 First edition | |
| Author | Peter Benchley |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Horror |
| Publisher | Random House (US) Hutchinson (UK) |
Publication date | 1991 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | Rummies |
| Followed by | White Shark |
Beast is a 1991 novel by Peter Benchley, the author of Jaws .
A fishing community in Bermuda is disrupted by a series of mysterious disappearances at sea. Veteran fisherman Whip Darling suspects the truth, and after discovering two large hooks alongside first mate Mike Newstead; Whip Darling advises confidant Marcus Sharpe, a local Navy pilot, that the culprit is Architeuthis dux: a giant squid.
A marine biologist called Herbert Talley also guesses the truth after the latest disaster, and convinces the millionaire father (Osborne Manning) of two of the victims (Scott Manning and Susie Manning) to fund a hunt for the creature. The local mayor (St. Liam John) attempts to overrule all parties and participates in an exploratory mission on a mini-submarine, but is killed when the creature destroys the vessel. Whip Darling's crewmate (Mike Newstead) also perishes.
Although reluctant to participate any further, Whip Darling is blackmailed when Osborne Manning assumes ownership of his outstanding mortgage. Leaving wife (Charlotte Darling) and daughter (Dana Darling) back at home Whip Darling, Marcus Sharpe, Herbert Talley and Osborne Manning embark on a new hunt, although Osborne Manning is later killed in an accident. The creature is attracted by hormones Herbert Talley cultivated from a pair of dead giant squid in an attempt to trap it. The trap fails, and the enraged squid threatens to sink their vessel. Whip Darling wounds the creature with an explosive he and Marcus had made, but the creature survives. Before the squid can kill them, however, a sperm whale, (presumably the mother of a young whale the squid had eaten earlier) arrives and kills it.
Whip’s ship is lost but the group survive on a floating piece of debris and are driven back to land by the current. However, they are oblivious to the fact that an abnormally large number of the squid's spawn have survived and due to overfishing will grow to adulthood unchallenged. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Beast was adapted into a TV movie called The Beast in 1996, starring William Petersen as Whip Dalton (name change from Darling). Aside from an altered ending with the squid being killed by an explosion instead of a whale, Marcus's character being female, Manning being unrelated to any of the squid's victims and only wanting it as an exhibit for an ocean park, Whip's teenaged daughter having a subplot, and the setting being changed from Bermuda to the Pacific Northwest, the film is regarded as very faithful to the source material. [5] The film was well received and earned high ratings, both earning a nomination in the Daytime Emmy Awards and encouraging future adaptations of Benchley's other works, such as White Shark being adapted as Creature in 1998. [6]
A sea serpent is a type of sea monster described in various mythologies, most notably in Mesopotamian cosmology (Tiamat), Ugaritic cosmology biblical cosmology, Greek cosmology, and Norse cosmology (Jörmungandr).
The giant squid is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around 12–13 m (39–43 ft) for females and 10 m (33 ft) for males, from the posterior fins to the tip of the two long tentacles. The mantle of the giant squid is about 2 m long, and the length of the squid excluding its tentacles rarely exceeds 5 m (16 ft). Claims of specimens measuring 20 m (66 ft) or more have not been scientifically documented.
Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and are often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or tentacled beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water. The definition of a "monster" is subjective; further, some sea monsters may have been based on scientifically accepted creatures, such as whales and types of giant and colossal squid.
Peter Bradford Benchley was an American author, screenwriter, and environmental activist. He is known for his bestselling novel Jaws and co-wrote its movie adaptation with Carl Gottlieb. Several more of his works were also adapted for both cinema and television, including The Deep, The Island, Beast, and White Shark.
Nathaniel Goddard Benchley was an American author from Massachusetts.
A globster or blob is an unidentified organic mass that washes up on the shoreline of an ocean or other body of water. A globster is distinguished from a normal beached carcass by being hard to identify, at least by initial untrained observers, and by creating controversy as to its identity.
The Deep is a 1977 adventure film based on Peter Benchley's 1976 novel of the same name. It was directed by Peter Yates, and stars Robert Shaw, Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte.
The giant squid's elusive nature and fearsome appearance have long made it a popular subject of legends and folk tales. Its popularity as an image continues today with references and depictions in literature, film, television, and video games.
The Beast is a 1996 television movie starring William Petersen, Karen Sillas and Charles Martin Smith. Aired in two parts as a miniseries, the movie is based on the 1991 novel Beast by Jaws author Peter Benchley. The film is about a giant squid that attacks and kills several people when its food supply becomes scarce and its offspring is killed.
A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally large ones. The film may also fall under the horror, comedy, fantasy, or science fiction genres. Monster movies originated with adaptations of horror folklore and literature.
Jaws is a horror novel by American writer Peter Benchley, published in 1974. It tells the story of a large great white shark that preys upon a small Long Island resort town and the three men who attempt to kill it. The novel grew out of Benchley's interest in shark attacks after he learned about the exploits of Montauk, New York shark fisherman Frank Mundus in 1964. Doubleday commissioned him to write the novel in 1971, a period when Benchley worked as a freelance journalist.
Frank Mundus was a fisherman and charter captain based in Montauk, New York who is said to be the inspiration for the character Quint in the book and movie Jaws. He started out as a shark hunter but later became a shark conservationist. Up until his death, he chartered out his boat Cricket II for those seeking the thrill of big game fishing.
MonsterQuest is an American television series that originally aired from October 31, 2007 to March 24, 2010 on the History Channel channel. Produced by Whitewolf Entertainment, the program deals with the search for various monsters of interest to the cryptozoology subculture and paranormal entities reportedly witnessed around the world. A spin-off show, MysteryQuest, which focuses on unsolved mysteries, premiered on September 16, 2009.
The 7 Adventures of Sinbad is a 2010 American adventure film directed by Adam Silver and Ben Hayflick. As a mockbuster distributed by The Asylum, it attempts to capitalise on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Clash of the Titans.
Creature is a 1998 American television miniseries starring Craig T. Nelson, Kim Cattrall and Matthew Carey. It is based on the 1994 novel White Shark by Jaws author Peter Benchley. The miniseries is about an amphibious shark-like monster terrorizing an abandoned secret military base and the people who live on the island where it is located.
Moby Dick is a 2010 American science fiction thriller film that is an adaptation of Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick. The film is an Asylum production, and stars Barry Bostwick as Captain Ahab. It also stars Renee O'Connor, Michael B. Teh, and Adam Grimes and is directed by Trey Stokes.
White Shark is a 1994 novel by author Peter Benchley, famous for Jaws, The Island, Beast and The Deep. It is similar to Jaws, but it does not feature a shark, despite what the title suggests. To avoid confusion and to capitalize on the miniseries adaptation, the book was republished as Creature in 1997.
The Undersea Adventures of Captain Nemo is a Canadian animated television series of five-minute cartoons produced in 1975 by Rainbow Animation in Toronto, Ontario. The series follows the underwater adventures of Captain Mark Nemo and his two young assistants, Christine and Robbie, in their nuclear-powered submarine, the Nautilus.
Eye of the Beast is a Canadian monster movie about a young scientist who goes to a small fishing town to find out why fish are not plentiful and ends up in a fight against a giant squid living in Lake Winnipeg. It is the 6th film in the Maneater Series.
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