Plot

In the prehistoric past, a young man struggles to return home after being separated from his tribe during a buffalo hunt. He finds a similarly lost wolf companion and starts a friendship that would change humanity.

An epic adventure set in the last Ice Age, Alpha is a fascinating, visually stunning story that shines a light on the origins of man's best friend. While on his first hunt with his tribe's most elite group, a young man is injured and must learn to survive alone in the wilderness. After the young man reluctantly tames a lone wolf abandoned by its pack, the pair learn to rely on each other and become unlikely allies, enduring countless dangers and overwhelming odds in order to find their way home before winter arrives.

Abandoned after his first hunt in the prehistoric Ice Age, a young man (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is left to withstand the hostile wilderness on his own. He soon encounters and befriends a deserted wolf, and the two learn what it takes to survive as a brutal winter approaches in this action-packed thriller.

Keda is a young man separated from his tribe in a hunt gone awry. While out in the wild, he encounters a wolf which has been abandoned by its pack and the two form a bond. Now, with winter on the way, the unlikely friends must embark on an odyssey across the harsh, unforgiving landscape to make it home in time for supper.—Tom Daly

In Upper Paleolithic Europe, 20,000 years in the past, a small tribe of hunter-gatherers prepares for an expedition to hunt for the coming winter's food. Tau (Johannes Haukur Johannesson), its chief, trains his adolescent son Keda (Kodi Smit-McPhee), accepting him and another boy to join the hunting party. Before being inducted the tribe youngsters have to perform several tasks successfully, one of which is to carve out a stone spear head. Keda's spear head is the sharpest. As a right of passage, the selected boys are roughed up by the rest of the hunting party. Tau rewards Keda with his own necklace. Tau tells Keda that the tribe needs to hunt the bison for survival during the winter months. His wife Rho (Natassia Malthe) worries that Keda is not ready, but Tau believes he is, and the hunters set out. Rho says that Keda leads with his heart and not his spear, which Keda overhears. Tau says that Keda will return home a leader, fit to lead the tribe.

Keda is still very raw and cannot light his own fire. Tau tells Keda to be patient and to learn new skills to survive. Their route to the bison hunting grounds is known as the Great Path and is marked by huge stone markers along the way as guides. The markers are said to be left by their ancestors to be followed as a trail. Directions on the markers point them to the bison hunting grounds.

Tau tests Keda by having him kill a boar they've caught, but Keda balks. Tau is livid and says that Keda has to learn to take a life, which gives life to the tribe (in the form of food). One night, the party's fire draws the attention of a Machairodus (a large cave lion), which lunges through their circle, snatching Keda's friend. Hearing the fatal struggle in the darkness, the tribe gives him up for dead. The member is given a memorial service in the form of placing rocks to symbolize the passing of one's spirit to the afterlife.

The tribe have knowledge of engraving tattoos on their skins. They use that to create star maps on the back of the hand to guide the hunter's home if they are lost. At night, when they hear a wolf pack howling, Tau teaches Keda about the pack Alpha. Tau says that an Alpha has to look after the pack but is also always in danger as others in the pack will challenge him for leadership. Alpha can sense weakness and will put the challengers in their place, if they are not brave or strong. An Alpha is not born but earned.

The hunters eventually reach a herd of steppe bison, which they attempt to stampede off a cliff with relative success. Amidst the chaos, one bison refuses to follow the herd and turns back to rush Keda (with Keda's clothes getting entangles in the bison's horns) and throws him over the edge, leaving him gripping the rough cliff edge with his hand. Tau throws a spear at the bison, injuring it fatally, but not before the bison reaches the edge and throws Keda off. Keda loses grip and falls to a further ledge where he appears to break his leg and is knocked to unconsciousness. The ledge is situated somewhere between the top of the cliff and the ravine below. Tau attempts to climb down to him, but he is stopped by another member of the tribe who assures him in good faith that Keda is dead and there would be no way to reach him. The tribe leaves (after gathering the bison meat from the ravine below the cliff) and Tau performs another funeral ritual, stricken with grief.

Keda is awoken by a vulture who mistakes him for dead. He kills the bird and tries to climb the rest of the way down the cliff. A sudden heavy rainfall causes the ravine below to flood. Losing his grip, Keda jumps into the water. He survives and splints his injured foot before returning to the top of the cliff. Seeing the memorial cairn left by his tribe, he realizes he must trek back to the village by himself. Keda survives by drinking dirty water and eating worms.

He is attacked by a pack of wolves, but escapes up a tree, wounding one of them which the others leave behind. Keda cannot bring himself to kill the injured wolf and takes pity on it instead. Keda cares for its injury. Keda carries the wolf and finds that they are being chased by hyenas. He takes shelter in a cave and manages to light a fire. Gradually gaining the wolf's trust, he gives it water and then food establishing himself as dominant by feeding himself first. He sets out for the village without the wolf, but it follows him. Their companionship grows, and they learn to hunt small boar together. Along the way, Keda names the wolf Alpha (Chuck). One night, they are approached menacingly by a pack of wolves. They hesitate upon seeing Alpha, who steps forward and greets them. The pack runs off and with Keda's blessing, Alpha joins them.

Keda continues his journey alone as the season changes to winter. On a frozen lake, he encounters a pack of wolves feeding. Recognizing Alpha, he runs to them, but the ice breaks and he falls through. Alpha helps rescue him and they are reunited.

Continuing the journey together, they find a man who has frozen to death outside his tent and scavenge a bow and arrow from it. Later, they take refuge from cave hyenas in a cave where they are attacked by another Machairodus. Alpha and the Machairodus fight, and Keda kills the Machairodus with the arrow. However, Alpha is badly injured and now travels with difficulty. Meanwhile, Keda begins to cough up blood. When Alpha finally cannot walk, Keda carries the wolf.

Keda eventually finds the village and reunites happily with his parents, who are amazed and proud of him. As the village healer tends to Alpha's wounds, the wolf delivers a litter of pups to Keda's surprise. Alpha and her pups are formally welcomed into the tribe and grow up in the care of Alpha and Keda. In time, the tribe becomes one of both humans and domesticated wolves, hunting together.