The Beast

To the depths of wartime madness along a Conrad-style journey to the parched, vast horizon and beyond. It is mainly Isham’s background music that is fascinating; it’s like straight out of a creepy horror movie from the 80’s which together with wide-angle shots of the awe-inspiring stony desert create a captivatingly and disturbing atmosphere that helps us to understand the impulsive (and often also illogical) behavior of the characters balancing on the edge (and in some cases dangling over the edge) of sanity. The only criticism maybe just the thick American accents in the mouths of the Soviet heroes and the first third of the movie after an excellent prologue which is standard to the extent that it borders on dullness. (08/11/2014)

The Beast is one of those incredibly underrated war films that really deserves more attention. There’s something unique about its production—it was made by Americans before the fall of the Iron Curtain, yet it's all about Russians in Afghanistan. The military scenes feel raw and authentic, and the Afghan landscape is hauntingly beautiful... until a Russian T-55 tank rolls in and destroys everything in its path, which happens pretty early on, like in the first two minutes. If the rest of the film had kept up with the intensity of the opening, I might’ve given it five stars. But after that explosive start, it gradually settles into a more predictable flow. The acting wasn’t particularly strong either—most of the heavy lifting is done by the tank itself. Still, the movie definitely deserves a look. It’s proof there are always hidden gems out there waiting to be discovered. (05/07/2012)