Lord of the Flies

As a British airliner makes an emergency landing on a desolate Pacific island during wartime evacuation, fate deals a cruel hand to its young passengers. A handful of preadolescent boys emerge as the sole survivors, their innocence and resilience soon put to the test. Ralph, a fair-haired boy with a natural flair for leadership, seizes control by wielding the conch shell, a makeshift horn that becomes his symbol of authority. He establishes three primary objectives: to revel in carefree abandon, to ensure survival against all odds, and to maintain a beacon of hope - a constant smoke signal that might attract passing ships.

Ralph, along with red-haired Jack and quiet Simon, uses Piggy's glasses to craft a signal fire, a testament to the trio's nascent friendship. However, as time passes, the semblance of order begins to crumble. The boys grow complacent and neglect Ralph's efforts to improve their island existence, instead succumbing to paranoia about an imaginary monster they've dubbed "the beast". Ralph's attempts to rationalize the situation fall on deaf ears, while Jack capitalizes on his own fear-mongering by vowing to personally vanquish the beast. As the smoke signal falters and a ship passes by without responding, Ralph confronts Jack in a heated exchange, contemplating relinquishing his leadership role.

Piggy's pragmatic counsel ultimately persuades Ralph to maintain his position, and the island's fragile dynamics continue to unravel. One fateful night, the sounds of an air battle echo through the skies as a fighter pilot's lifeless form drifts down on a parachute. Twin brothers Sam and Eric mistake the corpse for the beast, sending shockwaves throughout the group. As Ralph, Jack, and Roger investigate the mysterious arrival, they flee in terror, convinced that the beast is real. Meanwhile, Jack sees an opportunity to turn the others against Ralph and sets out to form his own tribe, gradually drawing a majority of the boys into his fold.

In the midst of their primal rite of sacrifice, Jack's tribe erects an unwholesome offering to their mystical predator: a gruesome pig's head, festering on a makeshift pike amidst a cloud of buzzing flies. Simon, often venturing solo into the forest's depths, finds himself engaged in a one-sided conversation with this abhorrent effigy, which he deems the "Lord of the Flies". The disembodied head whispers dark truths to Simon, warning him that his fellow castaways will turn against him and that there is no monstrous entity lurking in the shadows. That same night, Ralph and Piggy pay a visit to Jack's tribe, who have devolved into primitive, face-painted revelers performing ritual dances with wild abandon.

As Simon comes to realize that their collective fear has created a mythical beast – nothing more than a decaying pilot – he rushes to share his epiphany with Jack's tribe. Alas, the frenzied mob, including Ralph and Piggy, mistake this innocent messenger for the very monster they've conjured, beating him mercilessly to a fatal end.

Meanwhile, Jack's tribe pilfers Piggy's spectacles, the sole means of sparking a flame on their isolated isle. In response, Ralph joins forces with Piggy, Sam, and Eric to confront Jack's marauders and reclaim the lost glasses. However, Roger's treacherous trap claims Piggy's life, shattering not only his body but also the sacred conch shell that had once maintained order among their group. As Ralph narrowly escapes with his life, Sam and Eric are forced to succumb to Jack's brutal rule.

That fateful night, Ralph sneaks away to confront Sam and Eric, who warn him of Jack's sinister plans to hunt him down. The following morning, Jack's tribe unleashes a fiery reckoning upon the island, threatening to consume everything in its path. Ralph narrowly escapes the inferno, only to be met with the stark reality of their fallen world. As he stumbles before a uniformed adult – a British naval officer who has arrived on the scene to investigate the blaze – the boys are consumed by sobs, mourning the loss of innocence that had once defined them. The officer's expression is one of disappointment and disgust as he surveys the feral behavior of these lost youths, ultimately turning away from the devastation to gaze upon his waiting cruiser offshore, its presence a poignant reminder of their own irreparable ruin.