From the director of Everest (Baltasar Kormáku), pulse-pounding BEAST follows recently widowed father Dr. Nate Samuels (Elba) who returns to South Africa with his two daughters Meredith (Iyana Halley; Wayward, “This Is Us”) and Norah (Leah Jeffries; “Rel,” Faith Under Fire) to visit an old friend, Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley; “Russian Doll,” Ted K) on a game reserve. What begins as a journey of healing turns into a fearsome fight for survival as his family find themselves hunted by a massive, rogue lion intent on proving that the savannah has but one apex predator.
For in-depth thoughts on Beast, please see my colleague Cody Allen’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Beast comes to Blu-Ray in a terrific 1080p presentation in its 2:39.1 original aspect ratio that truly impresses in high definition. From beginning to end, the clarity throughout is outstanding with subtle flourishes of the environments and clothing coming through crystal clear. Color saturation is lovely with the earthy color palette consistently represented throughout. Skin tones are natural, although a lot of exposed skin is covered in all manner of cuts, bruises and gashes as the film progresses. This primarily takes place in the wilderness, which provides a lot of opportunity for fine detail and the gritty land to pop off the screen. Black levels are pretty deep and do not fall victim to any noticeable digital noise or nuisances of the sort. While a 4K UHD Blu-Ray would have probably taken this up another level, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has knocked this one out of the park on Blu-Ray.
Audio Quality
The DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio track matches the high standards of the video quality. There is pretty persistent activity in this briskly paced film from jump, which gives ample opportunity to engage all of the speakers. This film can get very intense with some attacks and gunshots that pack a punch to keep you awake. Dialogue comes through perfectly clear and never gets stepped on by any sound effects or the score. All of the sounds have a precise sense of direction within the mix with noises such as footsteps moving around the speakers in thrilling ways. There are many moments with the lions which allows for some intense activity in the low end. This mix is extremely immersive in a way that enhances the viewing experience immensely. There are optional English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Deleted Scene: A minute-long unused personal moment between the two sisters is provided here.
- Creating The Beast: A four-minute piece which takes a look at the visual effects utilized to bring our ferocious lion to life with comments from the director and visual effect supervisor as to what they were trying to pull off.
- Man vs. Lion – The Final Battle: A three-minute look at the construction and realization of the final confrontation featuring insights from the cast and crew.
- Making It Real – The Wounds: A four-minute piece which explores the gory details of creating realistic looking slices, gashes, and tears with prosthetics supervisor Clinton Smith and prosthetic assistant Daleen Badenhorst.
- Filming In The Beast’s Territory: A five-minute featurette which takes a look at the South African location which serves as the setting for the film and how it brings some authenticity to the feature.
- Family Bond – The Cast Of Beast: A six-minute exploration of the family dynamics which give this story some emotional weight and the journey they take throughout this narrative.
- A Lion’s Pride: An eight-minute piece which explores the realities of lion poaching and the fight to protect them in Africa.
Final Thoughts
Beast is the type of film where you pretty much know what you are getting from the outset, and not much else. If you want to see the ever-dynamic Idris Elba come face-to-face with a lion, you will not be disappointed. What you may be disappointed by is the lack of a compelling narrative around and leading up to those events. The film is barely 90 minutes long, but it still feels a bit padded to make the most of its premise. You may have a good time in the moment, but it is not a thrill that will last long past the end credits. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with an excellent A/V presentation and a couple of decent features.
Beast is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.