PITCH FIRST DRAFT: SECTASAUR THE SWARM

Logline: When a newly hatched prehistoric egg unleashes a ravenous swarm of killer Insectaraptors in the Antarctic, John Storm must use his advanced DNA database, the ARK, and his onboard AI, HAL, to engineer a virus to sterilize the parasitic threat - before a hidden conspiracy unleashes the plague on the entire planet.

The climax will be a spectacular visual effects sequence where the engineered virus is deployed, with the audience holding their breath to see if it works.

ACT 1

SCENE 1: THE FEAST - Lin Po Chang discovers new eggs, hatchlings swarm in terrifying horror, scene overwhelming and devouring Chang's crew. Chang escapes, but only just.
SCENE 2: WORLD SERVICE - News of the attacks reaches the UK and BBC, where Jill Bird, reports via the World Service. Relayed to other news agencies. Global warming raises the temperature at the poles, reactivating the very dangerous Insectaraptor species. A natural trigger.
SCENE 3: ESPIONAGE - The threat is far from contained. Chang's expedition was part of a larger, clandestine operation to weaponize the creatures. The plot includes Russia (General Dmitri Volkov) and North Korea (Colonel Han-Su). DARPA is covertly monitoring chatter, the CIA's Jack Mason, from the sidelines.
SCENE 4: SILK TONGUE - Admiral Percival contacts the Swann, using his most persuasive skill set. It's official. A warning sent to all expedition stations, including the British Halley station on the Brunt ice shelf, yielded few replies. Most did not respond, including the UK station, NERC and MI6's worst fears.

SCENE 5: CHILEAN BASE - John Storm and his crew aboard the Elizabeth Swann arrive in the wake of the carnage, now extending to the Chilean Antarctic base at their Bernado O'Higgins station.
SCENE 6: APEX PREDATOR FOSSILS - The team finds a horrifying clue: a piece of fossilized evidence that, when analyzed in the ARK database, reveals the truth. These creatures didn't just coexist with dinosaurs; they were the reason for their extinction. HAL confirms this with a detailed hypothesis to counter the Chicxulub asteroid theory.

SCENE 7: MARTIAL LAW - The United Nations declare an emergency. The G20 close all borders, no travel is allowed, very COVID 19. World Health Organization chimes in, worried as to the consequences of not acting in good time. A state of martial law is declared unilaterally. For the sake of survival. Every man for himself.

ACT 2

SCENE 8: WHISTLBLOWER - The "less intelligent" nature of the new swarm isn't a weakness; it's an evolved, more efficient, and deadly predator. They are evolved to reproduce and consume until nothing is left. UNESCO admit extinction theory from Tyrannosaurus bones was buried, preventing further researches.
SCENE 9: MEDIA FRENZY - News teams arrive on the island, more food for the Insectasaurs. One by one they are attacked and eaten. Eventually, the media stop coming by boat, but use helicopters. Even these are attacked. After which there is a new blanket, relying on John Storm, Jill Bird, and the swann.
SCENE 10: VIRUS SPREAD - John and his crew are now in a race against time. They must not only stop the swarm that is spreading from the Antarctic but also find the criminal and military masterminds behind the conspiracy who are trying to unleash the Sectasaur eggs on the world.
SCENE 11: IMMUNITY CODE - Using the vast genetic data in the ARK, HAL begins to run thousands of simulations. Their goal: to find a genetic weakness in the Sectasaurs that can be exploited by a bio-weapon—a sterilizing virus mist that will stop them from reproducing, or functioning.

SCENE 12: S.O.S. - The search for a solution is intercut with more terrifying action sequences.  HAL is put under pressure. Protests break out.
SCENE 13: ARMADA - The action is no longer just on land; it's a claustrophobic fight on the Southern ocean and within the confines of the ships foolhardy enough to engage. An Argentinean destroyer is sunk, most of the crew eaten. John rescues some survivors and calls in the Royal Navy.
SCENE 14: MERLIN - The swarm attacks the Elizabeth Swann, forcing John and his crew to use all their unique, high-tech tools and weapons to survive the relentless assault.

ACT 3

SCENE 15: SUKI HELP - The final showdown is not just a physical fight. It's a race against the clock to synthesize and deploy the virus. Suki Hall is called in. Pharmaceutical labs all over the world are called to help, at warp speed. Beijing, Wuhan labs advance anti-virus manufacture. WHO ultra transparent this time.

SCENE 16: POLAR STAR - A Russian survey ship ignores the blockade to land an expedition to snaffle some dino DNA; the Zvezda Polyarnaya “Polar Star”. This hits the news, when the Soviets come in to land with small boats, that the Insectasaurs are waiting for. Most of the Russians are eaten, some killed for food later. One boat manages to re-launch, making it back to the Zvezda Polyarnaya, when a couple of Insectaraptors board the Russian craft, and a fire fight erupts. The crew and captain kill the invaders, and head back out to sea, informing Moscow it is a no go.
SCENE 17: TACTICAL ESPIONAGE - John Storm must confront both the relentless swarm and the human villains who want to control it for their own gain.
SCENE 18: HAL'S EPIPHANY - The onboard AI identifies that the Sectasaur, was the biological control for the Insectaraptors, being natural enemies.
SCENE 19: REFLECTIONS - Charley and John gasp, knowing how protective the Sectasaur animal was of them. It all begins to make sense. How the Sectasaurs and Insectaraptors were contained in Antarctica. Allowing the rest of the world to evolve untouched.

SCENE 20: DARPA - The US chime in, with Jack Mason up to his usual, double dealing. John is wary of this. He confronts Jack, who reveals their DOD is vying with China and Russia. South American nations are very concerned. Argentina, Brazil. South Africa and Australia join in the protestations. 
SCENE 21: BASELINE CLIMAX. A spectacular visual effects sequence where the engineered virus is deployed, a bit like fly spray, with world leaders and media holding their breath to see if it works. And it does, Very War of the Worlds. John Storm and his crew are honored, including HAL.

Franchise Evolution: When Lin Po Chang returns to Antarctica to retrieve a second prehistoric egg, he unwittingly unleashes a monstrous Sectasaur—devious, instinct-driven, and devoid of the empathy shown by its predecessor. As the ice melts and the creature evolves, humanity faces a chilling reckoning: not all ancient intelligences seek coexistence.

This sequel pivots the Sectasaur saga from eco-adventure into horror-thriller territory, much like Planet of the Apes evolved from speculative sci-fi into a philosophical war epic. The first Sectasaur was a symbol of hope—an intelligent, misunderstood giant. This new hatchling is a predator, born of the same lineage but twisted by environmental instability and genetic corruption.

WHY THIS FILM WILL BE A BLOCKBUSTER

High-Concept Hook: "What if the dinosaurs weren't wiped out by a meteor, but by a prehistoric plague?" This is a marketable, high-concept premise that immediately grabs attention.

Brainy Hero: The film elevates John Storm beyond a typical action hero. He is an adventurer, but his ultimate weapon is his mind and the advanced technology at his disposal. This provides a compelling hero for the 21st century.

Thematic Resonance: The story's link to corporate greed, conspiracy, and climate change gives it a modern, timely feel that will resonate with today's audiences.

Franchise Potential: This film would not only be a great sequel but would set up future stories where John Storm must use the ARK to solve other global crises, as originally envisioned. This is a perfect pitch for a studio looking for the next big thing.

Dinosaur classic, Jurassic Park

WHY IS HORROR SO POPULAR?

Horror and Thriller has launched some of the most successful careers in film, from James Wan to Guillermo del Toro, Vera Farmiga to James Gunn, and more.

Compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars it costs to produce an action blockbuster (like, say a Marvel movie or a Star War), horror movies are relatively inexpensive to make. In fact, the horror genre has never been one that racked up massive production costs. Rubber masks and shadows are both quite cheap.

For instance, the original Halloween from legendary director John Carpenter only cost a paltry $325,000 to produce. And when you add in the fact that it made $47 million at the box office - almost 150 times what it cost to make - that’s quite the return on investment!

A startling discovery in the ice, sharp jaws protruding from a block of solid ice. SECTASAUR is a high-concept sci-fi thriller set against the stark beauty and existential threat of a rapidly warming Antarctic, South Pole. As climate collapse exposes ancient tunnels and fossilized secrets, a multinational scramble ensues—Swedish scientists, Chinese Triads, US CIA agents and rogue paleontologists converge on a remote island where evolution never stopped, but was frozen in time.

What they find isn’t just a relic of the past. It’s a living apex predator, perfectly adapted to survive—and dominate—the modern world.

“A geopolitical eco-thriller meets creature horror, where melting ice reveals not just ancient secrets—but a new apex predator. Think The Thing meets Jurassic Park, with the moral complexity of Parasite.”

Logline: When melting Arctic ice reveals a hidden ecosystem of prehistoric giant insects, rival expeditions race to uncover—and weaponize—the secrets buried beneath the tundra. But some things should never be unearthed.

ANTARCTICA | CHAPTERS | CHARACTERS | DINOSAURS | INSECTS

MOVIES | NOVEL VI | PLOT V1 | SCRIPT V1 | SWARM SEQUEL V1 | NOVEL SWARM