Take Out the Beast (1995) (TV)

Director:

Eric Freiser

Writers:

Oliver Butcher (screenplay)
Oliver Butcher (story)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Short

Plot:

In a cosmic station returning home the two humans get an order to annihilate the biorobot. But this one is clever and "human" enough to make the two kill each other. |

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Charles Martin Smith	...	The biorobot
Gary Kemp	...	Fox
Steven Weber	...	Drummond

Runtime:

24 min

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Chanticleer Films

A bit obvious but generally well delivered

Fox and Drummond have been in space for almost a year on a cargo run. The only other "person" on board with them is Gil, a prototype biorobot designed for heavy work. However returning to base they are instructed as part of quarantine procedures to deactivate Gil and dispose of his body parts. Drummond has a problem with the whole idea, having spent so long in space with Gil, but Fox convinces him that they have no choice; neither of them though, give Gil the credit he deserves.

Despite being over ten years old now, this short film has yet to get 5 votes or even a single comment on IMDb so I can only assume that I have stumbled onto a little seen short film here. This is not to say that this is any proof of it being a gem, more an indication that there may be a reason that it has been seen by so few people. The basic sci-fi plot described above maybe makes it sounds more action packed than it is because this film could really have been played out of a stage given that the thrust of it is that Gil is more cunning that he appears and plays the two crew members off against each other well. Although the device of the whiskey is a bit to simple to kick off problems it does actually work and the tension on the ship is gradually jacked up well. Logic suffers a bit towards the ending but it is still an enjoyable little play.

Although Smith has the key role, the film really belongs to Kemp and Weber as they are the ones that play out the drama. Neither of them is anything special but they do both well enough when helped by the pace of the film. Smith is simple but effective in his tricky character and he downplays his intelligence well so that we get a build rather than a burst. Overall this is a simple short film that is a little obvious but is still enjoyable regardless; worth a look although it seems that it must be hard to get hold of.