Tane, a Maori chief, his 15-year-old son Hongi and their tribe allow a rival tribe access to the remains of the second tribe’s fallen warriors. Hongi does not trust the rival tribe’s leader, Wirepa, and follows him. As Hongi suspected, the visit is a ruse, and Wirepa desecrates the grave site as a pretext for war, blaming Hongi for disturbing the remains. Tane believes his son is innocent, but offers to kill Hongi if it will prevent war. Wirepa refuses, saying war is imminent. Wirepa’s tribe returns later in force, kills the men of the tribe and beheads Tane, taking his head as a trophy. Hongi is knocked away from the battle, and survives.
Hongi leaves and attempts to track down Wirepa. On the way, he discovers that Wirepa and his men have entered the Dead Lands, an area where any who venture in are believed to be killed by a monster. Hongi, suspecting that the monster is in fact a man, tracks him down and, although reluctant, the monster agrees to help Hongi hunt down Wirepa. The monster is in fact a warrior (who is never named in the film) who murdered all the men of his own tribe, and he kills anyone who ventures there to prevent his tribe’s historic lands from being occupied. The warrior is motivated by a desire to redeem himself and thus be led to the afterlife by his vengeful ancestors.
While tracking down Wirepa, Hongi has a series of visions of his long dead grandmother, who helps them on their way. Hongi and the warrior track down Wirepa, and several of his men are killed before Wirepa and his surviving warriors flee. Hongi and the warrior go after them, and the warrior kills a small band of hunters they come across to keep his identity a secret. Hongi is devastated by this, and screams at the warrior. The two separate, but the warrior has a vision from his ancestors that convinces him to continue helping Hongi.