Beasts On Film
Beasts have always provided fantastic source material
for horror filmmakers across the ages, whether from the mythical
world or the natural. To celebrate the release of Into
the Grizzly Maze (on digital platforms from August 3rd
and DVD from August 17th,
2015, courtesy of Signature Entertainment) we
take a look back at some the biggest, baddest beasts on film...
Into the Grizzly
Maze (2015)
Starring James
Marsden, Thomas Jane and Billy
Bob Thornton, Into the Grizzly Maze tells the
story of a sheriff (Jane),
thrown into turmoil when a massive rogue grizzly wreaks havoc in a
local Alaskan community. Enlisting the help of his estranged brother
(Marsden) he enters
the labyrinthine Grizzly Maze to track down his missing wife, before
the bear does. As the body count mounts, things are only further
complicated when an infamous bear hunter (Thornton)
enters the fray, determined to take down the bear he’s been waiting
for his whole life...
Jaws (1975)
Spielberg’s
classic stars Rob Schneider, Robert Shaw
and Richard Dreyfuss,
and takes place over the course of one hot summer on Amity Island, a
small community whose main business is beaches. When new Sheriff
Martin Brody (Schneider)
discovers the remains of a shark attack victim, his first inclination
is to close the beaches to swimmers. As the victims mount, Amity is
swamped with amateur hunters hoping to cash in on the bounty offered.
A local fisherman with experience hunting sharks, Quint (Shaw),
offers to hunt down the creature for a hefty fee. Soon Quint, Brody
and Matt Hooper (Dreyfuss)
from the Oceanographic Institute are at sea hunting the Great White
shark. But they might need a bigger boat...
The Mist (2007)
In
2007,
having previously
adapted Stephen
King’s novellas The
Shawshank Redemption and The
Green Mile,
director
Frank
Darabont
returned with yet another adaptation of King’s work, The
Mist. An
ensemble cast of Thomas
Jane, Marcia
Gay Harden and Laurie
Holden feature in this spooky,
claustrophobic horror. After a freak storm in the small town of
Bridgton, Maine, a band of citizens become trapped in a supermarket,
enveloped by a most unnatural mist. The trapped citizens are driven
into action as it becomes evident that something vicious, savage and
otherworldly lurks within the mist, unseen. The
Mist explores
what ordinary people will be driven to do under extraordinary
circumstances.
Dune
(1984)
This American science
fiction film, written
and directed by David
Lynch,
was based on the 1965 Frank
Herbertnovel
of the same name
and stars Kyle
MacLachlan, Virginia
Madsen and Francesca
Annis. Set in the
year 10,191 in the midst of an intergalactic war, a duke's son, Paul
Atreides,
leads an army of desert warriors against
the galactic Padishah
Emperor Shaddam
Corrino IV to
defend planet Arrakis (also known as Dune).
Successfully defending the barren, desert planet seems all but
hopeless, unless Paul can harness control of the monsters that linger
beneath the sands of planet Dune...
Beowulf
(2007)
In
2007 the Old English epic poem Beowulf exploded onto the screen in
revolutionary computer-animation. The fantasy film was created
through a brand new motion capture process, and starred a blockbuster
cast including Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins,
Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, John Malkovich, Crispin Glover
and Angelina Jolie.
Set against the coming of Christianity, the fearsome and boastful
warrior Beowulf must fight and defeat the monster Grendel who is
terrorizing towns and villages. Beowulf’s heroism cannot be
celebrated for too long however, as a monster much more powerful
still exists, and she has a vengeful desire for human blood...
Grendel's mother...
Clash
of the Titans (2010)
Directed
by Louis Leterrier, Clash of the Titans sees
Sam Worthington star
in his second major lead role, following the vast critical acclaim
for his character Jake Sully in Avatar.
This action-packed fantasy thriller is based on the Greek myth of
Perseus and his battle with Hades. Once Perseus is prophesied as the
only ‘human’ who can defeat the Olympian Gods, he faces all
manner of fearsome beasts and monsters in his attempt to send Hades
back to the Underworld. To fulfil this prophesy he must slay giant
scorpions, the gorgon Medusa, and most terrifying of all, the Kraken.
Dog
Soldiers (2002)
British
director Neil Marshall's directorial debut was a surprise hit on
release, expertly combining comedy and horror on a shoestring budget.
Sergeant Harry Wells (Sean
Pertwee) leads a team
of soldiers on an expedition to the Scottish Highlands, which takes a
sinister turn when they discover the severely injured Captain Ryan
(Liam Cunningham) and
the bloody remains of his team. On the run from giant werewolf
beasts, they seek refuge in the cottage of zoologist Megan (Emma
Cleasby), who offers some explanation... but
the danger is far from over, as they begin a desperate attempt to
keep the monsters out...
I
Am Legend (2007)
This
adaptation of Richard Matheson's influential novelette of the same
name, features a standout performance from Will
Smith as Robert Neville, a brilliant
scientist desperately trying to survive while fighting off the
infected survivors of a devastating vampiric plague. Neville was
inexplicably immune to the highly contagious infection and now the
entire world has been transformed into murderous bloodsuckers that
fear the light and live solely to spread the infection...
The
Cabin In The Woods (2012)
Joss
Whedon and Drew
Goddard wrote and directed this well-received
satirical horror, turning a clichéd premise on its head and
subverting the genre. When five college friends (Kristen
Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, and Jesse
Williams) stay in a remote cabin in the
woods, they find they are completely isolated with no means of
communicating with the outside world. Finding a collection of relics,
they inadvertently awaken a family of deadly zombies. But just who is
calling the shots... and why?
The
Village (2004)
M.
Night Shyamalan
wrote and directed this thriller, which features his trademark twist
ending. The rustic village of Covington is home to 60 citizens
leading a quiet, seemingly idyllic life- with one bizarre caveat.
Terrible creatures lurk just outside the borders of the village, and
the people of Covington have reached an agreement with them,
permitting them to
go about their business as long as they never cross the village's
boundaries. However, this delicate agreement is upset when the wilful
Lucius Hunt (Joaquin
Phoenix),
decides to investigate what really lies past the boundaries, and
unwittingly incurs the wrath of the creatures upon the village...
INTO
THE GRIZZLY MAZE arrives on digital platforms from August 3rd
and DVD from August 17th,
2015, courtesy of Signature Entertainment.
