They want to have a good time in Africa to process their mother’s death. But soon Nate Samuels (Idris Elba) and his two daughters have to fight a bloodthirsty lion in “Beast”. They couldn’t do any more stupid than that.
Films in which an animal mutates into a bloodthirsty beast have not only been seen a number of times in cinemas since Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws”. Whether it’s “Tarantula”, “Deep Blue Sea”, “The Shallows”, “Anaconda”, “The Birds” or “Cujo” – animal horror just makes you shudder differently than any ax murderer.
The Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur probably copied a few things from the latter film for “Beast”. In “Cujo,” a child-loving St. Bernard becomes a rabid predator who preys on a family who must lock themselves in a car for several days to survive. Similarly, in “Beast” Dr. Nate Samuels (Idris Elba) and his daughters Meredith (Iyana Halley) and Norah (Leah Jeffries) as they visit their mother’s homeland, the African savannah, after the death of their mother.
While on a safari with an old family friend, the ranger Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley), the little family finds everyone in a village cut up and dead. The mystery of who is responsible for the horrible act is quickly solved: A lion, who had to watch as poachers wiped out his pack, now sees in every human an enemy who must be killed. He follows the four-headed group for miles at every turn and has only one goal: to get them between his paws.
“Several attacks without eating the prey – lions don’t do that,” Martin quickly marvels. Of course, if the animal behaved differently, there would be no film. But the ranger probably senses that “Beast – Hunters Without Mercy” is not to be taken seriously. As if the premise wasn’t silly enough, the leads – led by stubborn teenager Meredith – make one dumb decision after another to push the lame story forward. If any of the people present were even halfway rational, they would simply get back in the jeep and drive home as quickly as possible.
But of course it doesn’t come to that. And so the viewers have to endure how the small group tries to fight the beast with a knife (!!!) and to chase it away with kicks. But that can’t do the lion any more than tranquilizer injections or a group of poachers who come along in the course of the film and shoot at him with semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons. The animal even survives a car explosion – only its whiskers are now colored black.
In order to bring a bit of emotionality into the survival thriller, there is always stress between Nate and Iyana, who resents her father for leaving her mother shortly before she was diagnosed with cancer. Not that this storyline is even remotely relevant to the course of the film. She just seems forced and annoying. Instead of feeling sympathy for the youngster, who has not yet come to terms with the death of her mother, one would like to feed her to the lions in the first few minutes, even before the beast makes its first appearance.
It is hard to understand how Golden Globe winner Idris Elba got involved in such a trash project. Already in the first scenes, in which he is the victim of his annoying daughter’s tirades, it becomes clear that he is too good for “Beast”. But even his acting talent doesn’t manage to save the film.
The shaky camerawork is the icing on the cake that makes the flick so unbearable to watch. In between, it looks as if an amateur had a GoPro strapped around his head. However, the hustle and bustle that is created does not have a dramatic effect, but rather a dizzying one. However, one positive detail should be emphasized: “Beast” only lasts 90 minutes. You really couldn’t have exploited the story of a bloodthirsty killer lion any longer.
“Beast – Hunters without mercy” is now in German cinemas.
