It features an ensemble cast as Lake Bell, Michael Cera, Angeliki Papoulia, Zoe Kazan, Peter Stormare, Grace Zabriskie, Louisa Krause and Thomas Jay Ryan.

One of the cryptozoologists that works there is Lauren Grey, who has dedicated her life to rescuing cryptids from the black market after a Baku named Mariko cleansed her of nightmares when she was a child in American camps in World War II, and thus has spent much of her time away from Cryptozoo.

Lauren is rescued by the zoo's owner and her mentor, Joan, who reveals that Mariko, who had previously been trafficked to America, has appeared after fleeing, and convinces her to team up with a gorgon, Phoebe, to find her, as the Johnson administration seeks to use the Baku to devour the aspirations of the counterculture movement.

The group tracks a lead to Orlando, where they find and take a headless man named Pliny, along with the woman who raised him, back to Cryptozoo.

When they arrive, however, the cryptids have all been released from their enclosures, and they begin attacking Nicholas' men, causing the helicopter with Mariko inside to crash.

In the commotion, Lauren escapes and manages to commandeer a griffin, which proceeds to knock the helicopter carrying Nicholas, Gustav, and Phoebe into the kraken pool.

Seeing Joan's office under attack, Lauren hops on the Pegasus to fly over to save her, with Gustav getting killed by Nicholas while giving her a window to escape.

[5] Shortly after, Magnolia Pictures acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film and set it for an August 20, 2021 release in the United States.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Although its visual overstimulation threatens to derail its themes, Cryptozoo is an ambitious and unique critique of capitalistic values.