Komodo

In the 1980s, a shipment of exotic animals docks at Emerald Isle, North Carolina. The driver notices a distinctive smell and tosses a crate of reptilian eggs into the swamp, assuming the contents are rotten. The eggs lie hidden in the swamp, setting up the dragon threat for years to come.

Nearly two decades later, the Connelly family arrives back at their vacation island while a major oil company pollutes the coast. They intend to rekindle the family retreat and rebuild their life there. The environmental disturbance foreshadows the danger lurking underground.

Patrick and his dog Buster spot a small lizard and give chase, staying out later than allowed. When his parents search for him, he heads home and is ambushed by an unseen creature. He barely escapes as his family is devoured, and he is left in a state of shock.

Several weeks later, Patrick’s grandmother reaches out to Dr. Victoria Juno, a young psychiatrist, to help him cope with grief. Aunt Annie is indifferent to the plan, but Victoria’s involvement gains support from the grandmother. Victoria and Annie accompany Patrick back to the island to begin the healing process.

At the Connellys’ old vacation home, Annie is attacked and wounded, and Victoria tends to her while Patrick experiences a growl in the kitchen. He has a flashback to the earlier attack and whips around to reveal a massive Komodo dragon. Annie is killed, and Victoria and Patrick barely escape, realizing there are several more dragons on the island.

The group encounters Captain Martin severely wounded and driving frantically, nearly colliding with Oates and Denby, two men sent to eliminate the reptiles. Oates and Denby tend to Martin’s wounds, and they call Bracken for support in killing the Komodos. The tension reveals a dangerous alliance between the islanders and corporate interests.

Bracken refuses to evacuate the island until all Komodos are killed, putting the group at risk. Oates explains their mission and his background as a biologist, while his wife’s disappearance adds personal stakes. The clash foreshadows the moral compromise behind the 'dragon problem'.

They make their way to the oil company office station to seek shelter and medicine for Martin. Martin dies from infection, and Denby is killed in a separate room during the same assault of the dragons. Bracken radios to coordinate a helicopter rescue, escalating the countdown.

Oates reveals to Victoria that he was a former biologist and that his wife, a geologist, was hired by the oil company to survey the environment. In the field, the two are separated and he never sees her again; police believe Oates murdered his wife, while Bracken offers him an escape in exchange for killing the Komodo dragons. This backstory deepens the conspiracy.

They head toward Patrick’s old hang-out, a filtration centre, to find him. Separated, Victoria is attacked by a Komodo dragon but is saved by Patrick, and he escapes again into the grass. The tension heightens as the creatures close in on them from multiple directions.

Oates is attacked by a dragon but manages to kill it; he is bitten in the process. He then returns and saves Victoria from another pursuing dragon by shooting it. The group momentarily regains control as they press toward safety.

Victoria tells Patrick that the oil company knew about the Komodos and covered it up to protect themselves; his parents’ deaths were not his fault. The revelation brings Patrick some closure and shifts the blame away from him. They prepare for the final confrontation.

A remaining Komodo attacks, and Oates lures it into a gasoline leak and tries to ignite it. The dragon escapes the fire and Victoria uses a rock to bash the dragon with a broom handle, finishing it. The improvised trap demonstrates their resolve to survive.

The rescue helicopter arrives, and Oates turns up alive and steals the helicopter to leave Bracken stranded on the island with the dragons. Victoria and Patrick reach the mainland unharmed, while Bracken is left to deal with the wreckage. The surreal escape marks a bittersweet victory.

On the sidewalk back in town, the sheriff greets them and asks if everything is all right. Patrick answers simply, Never better, signaling a fragile sense of normalcy after the nightmare. The brief moment closes the ordeal and returns them to everyday life.