Beast

Edwige, my long lost kangaroo companion from my misadventures in North America, had returned to me. She was hopping up and down atop a dislodged restroom stall door. Underneath that stall door was the punk in the red bandana, now reduced to a crimson, pulpy mess. The punk in the blue bandana screamed as he let the leash go, the leash of a gimp suited man with the razor sharp teeth. The gimp leaped into the air and so did Edwige. They slammed into each other and it was now beast versus beast.

— To be continued. 

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Speaking of beasts, tonight’s movie is 2022’s Beast from director Baltasar Kormákur. The other week I covered Barbarian and while I was watching it, I kept wondering where the great Idris Elba was. I thought he was supposed to star. I then figured out that I had confused Barbarian with the movie Beast. It’s like Jaws if Jaws was about a killer lion on the loose in the South African wilderness. Beast runs at a quick 93 minutes so it won’t waste your time.

The movie begins with sinister poachers killing a lion pride. I can only assume dead lions go for big bucks on the black market. Maybe it is lion coats or lion steaks that fetch the top dollar. Unfortunately, one lion got away and a couple of poachers remain behind to take him out, but they’re in his territory. The lion picks them off in grisly fashion. 

We’re then introduced to a Dr. Nate Samuels (Idris Elba) visiting the Mopani Reserve with his two daughters, Meredith (Iyana Halley) and Norah (Leah Sava Jeffries). There’s a strain in his relationship with his daughters due to the recent passing of their mother and his wife, Amahle. Amahle died while separated from her husband. Meredith still resents her father for not being supportive enough during Amahle’s terminal disease. 

Dr. Samuels meets up with an old friend, Martin (Sharito Copley), the caretaker of the Mopari Reserve. Martin’s a biologist and a rumored anti-poacher, one who hunts and kills poachers. Martin takes Dr. Samuels and his daughters on a photo safari, but it’s not long until Martin realizes something is amiss. One of the females of a lion pride he’s on good terms with is injured. Suspecting poachers, they travel to the nearest village to see if any of the locals heard or saw anything. Unfortunately, all they find in the village are corpses with flies buzzing around them.

Martin can tell that a lion attacked the villagers, but didn’t use them for meat. This is about a predator seeking revenge on all humans after what happened to his pride. The action heats up as Martin is separated from the group and the lion is on the prowl. I’m going to leave it there, but I recommend you check this one out. Beast turns into a survival story against one of nature’s deadliest creatures and director Baltasar Kormákur brings the audience along for the ride.

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Jeff Shuster (episode 47, episode 102, episode 124, episode 131, episode 284, episode 441, episode 442, episode 443, episode 444, episode 450, episode 477, episode 491, episode 492, episode 493, episode 495, episode 496, episode 545, episode 546, episode 547, episode 548, episode 549, and episode 575) is an MFA graduate from the University of Central Florida.