La bête

This went over pretty big in Australia when it first aired, thanks mostly to the local cast and the fact it was plugged to death by the network beforehand. It's never been seen since, which should tell us something.

My key recollection (and this was eight years ago now) is that it contained the most appalling digital effects I have ever seen. It also featured the tasty Laura Vasquez (from Home and Away), but she went nowhere much after this. Good luck finding a copy - I think they probably destroyed the masters. Or at least they should have.

I enjoyed Jaws as both book and movie, so I thought I'd give Benchley's novel of The Beast a try. It wasn't bad, even if it was pretty much just Jaws revisited.

This initially appears to be a televised version of author Peter Benchley ripping off his own book "Jaws". Actually though it's worse than that--if anything Benchley is actually ripping off "Jaws 3" (not to mention the infamously crappy 70's film "Tentacles" which was itself a rip-off of "Jaws"). Like "Tentacles" this TV movie has a giant squid terrorizing a seaside community. But it also borrows a ridiculous conceit from "Jaws 3" by having TWO giant squid--the first an over-sized baby and the second the even larger mother out for revenge. Well, I'm no marine biologist but even I know that sharks and squids lay eggs and then abandon them and wouldn't know their offspring from any other shark or squid, so neither would be too motivated by revenge. But, much like the movie, let's leave logic aside.

As in "Jaws" the main appeal is supposed to be the cast. But this movie doesn't have the stellar cast of "Jaws", or even "Jaws 3" or "Tentacles" for that matter. William Peterson is okay in the lead, but his usual intense, overly serious performance, which works in a movie like "Manhunter" or "To Live and Die in LA", just seems goofy in a movie like this. Larry Drake and Charles Martin Smith are better in smaller roles which they seem to take a lot less seriously. I have always suspected that Missy Crider, who plays Peterson's daughter, is actually Amy Locane with her hair dyed red (think about it--has anyone ever seen the two of them together?). Of course, Peterson also has an improbable love interest who works for the coast guard (so the American TV audience wouldn't think he was gay or anything), and his best friend and partner is black to show that even in remote Washington state fishing villages racial harmony has been achieved. The squid looks more real than the one in "Tentacles" (but then again so does your average dust mop). But it's just not enough to carry a three and a half hour movie.

This film first aired on television when I was in middle school. They advertised it heavily and it turned out to be a really great film. It is a well produced television movie that will give you the creeps at certain points. One underwater scene near the beginning of the second half of the film will really get you going. This is the uncut version I am talking about.

There are several cuts of the film that are out there that are very incomplete. The version I have is the one that originally aired on t.v. If you are into things like jaws and King Kong, then you will get a lot of enjoyment out of this film. Some of the characters may be a bit corny but they are played well by some familiar character actors. William Petersen is especially good in the lead role. You really buy the weight he brings to the character. He seems like a genuinely good guy.

Very good version of Peter Benchley's novel 'Beast' about the arrival of a giant squid and the danger it presents to a small fishing community. Obvious references to Benchley's far more successful 'Jaws abound but the story remains as strong as ever, humans going up against a seemingly unstoppable sea creature to which anything but mortal fear would be an unusual reaction. While I personally disagree with a few of the editing decisions no one can deny that Charles Martin Smith's Graves is a better character than in the book and that William Peterson is perfectly cast as the hero Whip Dalton. Anyone who has read the book will be able to accept the smooth changes along with the rough and believe that this is a far-above average adaptation of any simple novel, especially one destined merely for TV.

This movie really lets you in on a little secret...other than "Jaws", there is really nothing original about Peter Benchely's work. He basically uses the same plot elements in everything he writes the only thing he does differently is substituting sea creatures in for the shark from the hit "Jaws". This one though was somewhat fun to watch, a lot better than the horrid "Creature" that would come out a couple of years later. Why he titled this book "Beast" and not "Giant Squid" is beyond me, well maybe not. The latter just sounds stupid. Well that is what this movie is about, a super giant squid. Granted there is a bit of a twist in the middle of this one, but nothing to great of note if you have seen the movie "Jaws 3-D". The story is almost the same as "Jaws" except fishing and fisherman play a more prominent role and the beach is not used as much. Still, it has the typical mayor that will have his event or whatever no matter what evidence comes up to support closure or stopping of the event. My guess is Peter had a really bad run in with a mayor at some point in his lifetime. Still, there is enough to keep you entertained once. I would not really track down this movie to see it again.