Dawn of the Beast 2021

The film opens in a quiet forest where a couple shares a tense moment before the woman is given a green-stone necklace by her partner; shortly after, she is mysteriously killed, setting a foreboding mood that lingers through the opening scene.

Years later, a group of graduate students—Chris [Adrian Burke], Isabella [Ariella Mastroianni], Jake [Chris Cimperman], Lilly [Anna Shields], and Oz [LeJon Woods]—head into the Northeastern wilderness with their professor, Dr. Dennis Kasdan [Willard Morgan], to look for evidence of Bigfoot during Dead Month, a notorious window for strange sightings and unexplained disappearances. Along the rugged trail, the team’s dynamics drift between curiosity and caution as the harsh environment tests their resolve.

During the expedition they uncover a decayed skeleton wearing the same green-stone necklace from the opening scene; Isabella secretly pockets the relic, despite concerns that reporting the discovery could end their trip early and jeopardize their research.

That night, Isabella ventures out alone and encounters a terrifying creature, falling under the sway of a malevolent force that begins to possess her. At the same time, Lilly is abducted by Everett [Grant Schumacher], a man whose fixation on Bigfoot was born from a sorrowful loss years prior. He uses Lilly as bait, tying her to a tree to lure the elusive monster into the camp’s vicinity.

As the night deepens, the group finds themselves under siege by two dark forces: a menacing Bigfoot and a savage Wendigo, a malevolent spirit that preys on trespassers in its domain. The cabin becomes a battleground as the creatures strike, and the group suffers a series of gruesome deaths that claim Kasdan’s life and test the remaining researchers’ will to survive.

Chris and Lilly manage a narrow escape from the first assault. Lilly pleads with Chris to run, but he chooses to stay and search for other survivors, only to discover there are none. After a harrowing gamble, he reunites with Lilly, and together they attempt a desperate escape from the nightmare.

Their attempt to flee is cut short when Isabella, now fully possessed, confronts them in a climactic confrontation. A fiery explosion erupts, seemingly killing Isabella and Everett, who later reappears in a zombified state. Chris and Lilly manage to survive the ordeal, but the traumatic memories linger, leaving them visibly scarred as they try to piece together what happened in the forest.