Terravex Oil is conducting a fracking operation in North Dakota, under the watchful eye of CEO Reece Tenneson and geologist Jim Dowd. In a shocking turn of events, their drilling unleashes three squid-like creatures from deep below the earth, leading to the destruction of their drilling rig. While two of the creatures are captured by Terravex, one manages to escape into the wild.
Enter high school senior Tripp Coley, a young man stuck working at a junkyard, dreaming of leaving his monotonous town. He’s been tirelessly working on a pickup truck, hoping to transform it into a vehicle that will take him to new horizons, although it currently lacks a functional drivetrain. One fateful evening, Tripp has a life-changing encounter with the escaped creature in the junkyard. He successfully captures it, only for it to slip away before he can alert the authorities.
The following day, Tripp learns that this strange creature thrives on oil and has made a cozy nest in the hood of his truck. After naming the creature Creech, Tripp resolves to assist him in returning home. He ingeniously modifies his truck to give Creech more mobility by transforming it into a unique makeshift engine, allowing Creech to use the vehicle as a 'wheelchair' of sorts.
Meanwhile, Tenneson’s worries continue to mount regarding the disaster at the drilling rig, especially as similar experiments have hinted at the presence of other creatures. To safeguard the company’s reputation, he opts to drill poison into a hole that leads to the underwater tunnels, while also hiring mercenary Burke to eliminate the captured creatures. This plan meets resistance from Dowd, who recognizes that the creatures display profound intelligence, emotions, and a hive-mind connection capable of shared learning.
In a bid for assistance, Tripp and Meredith approach Tripp’s father, Wade, only to be betrayed as Wade sells them to Burke. Nevertheless, Tripp and Meredith make a daring escape in the modified truck with Creech. They find themselves in a suspenseful chase with Burke and his team, evading their clutches by leaping over a train and taking refuge in a hunting cabin.
Feeling a distressing urgency about the fate of the other creatures, Creech sets off for the Terravex headquarters, prompting Tripp and Meredith to follow suit. Upon arrival, they discover Creech's parents but soon face an attack from Terravex personnel. Creech gets captured, while Tripp and Meredith are taken captive by Tenneson.
Resolved to assist Tripp and Meredith, Dowd devises a plan to rescue the creatures. They procure additional trucks and modify them, enabling these vehicles to be controlled by Creech's parents. With Dowd's aid, they hijack a Terravex truck transporting Creech’s family, making a daring escape toward the mountain where the tunnels are located.
During the chase, Rick, a friend from town, intervenes to help Tripp's group evade Burke, even getting into a fierce confrontation that sees Burke attempting to force Tripp off the road into the drilling pit. In a climax of heroic ingenuity, Tripp and Creech manage to overturn Burke's truck, destroying the poison machine and seemingly ending Burke's threat as his vehicle is consumed by machinery.
In a poignant moment, Creech saves Tripp from drowning, after which he and his family head back home to join their fellow creatures. The group exposes the atrocities committed by Terravex, leading to Tenneson's arrest for his misdeeds. As things settle down, Tripp and Rick find camaraderie in rebuilding a V8 engine for the truck, while Tripp and Meredith begin to kindle a romantic relationship, turning the page to a hopeful new chapter in their lives.
