''Beast'' is a

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

novel by

Peter Benchley Peter Bradford Benchley (May 8, 1940 – February 11, 2006) was an American author, screenwriter, and ocean activist. He is known for his bestselling novel '' Jaws'' and co-wrote its film adaptation with Carl Gottlieb. Several more of his works ...

, the author of ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

''.

Plot

A fishing community in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

is disrupted by a series of mysterious disappearances at sea. Veteran fisherman Whip Darling suspects the truth, and after discovering two large hooks advises confidant Marcus Sharpe, a local Navy pilot, that the culprit is ''Architeuthis dux'': a

giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') 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 Trac ...

. A

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifi ...

called Talley also guesses the truth after the latest disaster, and convinces the millionaire father (Manning) of two of the victims to fund a hunt for the creature. The local mayor attempts to overrule all parties and participates in an exploratory mission on a mini- submarine, but is killed when the creature destroys the vessel. Darling's crewmate also perishes. Although reluctant to participate any further, Darling is blackmailed when Manning assumes ownership of his outstanding mortgage. Darling, Sharpe, Talley and Manning embark on a new hunt, although Manning is later killed in an accident. The creature is attracted by hormones Talley cultivated from a dead giant squid, and threatens to sink their vessel. Darling wounds the creature, and its struggling attracts a sperm whale, which kills the squid. Returning to land, the group are oblivious to the fact that some of the squid's spawn have survived and due to overfishing will grow to adulthood unchallenged.

Adaptation

''Beast'' was adapted into a

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

called '' The Beast'' in 1996, starring

William Petersen William Louis Petersen (born February 21, 1953) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his role as Gil Grissom in the CBS drama series ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (2000–2015), for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

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. 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 The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is nota ...

'' being adapted as '' Creature'' in 1998.

References

1991 American novels Random House books American novels adapted into films Novels by Peter Benchley Books about cephalopods American novels adapted into television shows Nautical novels Giant squid {{1990s-thriller-novel-stub

Plot

Adaptation

See also

References