The straightforward plot of Baltasar Kormakur’s Beast sees big game poachers wipe out a pride of lions, only for one to get away and go rogue.
To elaborate, Dr Nate Samuels (Idris Elba) has taken his two daughters from New York to visit his old friend Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley) in South Africa. Tension is in the air because Samuels is recently widowed and he hasn’t been the best father. His eldest 18-year-old Meredith (Iyana Halley), known as “Mer”, blames him for the death of her mother (his wife). Battles is a wildlife biologist who manages a game reserve.
The day after they arrive, he takes Nate and his girls – Meredith and her sister Norah (Leah Jeffries), 13 – for a look around. Their first sign of trouble is when they come to a village and nobody is around, and then they make an alarming discovery. It is soon clear that an apex predator is on the loose and Nate, his children and Battles are fair game. The “beast” is hunting all humans after bloodthirsty poachers mowed down his pride. What starts out as a journey of healing for Samuels and the kids becomes a fearsome fight for survival.
Ryan Engle (The Commuter) provides the script from a story by Jaime Privak Sullivan. If not for Idris Elba’s star power, I don’t think we’d be seeing this at the movies … and understandably so. The dialogue is pretty pedestrian and the plot has a concocted feel. The relationship between father and elder daughter seems particularly manufactured to heighten the drama.
The music and sound effects help build the tension and some of the special effects are impressive. Nevertheless, I simply didn’t buy it – belief or authenticity being important when watching any film.
Human vs beast stories are nothing new. Think Jaws, King Kong, Anaconda, Jurrassic Park and Cujo. This is in that wheelhouse, but without the pedigree of the best of them. Beast is a creature feature I could have done without.
Alex First
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Alex First is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.