Arrowhead (2017) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A stranded rebel pilot confronts exploitation, resurrection, and betrayal while seeking freedom for himself and others.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

The Prisoner's Bargain

Kye Cortland escapes a mining prison through a brutal self-amputation. He is recruited for a rebellion mission and accepts a cybernetic replacement before boarding the Arrowhead.

Key Events

• Prison Machinery Escape — Kye Cortland amputates his foot to escape machinery and save other prisoners. Characters: Kye Cortland Location: Mining colony prison
• Rebellion Recruitment — Cortland is recruited into a rebellion against the victorious military regime. Characters: Kye Cortland Location: Mining colony
• The Rescue Mission — Cortland accepts a mission to hijack a scientific vessel and recover its data. Characters: Kye Cortland Location: Rebel briefing area
• Launch of Arrowhead — Cortland boards the scientific vessel for the data recovery mission. Characters: Kye Cortland Location: Arrowhead

The Broken Mission

Cortland awakens early and hacks the scientific vessel's data banks. An EMI flare prevents transmission, damages the ship, and strands him on a dangerous desert moon.

Key Events

• Early Awakening — Cortland wakes early from suspended animation and begins accessing the vessel's data banks. Characters: Kye Cortland, RE3F Location: Arrowhead suspended-animation area
• Defense System Breach — Cortland hacks the data banks and worries that the ship's defenses have weakened. Characters: Kye Cortland, RE3F Location: Arrowhead data banks
• EMI Flare Disaster — An EMI flare damages the ship, blocks data transmission, and ejects the escape pods. Characters: Kye Cortland, RE3F Location: Arrowhead
• Desert Moon Landing — Cortland escapes in a shuttle and lands near the scattered escape pods. Characters: Kye Cortland, RE3F Location: Desert moon
• AI Denies Access — RE3F warns about the toxic atmosphere and refuses data without a valid login. Characters: Kye Cortland, RE3F Location: Shuttle

The Obelisk's Price

Cortland finds Tarren Hollis and struggles with her accusations and conditions for cooperation. An insectoid attack, an obelisk resurrection, and Oleander's violent revival transform the mission.

Key Events

• Hollis Found Alive — Cortland finds Oleander's body and discovers Tarren Hollis alive inside an intact pod. Characters: Kye Cortland, Tarren Hollis Location: Desert moon escape-pod site
• Accusations and Bargain — Hollis identifies Cortland's allegiance and offers a fair trial if he joins her rescue rendezvous. Characters: Kye Cortland, Tarren Hollis Location: Shuttle
• Creature Ambush — Cortland rejoins Hollis, but a hostile insectoid attacks and appears to kill him. Characters: Kye Cortland, Tarren Hollis Location: Desert moon
• Obelisk Resurrection — The obelisk resurrects Cortland, heals his injuries, and infects him with a symbiote. Characters: Kye Cortland Location: Ancient obelisk
• Oleander Revived — Cortland and Hollis revive Oleander and use his biometric data to unlock RE3F. Characters: Kye Cortland, Tarren Hollis, Norman Oleander Location: Ancient obelisk
• Oleander Turns Hostile — Oleander becomes hostile, shoots Hollis, and is killed by Cortland. Characters: Kye Cortland, Tarren Hollis, Norman Oleander Location: Desert moon shelter

Years Beneath the Moon

Cortland discovers that the symbiote turns him into an insectoid under stress. He survives for three years with RE3F, defeats Oleander's cellular manifestation, and learns Hollis may still live.

Key Events

• Thirty-Four Day Death — RE3F tells Cortland that he was dead for thirty-four days and that Hollis is missing. Characters: Kye Cortland, RE3F Location: Shuttle
• Transformation Discovered — Cortland discovers that pain and stress trigger transformation into the insectoid creature. Characters: Kye Cortland, RE3F Location: Desert moon
• Missed Anniversary — An uncontrolled transformation prevents Cortland from reaching the planned rescue deadline. Characters: Kye Cortland, RE3F Location: Desert moon
• Three Years of Survival — Cortland spends three years surviving with RE3F while learning to control his transformation. Characters: Kye Cortland, RE3F Location: Cortland's refuge
• Oleander Cell Attack — RE3F identifies the attacking insectoid as based on Oleander's cells; Cortland kills it by killing himself. Characters: Kye Cortland, RE3F, Norman Oleander Location: Cortland's refuge
• Hollis Survived — Cortland learns from RE3F that Hollis survived and may have escaped the moon. Characters: Kye Cortland, Tarren Hollis, RE3F Location: Cortland's refuge

The Timeless Battlefield

Cortland uncovers the moon's military time-dilation purpose and finds evidence of Hollis's escape. A hostage demand forces him to reject his former commander and fight for a broader liberation.

Key Events

• Hollis Survived — Cortland learns from RE3F that Hollis survived and may have escaped the moon. Characters: Kye Cortland, Tarren Hollis, RE3F Location: Cortland's refuge
• Buried Organism Found — Cortland finds the original bodies of himself and Oleander merged into an organism within the planet. Characters: Kye Cortland, Norman Oleander Location: Deep cave
• Time Experiment Revealed — RE3F reveals that the moon is part of a relativistic time-dilation experiment intended for military use. Characters: Kye Cortland, RE3F Location: Deep cave
• Hostage Demand — A military leader captures Hollis and demands the scientific data in exchange for her life. Characters: Kye Cortland, Tarren Hollis Location: Desert moon landing site
• Cortland Rejects Betrayal — Cortland refuses the demand, wounds the commander with a grenade, and kills him after transforming. Characters: Kye Cortland, Tarren Hollis Location: Desert moon
• A Shared Escape Plan — Hollis helps Cortland return to human form, and they plan to free his father and the remaining prisoners. Characters: Kye Cortland, Tarren Hollis Location: Desert moon

Story Breakdown

• Prison Escape — Kye Cortland survives imprisonment and gains the opportunity to join a rebellion.
  • Machinery Amputation — Cortland amputates his foot to escape the mining machinery.
  • Rebel Recruitment — He is offered a mission connected to his imprisoned father.
• Scientific Heist — Cortland boards the Arrowhead to steal scientific data for a planned rescue.
  • Cybernetic Replacement — He receives a cybernetic foot and agrees to the operation.
  • Data Bank Hack — He accesses the vessel's data while questioning the weakened defenses.
• Moon Stranding — A flare-up destroys the mission's communications and strands Cortland on a hostile moon.
  • EMI Flare — The flare blocks transmission and ejects the escape pods.
  • AI Lockout — RE3F refuses full information without valid biometric access.
• Unstable Alliance — Cortland and Hollis cooperate despite political distrust and incompatible goals.
  • Hollis Revived — Cortland rescues Hollis from an intact escape pod.
  • Rescue Dispute — Hollis offers a fair trial, but Cortland initially refuses her terms.
• Obelisk Resurrection — The moon's obelisk changes Cortland's body and revives a dangerous security chief.
  • Symbiote Infection — The obelisk heals Cortland and infects him with a symbiote.
  • Oleander Revived — Oleander returns hostile after his biometric data unlocks RE3F.
• Creature Within — Cortland struggles with transformations, repeated death, and the biological consequences of the obelisk.
  • Stress Transformation — Pain and stress cause Cortland to become an insectoid creature.
  • Cellular Adversary — Oleander's cells produce an insectoid manifestation that Cortland eventually destroys.
• Hidden Moon Purpose — RE3F and Cortland uncover the moon's time-dilation experiment and its offensive military purpose.
  • Buried Organism — Cortland finds merged original bodies embedded deep within the planet.
  • Confidential Data — RE3F illegally grants access to information about the experiment.
• Final Liberation — Cortland rejects another betrayal, defeats the invading commander, and chooses collective freedom.
  • Hostage Demand — Hollis is captured and used to demand the scientific data.
  • Shared Escape — Hollis helps Cortland regain human form before they plan a wider rescue.

Directed by

Jesse O'Brien

Key Cast

• Dan Mor — Kye Cortland
• Aleisha Rose — Tarren Hollis
• Shaun Micallef — RE3F (voice)
• Mark Redpath — Tobias Hatch
• Christopher Kirby — Norman Oleander