The Beast (1996) (TV)

Director:

Jeff Bleckner

Writers (WGA):

Peter Benchley (novel)
J.B. White (teleplay)

Release Date:

28 April 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Mysterious things happen at the coast of Graves Point: An empty boat lies at the shore, divers vanish. The sea biologist Dr. Talley thinks he knows the solution of the mystery: In the depth there is a gigantic squid.

Plot Keywords:

Sea | Squid | Giant Squid | Helicopter | Architeuthis

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

William Petersen	...	Whip Dalton
Karen Sillas	...	Lt. Kathryn Marcus
Charles Martin Smith	...	Schuyler Graves
Ronald Guttman	...	Dr. Herbert Talley
Missy Crider	...	Dana Dalton
Sterling Macer Jr.	...	Mike Newcombe
Denis Arndt	...	Osborne Manning
A.J. Johnson	...	Nell Newcombe (as Adrienne-Joi Johnson)
Larry Drake	...	Lucas Coven
Murray Bartlett	...	Christopher Lane
Laura Vazquez	...	Hadley
Robert Mammone	...	Ensign Raines
David Webb	...	Jameson
Marshall Napier	...	Commander Wallingford
Les Hill	...	Spike

Also Known As:

Peter Benchley's The Beast

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence and terror.

Runtime:

176 min (2 parts) | USA:116 min (VHS version) | Germany:83 min (cut version) | Germany:186 min (uncut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Dan Wigutow Productions

Trivia:

Port Angeles, the town that Howard & Elizabeth Griffin (Chad Tyler & Angie Milliken) called from the "Occupational Hazard" is on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, across the Juan de Fuca Strait from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. A major fault line runs along the middle of the strait, with the result that the two cities are on different tectonic plates.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The squid emits ink when attacking its victims. Squids only emit ink defensively when fleeing.

Quotes:

Whip Dalton: You go out and you try and kill it. But just so you understand exactly what it is you're dealing with: besides its eight huge tentacles, this thing has two whips. Each one is probably as long as this room and three or four feet thick. Those whips are covered with suction cups as big as this notepad...

Movie Connections:

References The Terminator (1984)

Peter Benchley should be proud.

My Take: Enjoyable, made-for-TV monster movie.

After watching "Jaws" and "The Beast", I could conclude that Peter Benchley should be proud when his novels translated well when filmed. I've heard many bad reviews about this movie, mainly because it was loosely based on Benchley's bestseller. But, hey, this is a movie. Not everything has to go by the book. Directors and screenwriters have to add a couple of twists from the novels. okay, a lot of twists, but this has been a case in many Hollywood movies, and some turn up to be very good, why can't this? The plot is quite like the plot for sci-fi monster movies, a hungry creature makes snacks out of unwary victims, and a good guy tries to stop it, while a money-hungry guy tries to capture it and put it on display. But still, that kind of plot is what makes this kind of films really good, and "The Beast" uses it effectively.

The performances are fine. William L. Petersen (from "C.S.I." fame) is okay as a the hero Whip Dalton (the surname was Darling in the novel). Charles Martin Smith is fine as the profit-hungry town owner Schuyler Graves (the Liam St.John character from the novel). Creature effects were great and Don Davis' score is terrific.

So I would still recommend it, although not as good as "Jaws" was, it is still a very effective B-style sci-fi sea-monster movie.

TV movie rating: **** out of 5.