Behemoth is Surprising in Many Ways
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Behemoth tries to have a bit more depth than an average B-movie, and attempts to address global warming fears by way of a massive Lovecraftian monster.
Written by James “Crypticpsych” Lasome
June 20, 2011
Movie Trailer
Image Gallery
Release: January 15, 2011 (US TV), April 5, 2011 (US DVD)
Directed by: David Hogan
Written by: Rachelle S. Howie
Starring:
Ed Quinn as Thomas Walsh
Pascale Hutton as Emily Allington
Cindy Busby as Grace Walsh
Jessica Parker Kennedy as Zoe
William B. Davis as William Walsh
Emily (Pascale Hutton), a seismologist, has traveled to the town of Ascension to investigate higher than normal readings around a dormant volcano. She meets up with her old love interest, a logging foreman named Thomas (Ed Quinn) who’s also noticed the stronger-than-usual tremors plaguing the town. Upon investigation, Emily discovers the readings correlate with cataclysmic events like tidal waves elsewhere in the world. The ground has also begun to leak carbon dioxide and vent steam. Emily, certain something is going on but unsure of what it is, shows Thomas her findings and gets him to help her convince her uncle, the Sheriff (Garry Chalk), to evacuate the populace. Meanwhile, a secretive government-type has also descended upon the small village, hunting for a missing research team and their findings about the events on the mountain. And, just to add extra drama, Thomas’s abnormally young-looking “sister” Grace (Cindy Busby) has gone out onto the mountain unsupervised with her boyfriend while Thomas’s father William (William B. Davis) has become convinced that all of these events are signs of a mythically-prophesized event caused by the planet fighting back against man. Thomas and Emily find themselves headed back up the mountain to rescue Grace and help the government agent find his equipment. They’d better hurry though… the mountain’s getting restless.
Syfy Original Movies, of which Behemoth is one, have developed a stigma over the years. Usually they’re seen as spectacularly bad films that are also undeniably entertaining in a car-crash kind of way. Hellhounds; was a perfect example of that. However, Behemoth is different. It’s still not a GREAT film, but it’s actually surprisingly entertaining thanks to engaging lead performances and a Lovecraftian CGI monster far better than you might expect.
In Behemoth we have pretty good
performances from most
of the cast. Ed Quinn and Pascale Hutton in particular are great as the
two leads, showing chemistry in scenes together and working well alone.
Hutton, though initially in a suspiciously low-cut top for a scientist,
shows conviction when discussing her findings and comes across as a
legitimately intelligent, believable scientist. Quinn, on the other
hand, nails down the typical action/monster-movie male lead
effortlessly, not even seeming to be acting. The two actors combine to
help bring the viewer into the movie through their own investment in
the material.
The most surprising thing about Behemoth, though, is how well-handled its monster is. The creature, meant as a not-too-subtle response to global warming and climate change, is kept mostly out of sight for much of the film save some shots of its eye or tentacles. When revealed, the final monster is very well-rendered and believable as the chaos and destruction-causer it’s been built up as throughout the film. This slow burn does help to build tension through the film… even if some of the monsters’ impact and actions are not as well-done.
Behemoth is a decent/good and watchable Syfy film, but it is not necessarily a great “film film”. For one thing, while the monster itself is great, the CGI used to throw rocks, blow open holes in the mountainside, or even cause buildings to sink into the ground are laughably bad. Outside of the monster-related effects, the steam blasts sound overly mechanical, and the “earthquakes” tend to consist of poorly conceived camera shakes and flailing actors. The movie also is handicapped by its “TV Movie” roots as the score develops a tendency to crescendo at odd moments, possibly pointing to commercial breaks for TV airings. The pacing can also get a little slow and drawn out at times.
The most damaging flaws, though, are aspects of supporting characters, in particular the characters of William Walsh and Zoe, played by William B. Davis and Jessica Parker Kennedy. Zoe is a waitress at the local diner while William is Thomas’s mildly senile-seeming father. While William is a decent idea, in that he’s a variation on the exposition-providing “Crazy Ralph” archetype, he provides so much exposition he becomes a boring chore of a character. Zoe, on the other hand, is over-excitable, whiny, and comes across as annoying and completely unable to take care of herself. The fact that a portion of the film’s climax centers on these two characters seriously damages the tension seen in the rest of the movie’s final minutes.
In the end, Behemoth is a surprisingly well-done Syfy channel movie. It has well-acted leads and a great-looking CGI creature causing mayhem. However, I can’t unreservedly recommend it due to annoying side characters and mild technical sloppiness. It’s definitely worth at least a look, though, and one of the more entertaining films I’ve seen in their catalog.
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