History Film / Alpha2018

* NatureVsNurture: Keda's father tries to teach his son the importance of killing as means for survival ("take a life to give it to the tribe") but ultimately fails to instill the courage to do so into him because of Keda's own peaceful nature. When a bison hunt goes awry and Keda is left alone on his own against nature, he must find the courage to kill to survive. In a twist however, Keda healing a wolf (that he himself wounded when defending his own life from its attack) gives him an invaluable partner helping his own survival in his journey back home.

* DoubleMeaningTitle: "Alpha" doesn't just mean the lead wolf in a pack (from which Keda gets the name) but is also used to refer to something that is first i.e. the first partnership between human and canine.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThink: Played with. When Keda's parents talk about him, Keda's father tells his wife that their son is stronger than he himself thinks. Keda's father never says this outright to him, but Keda overhears it anyway. It's still [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]] however, for his father fails to instill in him the courage to [[ARealManIsAKiller kill to survive]] and grows disappointed of him even though he still loves Keda as a son — but what Keda's father fails to teach to him, nature itself does and Keda ultimately [[ReconstructedTrope succeeds in surviving the long trip back home]].

* YouAreBetterThanYouThink: Played with. When Keda's parents talk about him, Keda's father tells his wife that their son is stronger than he himself thinks. Keda's father never says this outright to him, but Keda overhears it anyway. It's still [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]] however, for his father fails to instill in him the courage to [[ARealManIsAKiller kill to survive]] and grows disappointed of him even though he still loves Keda as a son — but what Keda's father fails to teach to him, nature itself does.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThink: Played with. When Keda's parents talk about him, Keda's father tells his wife that their son is stronger than he himself thinks. Keda's father never says this outright to him, but Keda overhears it anyway. It's still [[DefiedTrope defied]] however, for his father fails to instill in him the courage to [[ARealManIsAKiller kill to survive]] and grows disappointed of him even though he still loves Keda as a son — but what Keda's father fails to teach to him, nature itself does.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThink: Played with. When Keda's parents talk about him, Keda's father tells his wife that their son is stronger than he himself thinks. Keda's father never says this outright to him, but Keda overhears it anyway. It's still [[DefiedTrope defied]] however, for his father fails to instill in him the courage to [[ARealManIsAKiller kill to survive]] even though he still loves Keda as a son.

* RealityEnsues: Before they can actually start on their journey, Keda and Alpha have to spend months recuperating from a dislocated ankle and a shoulder wound. It also takes them that long to start trusting each other.

* DeletedRole: In some versions of the film during its run in theaters there was an opening and closing narration from Creator/MorganFreeman which was removed.

''Alpha'' is a 2018 Adventure survival-thriller film set in prehistoric times.

''Alpha'' is a 2018 survival-thriller film set in prehistoric times.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Can be seen as one to ''Film/QuestForFire''. It invokes a similar atmosphere with the prehistoric setting and the [[SceneryPorn sweeping scenery]], the characters use the same method of starting fire that the Ivaka used and it chronicles another major step in human development (domesticating dogs as opposed to domesticating fire). It even has a similar scene where the protagonist is trapped in a tree by [[SuperPersistentPredator predators that stick around far longer than real predators reasonably would]]. Even the lions seen in the film resemble the [[{{Slurpasaur}} dressed up ones]] from it's predecessor, down to the [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology saber teeth]]. Given the relative time periods of both films, ''Alpha'' can even be seen as a distant future sequel.

* AnnoyingArrows: Averted most of the time (a single arrow takes down a cave lion), but played straight as the bison can shrug off ''spears'', say nothing of arrows.

* AnimalStampede: The cavemen hunt longhorn bison by alerting them into a stampede, then directing the herd toward a canyon where they fall off the cliffs. Keda, unfortunately, gets attacked by a big bull who breaks from the herd, goring him and pushing him down the cliff as well.

* SpiritualAntithesis: To ''Film/TheRevenant'', both films are survival stories set in harsh, [[SceneryPorn sweeping winter landscapes]] about a character who's horribly injured and left for dead by his people after a hunting expedition goes wrong, and both of them fall off cliffs. Aside from the difference in their settings (prehistoric Europe vs. 18th century America), they differ in that ''The Revenant'' is the story of a father injured by a predator animal (a bear), hunting down the evil men who killed his son and abandoned him to die, while ''Alpha'' is the story of a son, injured by a prey animal (a bison), whose father reluctantly leaves his son when there's no possibility of rescue and mistakenly believes he's dead, and ultimately has NoAntagonist other than the brutality of nature himself.

''Alpha'' is a 2018 prehistoric survival, thriller film.

* AllCavemenWereNeanderthals: Averted. Keda and his tribe are very clearly modern humans.

Set in Ice Age Europe 18,000 B.C., it follows the adventures of a young hunter named Keda who, after a hunting expedition goes awry, is left for dead by the rest of his tribe; after waking up alone in the wild, he forms a bond with a wolf that has been cast out from its pack. He eventually gives the wolf a name that translates to "Alpha" in modern English, and together they must survive the harsh, cold environment, thereby forming the first steps for the human-canine InterspeciesFriendship that would last for millennia.

* StockDinosaurs: Stock Ice Age mammals featured are [[MammothsMeanIceAge woolly mammoths]] and woolly rhinos.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: If the sabertooth seen in the trailer really is a ''Smilodon'' as indicated by its size, it should have a short bobcat-like tail instead of the long tiger-like one it has in the film, not to mention that [[MisplacedWildlife none of the three species were found in Europe]]. Alternatively, it could be a ''Machairodus'', which was just as large and actually did have a long tail and live in Europe - except that the last members of this genus [[AnachronismStew died out during the middle Pleistocene]], millennia before the film's time period of 20,000 years ago. According to the visual effects supervisor the species is a [[https://www.instagram.com/p/BqiCgdzn7T1/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=d20gmt68vj7d cave lion]]. The cave lion did inhabit Europe during this time, but didn't have those saber teeth (which may have been added by RuleOfScary).

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: If the sabertooth seen in the trailer really is a ''Smilodon'' as indicated by its size, it should have a short bobcat-like tail instead of the long tiger-like one it has in the film, not to mention that [[MisplacedWildlife none of the three species were found in Europe]]. Alternatively, it could be a ''Machairodus'', which was just as large and actually did have a long tail and live in Europe - except that the last members of this genus [[AnachronismStew died out during the middle Pleistocene]], millennia before the film's time period of 20,000 years ago. According to the visual effects supervisor the species is a [[https://www.instagram.com/p/BqiCgdzn7T1/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=d20gmt68vj7d cave lion]]. The cave lion did inhabit Europe during this time, but didn't have those saber teeth (which may have been due to RuleOfScary).

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: If the sabertooth seen in the trailer really is a ''Smilodon'' as indicated by its size, it should have a short bobcat-like tail instead of the long tiger-like one it has in the film, not to mention that [[MisplacedWildlife none of the three species were found in Europe]]. Alternatively, it could be a ''Machairodus'', which was just as large and actually did have a long tail and live in Europe - except that the last members of this genus [[AnachronismStew died out during the middle Pleistocene]], millennia before the film's time period of 20,000 years ago. According to the visual effects supervisor the species is a [[https://www.instagram.com/p/BqiCgdzn7T1/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=d20gmt68vj7d cave lion]]. The cave lion did inhabit Europe during this time, but didn't have those saber teeth (which may be chalked up by RuleOfScary).

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: If the sabertooth seen in the trailer really is a ''Smilodon'' as indicated by its size, it should have a short bobcat-like tail instead of the long tiger-like one it has in the film, not to mention that [[MisplacedWildlife none of the three species were found in Europe]]. Alternatively, it could be a ''Machairodus'', which was just as large and actually did have a long tail and live in Europe - except that the last members of this genus [[AnachronismStew died out during the middle Pleistocene]], millennia before the film's time period of 20,000 years ago. According to the visual effects supervisor the species is a [[https://www.instagram.com/p/BqiCgdzn7T1/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=d20gmt68vj7d cave lion]]. The cave lion did inhabit Europe during this time, but didn't have those saber teeth (which may have added by RuleOfScary).

* DoubleMeaningTitle: "Alpha" doesn't just mean the lead wolf in a pack (from which Keda gets the name) but is also used to refer to something that is first, ie, the first partnership between human and canine.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:After months of hardship and almost facing death more than once, Keda and Alpha both finally make it to the village, where the latter is healed from her wounds and gives birth to a litter of pups.]]

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: If the sabertooth seen in the trailer really is a ''Smilodon'' as indicated by its size, it should have a short bobcat-like tail instead of the long tiger-like one it has in the film, not to mention that [[MisplacedWildlife none of the three species were found in Europe]]. Alternatively, it could be a ''Machairodus'', which was just as large and actually did have a long tail and live in Europe - except that the last members of this genus [[AnachronismStew died out during the middle Pleistocene]], millennia before the film's time period of 20,000 years ago. According to the visual effects supervisor the species is a [[https://www.instagram.com/p/BqiCgdzn7T1/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=d20gmt68vj7d cave lion]]. The cave lion did inhabit Europe during this time, but didn't have those saber teeth.

* HeinousHyena: Packs of cave hyenas serve as adversaries to Keda and Alpha.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: If the sabertooth seen in the trailer really is a ''Smilodon'' as indicated by its size, it should have a short bobcat-like tail instead of the long tiger-like one it has in the film, not to mention that [[MisplacedWildlife none of the three species were found in Europe]]. Alternatively, it could be a ''Machairodus'', which was just as large and actually did live in Europe - except that the last members of this genus [[AnachronismStew died out during the middle Pleistocene]], millennia before the film's time period of 20,000 years ago. According to the visual effects supervisor the species is a [[https://www.instagram.com/p/BqiCgdzn7T1/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=d20gmt68vj7d cave lion]]. The cave lion did inhabit Europe during this time, but didn't have those saber teeth.

* ACrackInTheIce: Keda gets trapped beneath a frozen river and nearly drowns.
* CharacterTitle: The film is named after Keda's wolf companion, who he names "Alpha".

* DeathByNewberyMedal: [[spoiler:Averted. Alpha comes close, nearly succumbing to her wounds from the cave lion fight and actually lying down to die near the climax, but Keda gets her home in time for the tribe to save her and her pups.]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: Can be seen as one to ''Film/QuestForFire''. It invokes a similar atmosphere with the prehistoric setting and the [[SceneryPorn sweeping scenery]], the characters use the same method of starting fire that the Ivaka used and it chronicles another major step in human development (domesticating dogs as opposed to domesticating fire). It even has a similar scene where the protagonist is trapped in a tree by [[SuperPersistentPredator predators that stick atound far longer than real predators reasonably would]]. Even the sabre-toothed cats seen in the film resemble the [[{{Slurpasaur}} dressed up lions]] from it's predecessor. Given the relative time periods of both films, ''Alpha'' can even be seen as a distant future sequel.