbiote's healing properties revived him again each time he died, effectively making him immortal as long as the symbiote remained.

  • death
  • 34 days
  • resurrection
  • symbiote revival
Q7

What happened to Hollis after the insect attack?

After Oleander shot Hollis during his violent revival, she appeared to be killed. However, RE3F later revealed that Hollis survived the fight and managed to escape the moon aboard another pod. She later left the planet before Cortland's final confrontation with Hatch.

  • Hollis survival
  • escape pod
  • moon escape
Q8

Why did Cortland miss his father's rescue attempt?

After his first transformation into an insectoid creature, Cortland lost control and went into a berserk state. This out-of-control transformation caused him to miss the critical anniversary date when he was supposed to rescue his father from execution. The guilt and failure led him to withdraw from the world for three years.

  • father rescue
  • anniversary
  • transformation
  • three years
Q9

What was the merged organism found in the cave?

During his expedition to find Hollis, Cortland discovered two original bodies, his own and Oleander's, merged into a strange organism embedded deep within the planet. This revealed the moon itself was connected to the time-dilation experiment and that both men's original bodies had been absorbed into the planetary organism.

  • merged bodies
  • cave
  • planet organism
  • time dilation
Q10

How did Cortland defeat Hatch on the moon?

When Hatch demanded the data and threatened to kill Hollis, Cortland wounded Hatch with a grenade hidden in his cybernetic foot. He then killed Hatch by undergoing a final transformation into his insectoid form. Hollis talked him down from his rage, helping him revert to human form before they escaped together.

  • Hatch defeat
  • grenade
  • transformation
  • cybernetic foot
Q11

Why did RE3F refuse to start the engines?

The ship's AI RE3F refused to start the shuttle's engines without proper biometric credentials. Hollis's login initially activated RE3F, but the AI later denied engine access using her credentials. Only by using Oleander's biometric data, obtained after reviving his body at the obelisk, was RE3F's full functionality unlocked.

  • RE3F
  • biometric
  • engine login
  • Oleander data
Q12

What caused the EMI flare that damaged the Arrowhead?

A violent electromagnetic interference (EMI) flare disrupted the Arrowhead vessel during Cortland's infiltration mission. This natural phenomenon damaged the ship and forced it to eject all escape pods, stranding Cortland on the desert moon. The flare was unexpected and created the crisis that led to the survival story.

  • EMI flare
  • Arrowhead damage
  • escape pods
  • crash landing

Movie threads

More Movies Like Arrowhead, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Arrowhead tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Sci-Fi Psychological Survival Horror Movies like Arrowhead

Characters pushed to their mental and physical limits while fighting to survive in hostile alien environments. If you liked the intense survival and psychological breakdown in Arrowhead, explore more movies where characters face alien worlds and inner demons. These films combine sci-fi settings with heavy emotional weight, dark tones, and complex battles for sanity and survival.

  • psychological
  • tense
  • harrowing
  • isolated
  • survivalist
  • paranoid
  • Tone: dark, tense, harrowing
  • Pacing: variable, with tense action and introspective dread
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Narratives typically involve a character or small group isolated in a dangerous, often extraterrestrial, location. The plot revolves around their struggle for survival against both environmental hazards and a creeping psychological threat, which may be internal (madness, transformation) or external (a mysterious, unseen enemy). The journey is as much about confronting personal demons as it is about physical endurance.

Why they belong together: Movies in this thread are grouped by their shared fusion of sci-fi aesthetics with deep psychological horror and survivalist tension. They create a specific, harrowing vibe where the vastness of space contrasts with claustrophobic fear, and the protagonist's humanity is the ultimate stake.

Darkening Sky movie poster

Darkening Sky

2011
Galaxy of Terror movie poster

Galaxy of Terror

1981
Event Horizon movie poster

Event Horizon

1997
Shadowzone movie poster

Shadowzone

1990
Isolation movie poster

Isolation

2005
Survival Island movie poster

Survival Island

2002
The Terror Within movie poster

The Terror Within

1989
Alien Invasion: S.U.M.1 movie poster

Alien Invasion: S.U.M.1

2017

Movies with Bittersweet Endings After Heavy Choices like Arrowhead

Protagonists endure profound ethical challenges, achieving a costly victory that leaves them forever changed. For viewers who appreciated the heavy emotional weight and morally ambiguous, bittersweet ending of Arrowhead, this thread collects films where protagonists make hard choices. These stories feature complex narratives and leave characters permanently altered by their harrowing journeys.

  • bittersweet
  • gritty
  • heavy
  • morally complex
  • traumatic
  • costly victory
  • Tone: dark, heavy, morally complex
  • Pacing: variable, building to a poignant climax
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative arc is defined by a protagonist being forced into a conflict or situation that challenges their core values. They undergo a trial that involves significant sacrifice, betrayal, or loss, often causing them to compromise their own humanity. The ending provides a resolution to the immediate crisis but is tinged with melancholy, acknowledging the irreversible personal cost and the ambiguity of their actions.

Why they belong together: These movies share a specific emotional trajectory: a descent into a dark, complex situation resulting in a conclusion that is both victorious and tragic. The focus is on the lasting impact of trauma and difficult choices, creating a profoundly heavy and thought-provoking viewing experience.

The World Changes movie poster

The World Changes

1933
The End of Eternity movie poster

The End of Eternity

1987
Surviving Life (Theory and Practice) movie poster

Surviving Life (Theory and Practice)

2010
Valley of Flowers movie poster

Valley of Flowers

2007
The Discovery movie poster

The Discovery

2017
21 Grams movie poster

21 Grams

2003
The Salton Sea movie poster

The Salton Sea

2002
The Verdict movie poster

The Verdict

1946

Every angle

Arrowhead (2015) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Arrowhead in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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