Mark Joy Films
108 Pictures
R1 DVD
Website: www.BeastofBurdentheMovie.com
Reviewer: Bob Estreich
108 Pictures is a small independent group in
the U.S. Beast of Burden is their latest release. It realizes a short story by
Mark Joy of Sam Marra, an FBI agent who has been unable to solve a murder /
kidnapping that happened ten years ago. The clues turned out to be false, and
the evidence useless. It was as if he had been led down a false trail. He has
been carrying the burden of his failure ever since, affecting his work and
ruining his chances for promotion. His marriage has failed and now, under
severe pressure, he has just been turned down for promotion again.
Suddenly the abductions start once more,
and this time the abductor/killer is leaving him messages. The sites of the
abductions are places that he knows well from his boyhood, and it is as if the
abductor is inside his head. Once again, what little evidence there is seems to
be useless – paper that doesn’t show up under a microscope, phone calls to 911
in which only the Police side is recorded. Sam seems to be closing in, but the
rate of abductions increases and builds up the pressure on him. Sam starts
seeing flashes of the mysterious masked abductor, who seems to be invisible to
everyone else. As the age of the victims increases, it looks as if the next
victim may be Sam himself.
Sam is played by Mark Joy, a mature and
somewhat weathered actor who suits the part perfectly. His serious,
professional style reminds me of Lance Henriksen’s brilliant performance in
“Millennium”. Producer Jack Hartmann has done a great job turning Mark’s story
into a suspenseful short movie. For all the low budget, it looks highly
professional. The extras include “The Beast: Before and After” and “The Making
of the Beast” and I am impressed by how limited a budget they had and how well
they made the movie in spite of this. They recorded on film, not digital media,
and this has given a beautiful crisp look to the winter scenery that I think
would have looked a little dull on digital media. If I have a criticism, it is
that I would like to have seen the movie made about ten minutes longer to fill
some of the minor jumps in the plot. As Hartmann pointed out, though, time and
budget were limited and there was simply no funding to go back the next day and
shoot extra bits. If anything it made me appreciate even more the difficulties
of indie film making.
The DVD also has a preview of Dismal,
another upcoming release that looks as good as this one, and 108 Pictures’
Crazy Like A Fox, their most recent release (Delphi Films). On the strength of
this film, I will try to find them.