Matthew Laurence (Matternick-europhile)

This film does not appear to have been made with much good intent. It's raison d'etre was to be Willem Ruis, enigmatic television MC's springboard into a cinematic career. This being his first and last picture, it evidently wasn't a priority for him. The film is characteristic of a bygone era: grainy, off-coloured, and sometimes poorly illuminated footage, of the kind typical in made-for-television films and direct to video, in the days of VHS. For that alone it might hold some value in nostalgia for a certain age-group; whom fondly remember a childhood browsing shelves of large plastic video-cases and faded photocopied lapels slid beneath the contact wrap. Het Beest, is intentionally very grim from start to finish, with several lighter moments and one very noteworthy scene; with an elderly Cara van Wersch, reveals a pathos also typical of the era, seldom found in modern cinematography, that whilst providing some well served heartfelt moments that strike deep, feel disjointed from everything else. The premise is well established, yet the startling conclusion has no resolve to it. Willem Ruis excelled as a vibrant, laughing entertainer, but was clearly struggling against this image in Het Beest. A project less dower might have proved less of a miss.