What’s it about?

Following the death of his wife, a doctor and his two daughters travel to a wildlife reserve in South Africa overseen by a family friend. The trip takes a terrifying turn when they become stranded in the bush and are stalked by a highly aggressive lion.

What did we think?

Peter Linning says: Beast is a simple and straightforward survival thriller that’s elevated by it’s excellent pacing and some great directorial decisions. It’s a lean 90 minutes, quickly and efficiently establishing the characters and setting up the scenario, which never feels as implausible as you might think. The movie is composed largely of long, steady takes that do an excellent job of keeping the audience in the moment, and effortlessly ratcheting up the tension once the lion begins stalking the family. The downside of this approach is that there’s a few moments of spotty dialogue, but the plot is lean enough that it’s forgivable. There’s no surprises to be had with Beast, but it’s far more solid than I expected.