Beast
“Beast” is directed by Christopher Sferrazza and is set in a small town on the eastern coast of Australia, and is about Sophie, a kind and caring butcher who dedicates her life outside of work to her grandson Liam, a local paramedic. Tragedy had struck Sophie nearly a decade ago after a fatal accident killed her daughter. The town has somewhat shut her out since the incident, however, her co-worker Bea is seeking to re-integrate Sophie back into the community by inviting her to mass on Sunday. Sophie can see a glimmer of hope, to rejoin a town that has all but forgotten her, but after discovering a terrifying and jaw-dropping truth, Sophie’s hopes are dashed, and she will now have to make a choice between love and acceptance. Director Sferrazza has crafted a beautifully macabre and shocking story that left me shook, and is one to watch for thriller and horror fans.
The story immediately introduces us to Sophie and Bea at the butcher shop, as they watch out the window at a young mother handing out missing flyers of her daughter. You see the pain in Sophie’s eyes while being focused on this mother are glazed over, reliving the memories of Sophie’s own loss of a daughter. This scene services the audience to who Sophie as but also returns in the final moments in the film, but in a completely different light that will surprise you. Off work, Sophie is clearly a lonely woman, who retells stories and of her daughter to telemarketers, and clearly only has one thing in her life she cares about, that being her Grandson.
The performance by Marta Kaczmarek as Sophie is very powerful and real and she brings so much to this short. I would recommend her to be nominated for a best actress award purely on how much I enjoyed her performance. All the acting was well done in the film and I couldn’t pick a weak point out of the ensemble. They are all characters that seem real like they could be your next-door neighbors, which gave me both admiration for the performances as well as chills when the film reveals its true self to the audience.
Technically the film is fantastic. The camerawork is great, from the lighting, cinematography, framing, it all worked very well. I loved how the story begins as something seemingly out of a sad hallmark film, but ramps up and kicks the chair out from under you with a conclusion that left me floored. I liked the pacing of the film, perhaps in some scenes, it may have felt a little too exposition-heavy, however, doesn’t take much away from my enjoyment of the film as a whole. It’s a short that really understands what it’s showing to the audience, and the director should be proud of how strong the stories foundation is.
I want to leave this review here, as to not spoil anything from your viewing experience. Overall, “Beast” is a unique perspective of what someone will do for love and acceptance. It has a strong lead and great supporting characters, with a story full of secrets and twists that I really enjoyed watching.
