A convoy transports Sergei Kravinoff to a high-security Russian penitentiary. He knocks two prisoners unconscious outside the transport vehicle and, once inside, he is led into a room to stand before crime lord Semyan Chorney. When Chorney sneers that "The Hunter" is only a rumor, Sergei steps forward, palms a tiger's canine ripped from a decorative rug and slashes through Chorney's henchmen with the jagged tooth. He drives the tooth into Chorney's neck, killing the boss, shoots another inmate dead and props that corpse as a decoy to cover his escape before slipping away from the facility.

Sixteen years earlier, a schoolyard scene introduces a young Sergei and his half-brother Dmitri. Their father, Nikolai Kravinoff, arrives in a car and delivers the news that their mother has taken her own life. Sergei blames Nikolai for her death. Nikolai takes the boys on a hunting expedition into the African bush with his associate Aleksei Sytsevich. Aleksei tries to ingratiate himself into Nikolai's crime network but finds the boss uninterested. Nearby, a teenage Calypso Ezili consults tarot cards with her grandmother. During the hunt a lion charges; it mauls Sergei while he shields Dmitri. Calypso tends Sergei's wounds, and a drop of the lion's blood mixes with his injuries. Doctors later pronounce him dead, but then Sergei's altered physiology reawakens him and he returns to life with heightened senses and animallike reflexes. Nikolai kills the lion and brings the boys home, but Sergei, disgusted by his father's brutality, runs away into the wilderness.

In the wild, Sergei witnesses a stampede of wildebeest and then discovers a field of dead animals with their horns removed. He encounters two human hunters who threaten him; Sergei grabs a knife and hurls it into the elder hunter's head, then beats the younger hunter to death with his hands. He flees further into the forest and lives apart from his father and Dmitri, surviving by his newfound predatory instincts.

Years later, Sergei embraces his new identity as Kraven, a vigilante who tracks and eliminates criminals and trophy hunters. He intervenes when a convoy of mercenaries prepares to enter a protected area to hunt. Kraven infiltrates their van, kills the occupants and bites one man's nose off. The mercenary leader flees back to his employer convinced the threat is over, only to find Kraven seated in the boss's chair; Kraven fires a crossbow, impales the leader and leaves.

Dmitri, now a musician employed at a London nightclub, texts Sergei to invite him to a birthday celebration. Kraven flies to London for the reunion. At the nightclub Nikolai attends Dmitri's birthday and a hit is arranged: a goon who has allied himself with Aleksei moves to assassinate Nikolai. When the shooter opens fire, Nikolai presses the goon against his chest to use him as a human shield. Bullets tear through the club and many of Aleksei's and Nikolai's men die in the exchange. Kraven surprises Dmitri afterward; the brothers share a meal in Dmitri's apartment until Nikolai arrives and tension rises.

Aleksei Sytsevich, now a mercenary with ambitions to take over Nikolai's operation, has been experimenting on himself with a serum that hardens his skin and gives him rhinoceros-like strength. He displays this mutation to potential recruits to prove his value and executes those who refuse to join him. Aleksei's assistants kidnap Dmitri, sever a finger as proof of capture, and mail Dmitri's finger to Nikolai with a ransom demand: twenty million dollars within forty-eight hours. Nikolai refuses to pay, calculating leverage elsewhere, and the severed digit is delivered as a message.

Realizing his father will not ransom Dmitri, Kraven seeks out Calypso, now a practicing lawyer. He approaches her at her office, reveals that he is the boy she once saved after the lion mauling, and asks for her help. Calypso has remained connected to the mystical practices she learned as a child; she still carries the tarot and a healing elixir derived from her grandmother's remedies. She agrees to aid Kraven and they travel to the jungle where intelligence indicates Dmitri is being held.

Aleksei, anticipating Kraven's arrival, hires an assassin known only as the Foreigner. The Foreigner uses ocular hypnosis and neurotoxins to disorient and incapacitate targets; he demonstrates the effect by snatching guns away from assailants and firing them with uncanny timing. Aleksei brings Dmitri along to show him the price of power and mentions that a Dr. Miles Warren in New York once treated aspects of his condition, hinting at a medical path to further mutations.

Kraven and Calypso track the convoy carrying Dmitri through remote terrain. Kraven recognizes a wildcat he once encountered as a cub and briefly tussles with it before moving on. The Foreigner corners Kraven in the forest and fires darts tipped with neurotoxin. The toxin courses through Kraven's veins and induces vivid hallucinations: he believes himself swarmed by spiders and disoriented by shifting time. The Foreigner presses the attack, preparing to execute Kraven while Kraven reels from the hallucinogen. Calypso releases an arrow that pierces the Foreigner's eye and skull, killing him instantly. She applies a voodoo elixir to Kraven, and the concoction reverses the toxin's effects and restores his strength.

Aleksei loads Dmitri into a convoy of trucks and departs. Kraven gives chase across plains and leads a stampede of wildebeest against the convoy, forcing vehicles to swerve and soldiers to fall. A henchman named Bahari is flung from a vehicle and impaled on a horn. Aleksei, pressed, allows the serum to complete his transformation and becomes the Rhino: his skin thickens into armored plates and his frame bulks into monstrous mass. He engages Kraven in hand-to-hand combat in the midst of the stampede. Kraven finds that Rhino's hide resists his blows; Rhino lifts Kraven by the throat and subdues him briefly. While Rhino grips him, Kraven spots the entry wound where Aleksei injects the regulating serum. Kraven seizes a revealed injection site, bites and tears at it or otherwise ruptures it, disabling the mechanism that stabilizes Aleksei's mutation. Kraven then binds Aleksei with wire, hurls him into the path of the running herd and Aleksei is trampled under the weight of the animals. He dies from the trampling and compound injuries inflicted by hooves, collapsing and bleeding in the dust as the wildebeest pass.

After the convoy rout, Kraven confronts the deeper origins of the plot when he traces the dissemination of footage that exposed his prison escape. He confronts Nikolai in the woods and forces the truth from him: Nikolai admits he sent the tape to Aleksei to bait Sergei into eliminating Aleksei, rationalizing that he wanted both rivals removed, even if it placed Dmitri in danger. Nikolai acknowledges he manipulated his sons, engineering circumstances to pit them against criminals and one another.

Kraven answers with clandestine retribution. He steals ammunition from all of Nikolai's rifles, removing the bullets so the weapons are rendered harmless. He leaves the rifles unattended and departs. Shortly after, a bear finds Nikolai alone and vulnerable in the forest; with his guns unloaded, Nikolai is unable to defend himself and the bear mauls him to death. Nikolai's body is left broken and torn in the trees.

Sometime later in London, Kraven visits Dmitri at the nightclub. Dmitri now aligns himself with law enforcement and corporate favor, or at least outwardly adopts the trappings of power. He reveals that he has taken a different path: after meeting a doctor--Dr. Miles Warren--who treated Aleksei, Dmitri acquires a specialized suit that grants him shapeshifting abilities. He demonstrates how the suit lets him assume another's appearance and mannerisms; he shifts form in front of Kraven to prove the power. Dmitri tells Sergei that despite his claims to moral distinction, Kraven has become as ruthless as their father, another hunter collecting trophies. The brothers argue, voices rising in the empty club. Dmitri walks away, then turns to morph into Sergei, the Chameleon's mimicry making the parting bitter and dissonant.

Back at his dwelling, Kraven returns to find a package and a note left by Nikolai before his death. The note reiterates a taunting verdict that Kraven is nothing more than a hunter like Nikolai. Kraven opens the parcel and removes a vest sewn from animal pelt--the hide of the lion that mauled him years before. He slips the fur vest on and stands before a mirror, adjusting the garment and studying his reflection.

The final image holds on Kraven wearing the animal skin; he stares at himself, the vest settling over his shoulders as he considers his path. The scene closes with Kraven in the mirror's gaze, the hunter clothed in the spoils of the hunt and the consequences of a bloodline of predators displayed in his posture. This is where the narrative ends: Sergei, transformed into Kraven and physically adorned in the lion's pelt, looking at the man he has become.

Short Narrative of the Ending

In "Kraven the Hunter," the story concludes with Sergei Kraven successfully rescuing his brother Dmitri and defeating the villains, including The Rhino and The Foreigner. After a tense battle, Kraven emerges victorious but not without the help of Calypso, who saves him from The Foreigner's hypnotic powers. The ending marks Sergei's transformation into the Spider-Man villain known from the comics.

Expanded Narrative

The climax of "Kraven the Hunter" unfolds as Sergei Kraven faces off against a formidable array of adversaries, led by the crime kingpin Aleksei Sytsevich, also known as The Rhino. The Rhino, with his ability to form a thick, armor-like hide, has orchestrated a trap for Kraven, involving the abduction of Kraven's brother, Dmitri. This act sets the stage for a final, intense confrontation.

The story begins with Sergei determined to rescue his brother, driven by a deep-seated sense of responsibility and familial loyalty. As he infiltrates The Rhino's operation, Kraven utilizes his exceptional hunting skills, using the environment to his advantage and outsmarting his foes. This strategic approach is evident as he navigates through the woods, where he faces off against The Rhino's henchmen. Kraven's tactical prowess allows him to take out the henchmen efficiently, turning the tables on his would-be assassins by using their own traps against them.

However, Kraven's progress is halted when he encounters The Foreigner, a mysterious and deadly assassin. The Foreigner possesses the ability to hypnotize people, making it seem as though he is moving with super speed. This unique power proves to be a significant challenge for Kraven, as The Foreigner's hypnosis causes Kraven to hallucinate, seeing spiders surrounding him. The hallucinations are further exacerbated by a toxin that The Foreigner uses, rendering Kraven nearly helpless.

Just as The Foreigner appears to have the upper hand, Calypso intervenes, showcasing her skill with a bow and arrow by killing The Foreigner with a precise shot through his eye. This timely rescue allows Kraven to regain his composure and continue his mission to rescue Dmitri. Together, Kraven and Calypso press on, determined to confront The Rhino and rescue Kraven's brother.

The final confrontation takes place in a dramatic showdown between Kraven and The Rhino. Despite The Rhino's formidable abilities, Kraven succeeds in defeating him, ultimately rescuing Dmitri and punishing those responsible for threatening his family. This victory marks a bittersweet conclusion, as Kraven's actions further solidify his transformation into the villainous persona he is destined to become.

The ending scene of "Kraven the Hunter" features Sergei mirroring Kraven's classic look and pose from the comics, symbolizing his full evolution into the Spider-Man villain. This transformation is a culmination of his journey throughout the film, driven by his complex relationship with his family and his encounters with formidable adversaries.

"Kraven the Hunter" (2024) is not suitable for all ages due to its R rating from the MPAA for "strong bloody violence, and language" . Here are some potentially objectionable or upsetting scenes that might occur:

• Violence: The film includes many encounters with wild animals that result in death or injury, multiple fight scenes with bloody wounds visible, and scenes of animal poaching (e.g., buffalo being slaughtered for their horns) .
• Strong Language: There are about eight uses of the F-word and other strong language throughout the movie .
• Mature Themes: Discussions of suicide and mysticism are present, which might be distressing for sensitive viewers .
• Brief Nudity: While not explicit, there are scenes where characters remove clothing, and some revealing outfits are worn .

These elements make "Kraven the Hunter" a film that is not suitable for young children or those sensitive to violence and mature themes.