REVIEW: Beast Stalker, The (2008)

“Some of the most exhilarating car-chases ever filmed” shouts the press release for THE BEAST STALKER.

“Wow” thinks the prospective viewer, “I like car chases – this is going to be a sweet action film.”

“Wrong” screams anyone who’s seen the film, “YOU ARE WRONG!!”

Yes, no amazing car-chases to be found here folks. So, bearing this initial disappointment in mind, what is the rest of the film like? Well, it’s actually quite brilliant, in a non-car chase kind of way.

Resultantly, going into this film expecting an all-out action extravaganza will leave you somewhat disappointed, but those looking for a thoroughly exhilarating and tense thriller (with a bit of action) will find much to like here. The plot, without ruining too much, involves a disgraced cop on the trail of a kidnapper and his criminal associates. Unfortunately that’s about as much as I want to say as to reveal more would destroy the impact of the many twists and turns that the inventive narrative takes. Even the press release ruined a few of the surprises in store, so it’s better left as ambiguous as possible.

So what is it that makes THE BEAST STALKER so good? It’s certainly not only the strong acting turns by pretty much all of the principal cast, but more the additional way in which the plot serves as a facilitating device to make you care even more about the characters. For example, of course it helps that Nicholas Tse is a good actor to start with, but the script and story assists his performance to a degree where the character would still be empathetic had it been played by a lesser actor. This notion applies to the other performers who like Tse, give it their all and are rewarded by subsequently being put through the ‘Well-Rounding Machine’™ that is the fantastic script.

BEAST STALKER, it must be said, is not your usual enjoyable diet-action/thriller in the vein of many of the blockbusters Hollywood puts out; i.e. there’s no fat guy acting as comic relief, there’s no snappy Shane Black-esque dialogue and the ending – well I won’t go into that here. In fact, the flick is downright depressing in many instances. But it’s these hard-hitting and uncompromising aspects that make watching the film such a worthy use of your time, for it’s these elements that elevate not only the film from those under it, but also your bum from the middle of the seat to the edge.

Actually, honestly saying it’s not enjoyable is slightly erroneous, mainly because IT IS. Or maybe engaging is a better word, because some of the harrowing material in BEAST STALKER is something that is not often to be found in this kind of cop movie, and therefore slightly separates it from other more popcorn-friendly films of this ilk. Having not seen any of Dante Lam’s other films, I can’t compare this to previous work but it’s certain that this is not your typical Hong Kong thriller.

Speaking of Dante Lam, the guy’s clearly got talent – his keen eye for filming intricate action scenes is displayed to dizzying effect in one particular sequence which occurs after THAT car-chase (you know, the really amazing one) and is quite unlike anything that I’ve seen before. Aside from this, his sweeping, swinging and swooping all-seeing camera captures the action and drama in equally effective frames acting more like a fly-on-the-wall than a man behind a camera. As a result, the voyeuristic feel of the cinematography lends a dirty pragmatism to the film and allows the on-screen drama to convince to a much higher degree than if Michael Bay ran in there screaming and throwing his camera around on a rope.

So all in all, BEAST STALKER is most definitely worth a watch, it’s not perfect by any means – some of the directions the script takes seem a bit pointless – but aside from a few small flaws (and rubbish car-chases) it emerges a tightly-wrought and utterly absorbing action(lite)/thriller that’ll be sure to keep almost any viewer glued to every element of it’s meticulously designed construction.

THE BEAST STALKER is available in the U.S. from Tai Seng on Blu-ray and DVD and in the U.K. on DVD from Showbox Media.

REVIEW: Beast Stalker, The (2008), 9.0 out of 10 based on 4 ratings

by Gazz Ogden

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The Beast Stalker (2008)