Directed and written by Luke Hyams, and starring Nick Blood, Mark Bonnar and Melia Kreilling. This 2014 Horror film suggests it was made on Exmoor (North Devon, UK) but do not be surprised to find that if you have been there you won't recognise much as it's pretty much filmed in Northern Ireland. The film has a reported budget of £1m and a runtime of 76mins. With a potential beast on the loose this film promised lots of thrills in the dark, which should be plenty enough to tantalise horror thirsty audiences.
This film sees some documentary makers, Georgia, and Matt, going into the woods to investigate the fabled beast of Exmoor that lives in the North Devon moor. The beast is supposed to be something akin to a wild cat, maybe a puma, a panther, or a lion. Either way there is a £25k reward being offered by a local newspaper for the beast. The pair of documentary makes meet a hunter who agrees to be their guide in the woods, he is eager to help because he believes the beast is hungry for human blood. They soon discover putrefying body parts stacked up and realise that it probably is not a beast that is responsible for the bloodshed and carnage. A struggle soon ensues as Georgia and Matt fight for their lives to make it free.
This film started off well but seemed to drop in standards as it advanced. I began to wonder if the screenplay started as an idea which was fleshed out during the shooting process. It was a dark enough film with bits and bobs of tension, but it did not fully have me gripped. It probably looked better than it played out. The acting was decent without ever been good, but I have to say that I never really bought into any of the characters. They were not really that loveable or enjoyable, the annoyed me at times - and of course they made bad decisions throughout the film. Yes, this is typical horror hunt and hunted film, so expect the stars to make lots of bad decisions which is how the tension is made. I liked that the film gave us the Reality vs Myth, showing that when there are rumours of a supernatural beast it is probably just some random guy. However, by the end of the film I was left wishing that there had of been a beast roaming around.
All in all, I can think of a lot of other films that do the same but a lot better. As such this is not a film that I'll be going back to anytime soon and I can't really rate it that highly at all. 4/10
