Year: 1996
Runtime: 85 mins
Language: English
Terror never truly dies. When a shipment meant for international terrorists unexpectedly contains live dinosaurs, a military commando unit must act quickly to stop the creatures before they threaten humanity itself rather than the reptiles.
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Read the complete plot breakdown of Carnosaur 3: Primal Species (1996), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
An army convoy is ambushed by terrorists who mistake its cargo for uranium, only to discover they have stolen a truckload of living frozen biological material. At a dockside warehouse, two Velociraptors and a Tyrannosaurus rex break free and systematically kill the terrorists before the police arrive, expecting to confront drug dealers. After finding the sole survivor, the police are wiped out inside the warehouse by the roaming dinosaurs. A special counter-terrorism force led by Scott Valentine Higgins is called in by Anthony Peck General Mercer, and they uncover body parts and a refrigerated truck instead of uranium. They push through the maze of crates and boxes, losing two teammates along the way, as the threat looms larger than anyone anticipated.
The survivors learn from Dr. Hodges, Janet Gunn in the role, that these dinosaurs have been genetically rebuilt and are the last three carnosaurs still in existence. They were en route to a government research facility, and it is stressed that they must be captured alive due to the potential to cure major diseases. A massive shipment of meat sits on the dock, giving the team a tactical focus as they coordinate with a Marine reinforcements unit. Private Rick Dean Polchek is equipped with tranquilizers to subdue the dinosaurs while the group sets up a decoy and a meat-based net trap. One Velociraptor assaults Polchek and nearly drags him away, but the creature is shot down and neutralized.
The captured raptor is transported to the base for examination. Hodges soon theorizes the regeneration of Velociraptor and the asexual reproduction of the T. rex. Once stabilized, the injured Velociraptor wakes and resumes its attack, while the T. rex also appears and kills a soldier before escaping with the Velociraptor toward an agricultural transport ship. With Morgan Englund Rossi serving as captain, the team decides to move the ship out to sea and use its coolant to freeze the dinosaurs.
As they explore the lower decks, the raptors kill a few more soldiers. The survivors reach an elevator, but a Velociraptor gnaws through the cable and they crash on the lower level. There, they discover a nest of eggs and begin firing at it, incensing the T. rex, which then kills Justina Vail Evans Proudfoot. Hodges senses the Tyrant is nearby and, with Scott Valentine Higgins, hides behind lockers that the T. rex headbutts. Higgins hurls an explosive into the dinosaur’s mouth, killing it. The two race against time to leap into the ocean before the ship explodes.
Back on land, in a port police cruiser, the lone surviving terrorist remains bound and gagged in the back seat when a Velociraptor suddenly appears outside the vehicle and attacks him, bringing the deadly encounter full circle.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:09
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