Genre: Sci-Fi/Horror/Adventure
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Writer: Dwight Gallo
Based on the novel by H.P. Lovecraft
Cast: Tom Cruise, Christoph Waltz, Domhnall Gleeson, Dominic West, Graham McTavish, Toby Jones, Bella Heathcote, Ed Helms, Eric Christian Olsen
Plot: Miskatonic University, Arkham, Massachusetts - September 1930.
A distinguished group of scientists are selected by Dr. Gilman Lake (Christoph Waltz), chairman of the biology department of Miskatonic University, for an expedition to Antarctica. Among the group are geologist William Dyer (Tom Cruise) and his graduate assistant Peter Danforth (Domhnall Gleeson). At a party celebrating before the trip, Lake gives a speech where he tells the crowd of academics that Antarctica promises rich undisturbed fossil records, important clues to the origin of all species. Engineer Frank Paboie (Dominic West) shows reporters the large drilling apparatus he invented for the expedition, one that promises to drill deeper than anything before it. Lake takes Dyer and Danforth aside and shows them the contents of a crate that just arrived: the fossil of a monstrous creature. Dyer tells them that nothing remotely as complex as the creature has ever existed on Earth and must be some sort of a hoax. Lake tells them that it is indeed real, the findings of a previous expedition to Antarctica. Lake confides in them that the real reason for the trip is to dig up further evidence.
At the port, Dyer has a moment with his pregnant fiance Annie (Bella Heathcote). Dyer once again apologizes for the timing of the trip, but he tells her that it is going to be historic and he couldn't turn down the offer to go. Annie is clearly still upset by his decision to leave her for the Antarctic mere months before their child is due to be born. In anger, Annie tells Dyer that she may not be around when he gets back. Dyer pleads with her that he will make everything up to her upon his return. With that, Dyer kisses Annie and her pregnant belly before boarding a ship.
One Month Later.
Two ships, the Arkham and the Miskatonic, take the expedition and its equipment south to Antarctica. On board are four small airplanes, eight pneumatic drills, fifty-five sled dogs and thousands of pounds of food, fuel and equipment. Captain Douglas (Graham McTavish) and his second-in-command Higgins (Eric Christian Olsen) guide the ships further south toward their destination. Gedney (Toby Jones) documents the expedition on film.
When they reach Antarctia, the expedition quickly sets up camp and begins drilling. They quickly begin securing fossil records, but not the kind of records Lake is looking for. Douglas notices that the ship's radio isn't working, chalking it up to the magnetic fields of the South Pole. After some promising findings, Lake wants to take a team over a foreboding mountain range, past the South Pole, intending to go further into Anarctica than any prior expedition. Dyer is against the idea as he feels they don't have enough information to make such a decision. Lake, as the head of the expedition, ignores the misgivings of his colleague and takes a small team with him, including Frank Pabodie, Gedney and expedition meteorologist Hank Atwood (Ed Helms).
Lake's team take the sled dogs through the tundra toward the mountain range where they find a cave opening. Lake orders the team to set-up a camp at once. Atwood looks at his weather instruments and informs Lake that a storm will be coming through very shortly and that it will interfere with the radios, making them unable to contact base camp for days. The team gets the camp set up just in time before the storm hits. That night, Lake sees something moving around outside of his tent. He calls out for Atwood, but gets no response. Lake goes outside to look around when he is suddenly attacked by something unseen.
Once the storm clears, Dyer is still unable to make contact with Lake over the radio for days. Dyer decides that he and Danforth will fly one of the planes over the area to see if they can locate Lake's team. They eventually see the tents at the base of the mountain. They mark the location of the tents on a map and continue flying over the mountains, finding beyond them an ancient city unlike anything known to human history. Sharp-pointed towers, labrynthine passages of cubes and cones. They fly back to base camp and inform the others of what they found. Dyer asks for volunteers to join him to investigate Lake's camp as well as the fantastical city they saw. The rest of the camp thinks he's crazy, and only Danforth volunteers to come along.
Dyer and Danforth arrive at Lake's camp, only to find things less serene than they seemed from the air. They find the camp destroyed. The people have been slaughtered, including Professor Lake, whose stomach has been ripped open and his guts carefully removed. They count the bodies of humans and dogs alike, finding that Gedney, along with one sled dog, is not accounted for. Dyer searches Lake's tent, and finds his latest writings. The writings state Lake's belief that the mountains are not mere mountains, but rather an outer wall surrounding an ancient city. Lake references the Necronomicon several times as well as Elder Gods who Lake believed built this city and may have created mankind for all we know. Being geologists, Dyer and Danforth aren't sure what to make of all of it, but Dyer does find a translation guide Lake created to help decipher the hieroglyphics Lake had previously found. Dyer radios back to base camp that the camp has been killed by... something. He asks that if they don't report back soon to send a rescue party for them as well. Captain Douglas on the other end of the radio asks what happened. Dyer takes a moment to figure out what to say. He then tells Douglas that Gedney is the only body they could not find among the ruins of the camp, so he either killed the camp, or something else killed everyone and took Gedney with them. Before Dyer leaves Lake's tent, he notices a pistol and pockets it.
Dyer and Danforth walk through the tunnel and into the great, ancient city. Hieroglyphics line the walls, which Dyer tries to decipher using Lake's guide. A fowl stench fills the air as they continue. Danforth takes pictures of the markings and architecture as Dyers attempts to translate. Dyer thinks he hears something coming and tells Danforth they should hide. Down the corridor comes a group of seemingly blind eight-foot-tall albino penguins calmly walking along. Danforth whispers to Dyers that nobody is ever going believe what they've seen. As the penguins pass, Dyers goes back to translating massive murals adorning the walls of the city. He is able to make out something about "Old Ones" coming to Earth and creating large amoeba-like beings that Lake's notes call "shoggoths" that built the city and may be the impetus for all life on Earth, but then they revolted against their master. Danforth points out some blood on the ground, believing it must be from Gedney. Dyer pulls the gun out of his pocket and tells Danforth to follow him. The more meek Danforth reluctantly follows his mentor deeper in to the mountains of madness.
As Dyer and Danforth venture further into the city, they stumble upon a large chamber filled with the fossilized remains of large winged, starfish shaped creatures. Danforth suggests that they must be the "old ones" Lake's notes suggest. They spot more blood on the ground becoming more of a trail. They follow the trail until they come upon the eviscerated remains of Gedney and the missing dog. Danforth says that he is ready to leave and Dyer agrees. Suddenly a large shoggoth appears from the shadows. It's blob-like body quickly surrounds Danforth, who pleads Dyer for help. Dyer shoots Danforth in the head, killing him instantly. Dyer then proceeds to flee the ancient city. Dyer runs as fast as he can through the ruins and back out of the tunnel where the plane awaits.
When Dyer returns to the base camp, he tries to frantically explain what happened, but Captain Douglas and the others believe he is merely delusional. Dyer urges Douglas and the rest of the crew to not venture toward the mountains before passing out from exhaustion. The next day, Dyer is startled awake to the sounds of Higgins yelling that someone is approaching the camp. Higgins then says that it appears to be Danforth. Dyer says that's impossible. When Douglas inquires why, Dyer calmly states that Danforth is dead. Douglas says apparently not and joins Higgins to go and greet Danforth. Dyer stays back and pulls out his gun once again. As Douglas and Higgins get closer, Danforth morphs into shoggoth form and devours both men. Knowing he cannot pilot one of the ships by himself, he sets fire to both the Arkham and the Kiskatonic. Dyer then loads one of the planes up with fuel and takes off before the shoggoth can reach him. He flies the plane as far it will go, crashing into the sea.
Floating in the ocean, Dyer is found by a British shipping vessel bound for the Falkland Islands. Dyer is thankful that he has been picked up. Thin and bearded, Dyer looks like a shell of the man who left port in Arkham, Massachusetts. Not long later, Dyer returns to Arkham greeted by Annie and his young child. When the officials at Miskatonic University asks Dyer about what happened, all he can say is that he is the only survivor. When the officials make a comment about sending another group to continue the work and learn what happened, Dyer grows angry. He yells at them that there are things there, in those Antarctic mountains, that man was not designed to see and urges them against such an expedition.
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