‘Beast’ a pulse-pounding thrill ride

The survival thriller, ‘Beast,’ is a pulse-pounding thriller about a father and his teenage daughters who find themselves hunted by a massive rogue lion intent on proving that the savannah has but one apex predator.

Dr. Nate Samuels is a recently widowed husband who returns to South Africa, where he first met his wife, on a long-planned trip with their daughters to a game reserve managed by Martin Battles, an old family friend and wildlife biologist.

But what begins as a journey of healing jolts into a fearsome fight for survival when a lion, a survivor of blood-thirsty poachers who now sees all humans as the enemy, begins stalking them. ‘Beast’ is an adrenaline-pumping thriller that will leave you on the very edge of your seat at certain moments throughout the movie. The latest Idris Elba release delivers a lot of good thrills and really tense chase moments that involve the rogue lion.

Throughout this exciting thriller, the action-packed moments that feature the lion are very exhilarating and extremely heart-pounding. There are many parts of the movie, especially when the lion attacks, that can get so intense and suspenseful. One of the most tense sequences is when the Nate Samuels character is trapped under the safari jeep with the lion trying to get to him. Let’s just say he had a few close calls during those moments.

There are also quite a few times when the lion would just come out of nowhere to try to attack. And, yes, those few times can make one jump just a little. The visual effects that are featured in the movie are really awesome. The lion looks incredibly well-done and the computer graphics that the filmmakers used for the lion makes it so real-looking. I mean, there are a few obvious moments where you can tell that the animal is a full CG creation. Yet, with how exciting some of the lion segments can be, you won’t even really notice it.

Overall, ‘Beast’ is a great thrill ride to check out. The thrills are extremely tense. The African scenery is breath-taking and this exciting survival thriller will leave you glued to the screen right until the very end.

The cast: Idris Elba as Dr. Nate Samuels; Leah Jeffries as Norah Samuels; Iyana Hailey as Meredith Samuels; Martin Munro as Kees; Thapelo Sebogodi as Camo; Chris Langa as Specs and Sharlto Copley as Martin Battles. ‘Beast’ is written by Ryan Engle (Breaking In; Rampage; The Commuter; Non-Stop) and directed by Baltasar Kormakur (Adrift; Everest; 2 Guns; Contraband).

The project was announced in September 2020 and also announced the casting of Elba around the same time. Filming commenced on June 1, 2021, in South Africa and lasted for 10 weeks. Shooting also occurred in the rural provinces of Limpopo and Northern Cape as well as in Cape Town.

‘Beast’ is rated R for violent content, bloody images and some language and has a running time of 93 minutes.

What did you think of this survival thriller? Let me know on my Facebook page Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews by Matt Palmer.

https://youtu.be/oQMc7Sq36mI