Chad

Undeadcow

Beast was one of my favorite first time viewings last year because of how ambiguous and morally conflicted it is; with some complicated but relatable characters. I'm curious to hear how others find it.

[Possible spoilers] This is apparently based on the true story of 'The Beast of Jersey': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Paisnel

Not to be confused with Idris Elba fighting a Lion.

Spiderbite

Wow. Fantastic pick, Undeadcow!

I have never heard of this movie but felt it was one of the best newer movies I have seen in a while.

The story kept me on my toes guessing and gave a nice, hard "pit in my stomach" uneasy feeling throughout. The acting, cinematography, and direction is excellent.

I truly was not sure who was doing the killings. It could have gone several ways and I wouldn't have been angry or disappointed with any of them since I felt so invested with the characters and the story was so well told. I could really feel for the main girl since her mental issues were so well developed. The ending was not necessarily a shock but was still unexpected but not unexpected. Does that make any sense whatsoever?

Anyway, I loved it. Great, great pick. I will be stunned if I see a better made, recent film this go-around.

My rating: ****1/2

Shack

This was a great pick! The creepy atmosphere captured the feelings of isolation and loneliness, and I loved the fearless central performance by Jessie Buckley. The tag line "Be Careful What You Unleash" could have applied to so many things.

The movie had a lot of nods, subtle and otherwise, to what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Interesting to see the town's attitudes shift, although she was always going to be in some way an outcast. On the other hand, loved that she was a tour guide!

Agreed that the end could have gone so many ways, and I would have been fine with pretty much any of them.

WillieMLF

Saw this movie last year, and it was a real gut punch. I was glad to see it as a theme movie for a revisit. It feels like everyday mundane existence, with some real family dysfunction to muddy things. I remember on first watch, that the suspicions was always on Pascal, but we really need to keep an eye on Moll as she is just as damaged. It's a hard movie to watch, and the ambiguity is what helps.

I feel very fortunate up to now, as I'm on a roll of fantastic movies to start the challenge.

Spiderbite

That was the only fuck up of the movie in my opinion. One of the news pieces said that one of the last girls killed was raped, so that took Moll out of contention. They should have never mentioned rape so Moll would always be a better suspect in the back of your mind.

Trevor

Yeah, this is my favorite watch of the Challenge so far, and I’ve enjoyed about a dozen films already. Fantastic film, can’t really add much to what has already been said.

Toddarino

I enjoyed this as well. I liked that they did their best to keep you guessing.

numbercrunch

Great pick and a clear candidate for best film of the challenge. The film did a great job of character development and intensifying the mystery surrounding the murders. I also liked how the film wrapped up.

8/10

Shack

So this director, Michael Pearce, has a 2021 Amazon Original movie called Encounter, with an interesting cast. Has anyone seen it and is it worth checking out?

clckworang

Solid film. Great lead performance. It didn't really feel very much like a horror to me, though.

jholmes

I saw this when it first came out and was disappointed that it didn't involve an actual shifter of any kind (I'd gotten that idea from the name and poster). I wrote at the time that it felt more like a dysfunctional family drama than horror to me. Rewatching it, I appreciated the mystery and killer ambiguity more this time, but still not my favorite. I think the abuse Moll is subjected to just gets to me. I agree there were terrific performances all around.

jacob_b

Def more of a thriller/drama like a Lifetime movie, but with better acting and story. Was really hoping the killer was Moll and dove into her mental state and the abuse of her family. Kind of disappointed it ended up being who was suspected all along and the way they gave the audience an answer was more of a throw away line. Did such a great job with the build and then the reveal, to me, was kind of flat. Still want to know what kind of revenge she was looking for to stab someone as well.

Undeadcow

Moll may not have murdered some innocent girls but she is has become a ballsy wrecking ball here annihilating the petty murderer transforming into something all the more brutal and the journey is filled with delicious tension the least of which is her action of cathartic murder.

The subtle mistreatment Moll perceives and her refrained coping with it is one of the best parts of the film; I see it as her slowly simmering to become the real 'Beast' of the film and the climax culminating in her transformation into rage filled murder. Pascal feels purposefully under developed to make Moll's chaos work. Moll stabs a classmate in the neck with scissors and justifies it sheepishly covering aggressive tendencies and her vouching for the murders also shows her sublimating aggression but then by the end it's simmered over. The police investigator's line along the lines of Moll trying to get 'revenge against the world' by siding with the murderer shows Moll mid-sequence of passively lashing out before exploding. The murders and the murderer are an irrelevant background and the surprise is that the horror show we thought we saw was small compared to the violence hiding in plain sight within the young ambivalent lead. Even then we're left not knowing if Moll is an antihero selflessly disposing of a madman to become more confident/adjusted herself; or if she is truly snapped. The idea that we know she is not the murderer but she might as well be, or that she is something worse, is a wonderful shade of grey and a highlight of the film. The horror is a psychological one of Moll's rage and transformation, a sort of Edgar Allen Poe style internal conflict and in some ways Beast is like a modern variation on the Tell Tale Heart of misdeeds beating and beating until it's too much resulting in destruction of self.

On the subject of the abuse and mistreatment from Moll's family; that's a curiosity to me because it's more a slow 'comedy of manners' style mis-steps than outright mistreatment which adds to the delicately balanced ambiguity. The father having dementia suggests a passive indifference from the family, one interpretation could be there is no real agency in mistreatment but more an absent mindedness. Is Moll a victim of her family or is she misperceiving things?