ST. LOUIS — The "Beast" will be released Friday in theaters nationwide as Idris Elba takes us on a wild ride through the Savanna in South Africa as he and his family find themselves hunted by a rogue lion determined to protect its species.
Elba plays widowed Dr. Nate Samuels who visits the Savanna to take his daughters on a long-planned trip that he and his wife were supposed to take before she died of cancer. Elba's daughters find themselves tormented by the loss of their mom, blaming their dad that he couldn't save her, and not knowing how to find their way to connect or trust again.
Samuels takes his daughters to a game reserve managed by an old family friend and wildlife biologist. The journey takes them on a sightseeing adventure of the Savanna, but quickly turns into a nightmare when they come across an injured local that tells them the Beast is on the loose. The beast is a rogue lion stalking all humans after surviving poachers that took its entire pride. The journey for Samuels and his daughters starts out as a trip for healing, but quickly tests the family's love and trust for one another for ultimate survival.
Idris Elba sat down with 5 On Your Side's Monica Adams right after seeing the movie at a premiere in New York.
"The audience were screaming at the screen, talking at it, ya know. A lot of them were like what are you doing Idris; do that, don't do that," Elba said.
"I found myself doing just that. Especially when your character was stuck under the truck and you started kicking at the lion. Adams said. "I was like, 'How are you not getting your foot eaten?'"
Elba laughed, and said, "I was kicking it in the nose, that's the trick, you gotta kick it in the nose."
No actual lions were used in the film. It is CGI to the nth degree. Elba was so impressed with how far CGI has come. "The special effects used in this way is incredible in the sense, in the past, we would use real animals which isn't cool for the animals and isn't cool for us," he said.
Adams asked Elba if he is impressed with how far cinematography has come from movies decades ago.
"The storytelling toolbox has widened using special effects," Elba said. and "Like Jaws for instance?" Adams asked.
"But this is Jaws with claws!" Elba said.
Elba's character is torn with his own family dynamics, feeling the blame of the loss of his wife and trying to mend his relationship with his teenage daughters and felt symmetry with the lion facing its own torment.
"The lion was with his pride at the beginning of the film and got disbanded by poachers and now has no family and basically blames man for that," Elba said. The film is constructed layer by layer to take the audience on a thrill ride and fight for survival to the end.
"When they face off, it's like the lion feels you're the cause and my character feels like his fear was the cause of what he is going through, so they fight each other on that," he said.
Iyana Halley plays Samuels' 18-year-old daughter, Meredith, and Leah Jeffries plays his 13-year-old, Norah.
"Beast" was shot entirely in South Africa. When hunters forcefully separate out alpha lions by killing other members of their pack, they create rogue lions. "Beast" is also an examination of what happens when a rogue lion discovers who the real enemy is: humans ourselves.
Elba said he can't wait for audiences to see the film, and believes you'll love it for the thrill, but also for the dynamics of what the family has to go through to heal their own pain and outlast the Beast.
“We’ve seen films where the antagonist is a beast, or an animal and our heroes are being chased, but this has a dynamic that merges both a family dynamic that we are invested in… alongside the thriller aspects. The thrill ride doesn’t stop," Elba said.
"Beast" is in theaters Friday.
To watch 5 On Your Side broadcasts or reports 24/7, 5 On Your Side is always streaming on 5+. Download for free on Roku or Amazon Fire TV.