Xeno

A meteor-like object crashes into the New Mexico desert, grabbing everyone's attention. A nearby hunter investigates the impact and is ambushed by a monstrous alien creature, forcing his dog to flee in panic.

Renee, a 15-year-old girl who keeps reptiles as pets, escapes her tense home life after an argument with her mother’s boyfriend Chase. She ventures into the desert and encounters the alien, which is entangled with the hunter's crashed car, and she frees it before running away.

The next day, Renee returns with supplies, including Chase's revolver, to re-examine the site. She finds Croak the alien still bound by the jaw trap and frees it, and the two form a cautious bond. However, when she heads back home, she realizes the gun she took forgot to bring back.

That night, Croak creates an empathic link with Renee, shocking her with the alien's mind-presence. She hides Croak in the basement of her house and names it Croak, trying to keep it secret from her mother and others.

Gil, a classmate who lent Renee a video camera, comes by to collect it and discovers footage of Croak. Renee shows him the alien and asks him to keep quiet, but CIA agents Keyes and Browne are already tracking Croak and overhear the exchange.

That evening, Chase confronts Renee about the missing gun and becomes violent. Croak rams the basement wall to protect Renee, triggering the fight, and Linda ejects Chase from the house.

The next morning, Keyes arrives to pressure Renee for information, while Linda has a plumber check the basement, leading to a shocking discovery. The plumber finds Croak, panics, and is killed in a car crash while fleeing.

Renee takes Croak into the desert to meet Gil, hoping to find safety and answers. Gil reveals that Browne threatened to deport his grandfather unless he told what he knows about Croak.

Feeling hunted, Renee contemplates running away with Croak. Chase reappears and tries to reclaim his gun, but Croak arrives and kills him, then escapes back into the desert.

Keyes restrains Renee and the CIA sets a trap to capture Croak. He brutally breaks Renee's finger to lure the alien to them, and Croak is captured as it comes to Renee's aid, with both of them taken to the sheriff's office.

In a tense sequence, Renee breaks her finger again to provoke Croak into action, causing the alien to break cover and attack. Croak rushes Keyes to protect Renee, killing him and dying in the process. The alien's corpse is studied by CIA forensics and unexpectedly revives in the lab.