A Dysfunctional Partnership

The daily life of Eddie Brock and the symbiote Venom in their San Francisco apartment had evolved into a state of chaotic domesticity. Their bond was strong, but their differences were extreme, leading to constant bickering. Venom craved human brains and unrestricted vigilante justice, while Eddie insisted on a "no killing" rule, confining Venom to eating raw chickens and chocolate. This friction reached a peak as Venom, desperate for action, took on a dual role: forcing Eddie to eat unappetizing food and simultaneously helping him stay relevant as a journalist by providing access to high-profile cases, namely through the incarcerated serial killer, Cletus Kasady.

The Serial Killer's Muse

Cletus Kasady, a psychopathic killer on death row, refused to speak to anyone but Eddie Brock. Kasady, obsessed with Eddie, saw him as a kindred spirit—another troubled soul who had lost everything. In the few interactions they had, Kasady hinted at the locations of his hidden victims. Eddie, under pressure from his editor and driven by Venom’s extraordinary ability to instantly scan and decipher information, visited Kasady one last time before his scheduled execution. Kasady, though compliant, was deeply resentful that he couldn't reunite with his childhood love, Frances Barrison, also known as Shriek, who was locked away at the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane due to her sonic abilities.

A Hidden Message

During their final, tension-filled interview, Kasady, in a desperate attempt to communicate a secret, began sketching. He filled his cell with frantic drawings, leading Eddie to scrutinize them closely. Venom, looking over Eddie’s shoulder, instantly recognized the cryptic patterns in the scribbles. They weren't just random doodles; they were a roadmap. Venom quickly processed the visual information, identifying the hidden map to Kasady's victims' burial sites. Eddie published the story immediately, securing his status as a hero reporter and, ironically, accelerating Kasady's date with the execution chamber.

The Fateful Bite

After Eddie's report led to the discovery of the bodies, Kasady, furious at the betrayal and the swift move toward his execution, lashed out during a final visit with Eddie. He bit Eddie’s hand hard enough to draw blood. Unbeknownst to Kasady, a tiny remnant of the Venom symbiote’s biomass transferred into Kasady’s system through the bite. Venom, feeling ill, chastised Eddie for his lack of caution. The transfer was almost insignificant, but the seed of a future catastrophe was sown—a seed that lay dormant until Kasady faced his lethal injection.

The Birth of Carnage

On the day of the execution, as the lethal injection was administered, the poison reacted violently with the dormant symbiote fragment inside Kasady. Instead of dying, Kasady experienced a horrific transformation. The fragment exploded outward, covering his body in a new, crimson-red symbiotic mass—Carnage. Carnage was physically larger, far more aggressive, and entirely unburdened by any moral restraints, instantly bonding with Kasady's profound psychopathy. Carnage effortlessly broke Kasady free, slaughtering guards and starting a bloody rampage through the prison, driven by a single goal: to find Shriek.

Chaos Unleashed

With the help of Carnage, Kasady staged a destructive breakout at Ravencroft. Carnage used its ability to spawn bladed weapons and tendrils to carve a path of destruction, freeing Shriek in the process. Reunited after years of separation, Cletus and Shriek became a terrifying, unstoppable duo. Their immediate plan was one of vengeance and chaos: Shriek, with her devastating sonic screams, was the perfect foil to any symbiote resistance, while Carnage's brute force enabled their path toward a twisted, murderous wedding celebration. They began targeting people who had wronged them, setting their final, grand event to take place at the historic St. Patrick's Cathedral.

The Bitter Breakup

Back at the apartment, Eddie and Venom had their biggest fight yet. The stress of Venom's constant demands, their differing views on morality, and the lingering trauma from the Kasady encounter boiled over. Venom desperately wanted to fight Carnage—seeing it as a necessary evil—but Eddie feared losing control. The fight escalated into a physical brawl, with Venom violently thrashing Eddie’s apartment and insulting his life, his ex-fiancée Anne Weying, and his inability to commit. The argument climaxed when Venom forcibly separated from Eddie, leaving the devastated symbiote alone and forcing Eddie back into his frail, human state.

Weakness and Desperation

Separated from his host, Venom wandered the city, weak and vulnerable. He eventually found temporary refuge by hijacking a massive outdoor rave, where the loud music temporarily masked his debilitating weakness to sonic frequencies. Meanwhile, the now fully human Eddie realized he was powerless to stop Kasady. He sought Anne and Dr. Dan Lewis for help, confessing the true nature of the threat. Anne immediately recognized the danger and helped Eddie find a new way to communicate with and re-attract the estranged symbiote, knowing they needed Venom to survive.

The Siren's Call

Cletus Kasady, seeking to complete his revenge, used a captive Anne Weying as bait, broadcasting a message that lured Eddie to the cathedral where he and Shriek planned their macabre wedding. Eddie arrived, armed only with his wits and Anne's temporary help. As Carnage prepared to execute Anne, Eddie realized he had to act fast, but without Venom, he was utterly helpless against the monstrous red killer. Just as hope seemed lost, Anne, with Dan's help, managed to use a makeshift noise emitter—a ringing bell—to create a sonic wave, finally forcing Venom to abandon the rave and rush toward the high-frequency distress call.

The Cathedral Showdown

The final battle erupted within St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was a four-way fight: Carnage (Cletus) and Shriek (Frances) against the combined forces of Venom (Eddie) and the briefly bonded She-Venom (Anne). Shriek’s powerful sonic screams proved to be the most devastating weapon, equally hurting both symbiotes. Anne, in her She-Venom form, managed to push the massive cathedral bell, causing a deafening sonic wave that forced Carnage to temporarily separate from Kasady, leaving him vulnerable. However, the chaos also injured Shriek, whose sonic blasts were becoming unstable.

Reconciliation and Defeat

Recognizing that only their combined strength could win, Eddie and Venom reconciled, forging a deeper, more committed bond based on mutual trust and acceptance of their flaws. Venom, now fully powered and focused, re-engaged Carnage. In the final moments of the fight, Venom used the cathedral's crumbling structure and a collapsing bell to neutralize Shriek's sonic attacks. He then exploited a major flaw in Carnage's protective webbing—its attachment to Cletus. Venom separated the red symbiote from Kasady and, in a gruesome final act, consumed both the Carnage symbiote and Cletus Kasady's head, utterly destroying his counterpart and neutralizing the threat.

The Quiet Aftermath

With Carnage defeated and Shriek once again contained at Ravencroft, Eddie and Venom—now operating under slightly clearer ground rules—went on the run. The events at the cathedral, though terrifying, cemented their partnership. They decided they were too dangerous to live a public life and needed to escape the immediate attention of the authorities. The film concluded with Eddie and Venom sitting on a tropical beach, discussing their past and future. In a shocking twist during the mid-credits scene, Venom, while explaining the collective knowledge of the symbiote hive mind to Eddie, triggered a massive, reality-altering event that instantaneously transported them from their tropical hideout into a new, unfamiliar reality—a hotel room where a news report about the existence of Spider-Man was playing on the television.