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William L. Petersen, Karen Sillas, Larry Drake, Missy Crider, Charles Martin Smith ... see more see more... , Ronald Guttman , Denis Arndt , Sterling Macer Jr. , Adrienne-Joi Johnson

The fishing industry of a small Northwestern coastal town is nearly destroyed when a mysterious giant sea creature takes up residence. Based on a novel by Peter Benchley, the story bears more than pas... read more read more...sing resemblance to the author's most popular story, Jaws in that a few, including a scientist, learn the terrifying truth and try to convince a skeptical community that they are all in danger should they go too near the water. Once the town believes, it is up to the hero, a lady coast guard officer, and the scientists to stop the beast. This feature originally aired as a two-part miniseries on network television. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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44% liked it

306 ratings

PG-13, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: Jeff Bleckner

Release Date: April 28, 1996

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DVD Release Date: April 28, 1998

Stats: 36 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (36)

  • juliantoepfer
    December 29, 2011
    juliantoepfer
    While this movie is decent, it is one of the poorest adaptations of a novel that I can think of. Benchley's novel is an extremely well written (if not a tad unoriginal) and slowly building story that echo's back to his masterpiece, 'Jaws'.

    This is a made for TV movie, so its h... read moreard to expect too much. The script, acting, effects, and overall direction are not particularly overwhelming. Taking these limitations into account however, we still get a decently made and entertaining movie.

    Alot of cheap plot devices (the baby squid fiasco, the Petersen/Sillas romantic tension, over exaggerated climax, etc) all stray far from the source material and don't add much to the final product. Still beats the snot out of pretty much any Sci-Fi original and 90% of other made for TV films.
  • joyouskiss
    December 21, 2007
    joyouskiss
    Creepy... At first I thought this was one of those shark thrillers. I'm glad it's something else. William Peteresen is a wonderful and convincing actor. Now pit him against the gigantic killer squid and we have a battle on our hands.

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Critic Reviews

David Nusair
August 1, 2003
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...it's hard not to become wrapped up in this relatively simple story. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
July 25, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

A whole lotta boring and very little beast.

Emanuel Levy
August 12, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Rich Cline
December 10, 2001
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

Click to read the article Full Review

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Peter Benchley's The Beast Trivia

  • Which actor stars as Whip Dalton, the main character in the movie "The Beast" based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name?  Answer »
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