Killer Whale is a 2026 survival thriller film directed by
Jo-Anne Brechin and written by Brechin and Katharine McPhee. The film
stars Virginia Gardner, Mel Jarnson, and Mitchell Hope. The plot follows
two best friends who find themselves trapped in a remote lagoon with a
vengeful orca.
The film was released theatrically in the United States by Lionsgate on January 16,
2026.
Maddie, a talented cellist, is struggling to recover from a tragedy in
which her friend Chad died protecting her during a robbery. A gun misfire
during the robbery also left Maddie with hearing loss for which she uses
hearing aids. To help her heal, her best friend Trish, a PhD student studying
gene editing and social media influencer, surprises her with a luxury vacation
to Thailand.
After showing off her waterproof phone,
Trish encourages Maddie to visit a local attraction featuring Ceto, a captive
orca. Disapproving of the captivity, Maddie refuses to support the venue
financially. Instead, the pair, accompanied by an expat named Josh, get drunk
later in the night and break into Ceto's water park. Maddie is pleased to meet
her through a viewing window, but is horrified when a janitor falls into the
tank and Ceto kills him. The trio flees, while the park management decides to
get rid of Ceto by releasing her into the ocean.
The next morning, the trio decide to explore a secluded atoll lagoon
demarcated by a sea stack, which locals say is
haunted. Their excursion turns into a nightmare when Josh and Trish, who were
riding a jet ski, are ambushed by Ceto,
who kills Josh while Trish manages to reach Maddie's inflatable. The women start
paddling to reach an islet,
but are forced to swim the rest of the way. Climbing the rock, Maddie pierces
her foot and Trish slashes her leg. The pair deduce that Ceto is attacking them
because she has become confused after accidentally swimming into the lagoon's
perimeter of rocks, and (thinking she is still held captive) cannot distinguish
them from her former CetoWorld trainers.
In order to survive the next days, the pair eat gum and an oyster, and drink water from a
sun-stroked plastic bag. They also call out for a nearby boat and reach out to
Josh's arm to get his mini flashlight and
make signals at night.
Thinking she might not survive, Maddie drops Chad's cremation stone into
the water. Overcome by guilt, Trish confesses to Maddie that it was she who
planned the robbery to pay her placement debt, even though she
didn't mean for the robber to be armed, for Maddie to lose her hearing, or for
Chad to die. Enraged, Maddie ignores Trish until the next day, when Trish
realizes that if she can swim to shore, she can distract Ceto enough for Maddie
to reach another islet near the perimeter. Their plan is successful, and while
a plane flies over them, Trish makes an SOS sign on the sand.
Unfortunately, while she is distracted, Ceto bites off her leg, and she bleeds
out.
At night, Maddie's hearing aids run out of battery, leaving her unable to
hear. Maddie sees and speaks to Ceto and then makes the decision to swim to the
perimeter. Ceto does not attack Maddie this time, and Maddie successfully
reaches the sand bank. There, she buries Trish. Then, she sets off to look for
Trish's bag with the waterproof phone. She finds the
phone, but it shuts off and Ceto approaches again. Maddie retrieves her cello endpin and stabs Ceto
in the eye. Ceto swims away, whimpering. After floating in the water for some
time, Maddie is rescued by a helicopter. Months later, Maddie performs a cello
piece and there is one empty seat in the audience.
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