Beast: Lion Gone Rogue

By carolinianweb on September 27, 2022 • ( 0 )

Maggie Collins

Staff Writer

As we near the Halloween season, we are seeing more horror movies come into theaters and streaming platforms. Since I have never been much of a fan of super scary and paranormal movies, I look for more thriller-based movies. “Beast” was a different kind of thriller than I have watched in quite some time. In the beginning, I thought I had the whole movie figured out but was pleasantly surprised when there were multiple things happening that I didn’t expect. This movie had me gritting my teeth trying to tell the characters what they should and shouldn’t do next.

It starts out with an average family having their everyday drama. The dad and two teenage daughters have just recently lost their mom. It was evident at the start that both girls took the pain in different ways, and this caused some issues down the road. They head to South Africa for a little trip to their mother’s childhood home. There they learn more about their mom and are able to talk with a friend of hers to get to know more about who their mother was.

On their first day, they take a trip to a lion reserve to learn more about the nature and animals in South Africa. While they are there, they notice a lion has been injured and head to a nearby village to investigate what happened. When they show up, they find what looks like a murder scene and this is where you start to get on the edge of your seat. The investigation of the hurt lion turns into a hunt for an unknown but powerful beast, which turns out to be a lion gone rogue after its interaction with poachers.

This movie did an excellent job of showing how beautiful Africa is and giving real shots of animals in their natural habitat. It gives you a view of Africa that isn’t talked about very often. It was interesting to learn more about lions and how they interact with those around them. While some shots of the rogue lion are most definitely computerized, the life of the story is still there and overshadows that aspect.

The beauty showcased in Africa was just as magnificent as the relationships between the family. You get to watch the family grieve over their mom/wife while getting closer to each other. The seriousness of their situation allows them to become more open and vulnerable with each other. They have to navigate through their loss and fight for their own lives at the same time. The two teenage daughters must quickly become independent in order to survive because their vacation quickly turned into a deadly experience.

The rogue lion truly made me fear for the family in the movie. It reminded me of just how strong and powerful lions are and how scared I would be in their situation. As mentioned earlier, I was constantly wondering what would happen next because the movie was throwing curve balls at me every which way. Whenever they thought they had found a way to get free of the lion, it would be lurking in the corner waiting to attack again. As in any scary movie, there is always a way for some disasters to be avoided, but then it wouldn’t be as interesting.

The creators of “Beast” found a way to turn a somewhat simple storyline into this intriguing and seat-gripping movie. It was not only a thrilling adventure with some drama, but they also threw some humor into it as well. “Beast” is currently only available to watch in theaters but could potentially be streamed on a platform soon. I would recommend this movie to everyone who wants to watch an adventurous movie with a unique type of predator. It is especially good for those who don’t like average Halloween-type movies but still want a little thrill every now and then.