If you’ve seen the trailer for Beast, if you’ve heard the premise, then you know what to expect. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. This survival action horror film delivers everything it promises. While it would be nice if it had done more, it checks all the boxes its audience wants to see checked.
Dr. Nate Samuel (Idris Elba) and his daughters, Meredith and Norah (Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries) are vacationing at the Mopani Reserve with Nate’s old friend, wildlife biologist Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley). Suddenly, a rogue lion attacks them. Trapped far from civilization, they need to band together to survive.
Besides the main plot, the film is given a bit more depth with some familial drama. Nate is recently widowed but before his wife died, he and his wife separated. This obviously creates some friction between him and his daughters, who had a very different relationship with their mother before she succumbed to cancer. This trip to Africa was pitched by Nate as a way to get Meredith and Norah to connect to Mom. In the process, it reopens old wounds. There are several scenes where Nate’s guilt over his wife manifests in the form of vivid dreams. They don’t really add up to much but the anger Meredith holds against him does create some extra moments of tension during the middle.
Besides the family drama and the hungry lion, we also have to contend with some poachers, who are responsible for the lion’s insatiable grudge towards humans. If the ferocious African cat leaves the screen for too long, you start to relax but that’s when this movie brings in some human adversaries for our heroes to contend with. Or will they be hostile? After all, they have a good reason to team up when faced with this man-eater. Ultimately, they’re not a big part of the film and more could’ve been done with them (similar to the dream stuff) but they fulfill their purpose.
Beast delivers what it promises and a teeny bit more. There are plenty of scares and there’s suspense too. The climax leans towards the silly and unnecessary but it’s also pretty cool. All of the performers handle the material well, the special effects are convincing and while there are more than a few aspects of the conclusion that will make you raise your hand, there are some clever bits in there too. I don’t know if you’ll remember Beast beyond “that movie where Idris Elba fights a lion” but if this sounds like your kind of thing, you’ll almost definitely be pleased. (January 28, 2023)
