The Beast (1996 film)

Lore & Background

The film opens with Howard and Elizabeth Griffin being attacked and eaten by an unseen creature after their yacht sinks. Local fisherman Whip Dalton (William Petersen) finds a large claw stuck to their life raft and sends it to the Portland Zoo, where marine biologist Dr. Herbert Talley (Ronald Guttman) and his assistant Christopher Lane (Murray Bartlett) identify it as a tentacle from a giant squid. The squid kills two scuba divers, prompting harbor master Schuyler Graves (Charles Martin Smith) to hire alcoholic fisherman Lucas Coven (Larry Drake) to kill it. Lucas succeeds in killing a large squid with makeshift depth charges, but it is later discovered to be only a baby, three months old.

Reader's Guide

The Beast is a television adaptation of Peter Benchley's novel, notable for its faithfulness to the source material while making changes for film locations and pacing. The film differs from the novel in several ways: the setting was moved from Bermuda to a Pacific Northwest resort community called Grave's Point; the squid is smaller in the film (66 feet long versus 100 feet in the book); and the squid is killed by an explosion rather than by a sperm whale as in the novel. The film features a cast including William Petersen, Karen Sillas, and Charles Martin Smith, and was filmed primarily in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Its legacy lies in being a made-for-television creature feature based on a work by the author of Jaws.

Did You Know?

• The squid in the film is 66 feet long, while the book depicts it as 100 feet long.
• In the novel, the squid is killed by a sperm whale, not by an explosion as in the movie.
• The film was primarily shot in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Origins & Production

The Beast arrived on television screens in 1996 as a two-part miniseries, bringing Peter Benchley's 1991 novel to a broader audience. The same author behind the iconic Jaws franchise crafted the source material, and this adaptation carried the weight of that legacy into the realm of giant cephalopod horror. The story centers on a colossal squid whose predatory behavior escalates after its food sources dwindle and its young is destroyed, turning a natural creature into a relentless force of destruction. Behind the camera, the production was a trans-Pacific affair. Although the narrative is set in a Pacific Northwest coastal community called Grave's Point, principal photography took place primarily in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. This geographic split between story setting and shooting location is a common practice in television filmmaking, allowing crews to access specific water conditions and studio infrastructure. The project was headlined by William Petersen, Karen Sillas, and Charles Martin Smith, giving the miniseries a recognizable ensemble for a genre piece that leaned heavily on suspenseful pacing and creature spectacle rather than star power alone.

Narrative Arc & Key Conflicts

The plot unfolds in a tight, escalating sequence of dread. It begins with the Griffin couple's yacht sinking near Grave's Point, their bodies never recovered, and only a life raft bearing a massive claw left behind. Local fisherman Whip Dalton discovers the evidence and sends the specimen through Portland Zoo to marine biologist Dr. Herbert Talley, who confirms it belongs to a giant squid. What follows is a community torn between fear and greed. Harbor master Schuyler Graves pressures an alcoholic trapper named Lucas Coven into hunting the creature, and when Lucas kills what turns out to be merely a three-month-old juvenile, the real threat—the mother—emerges in vengeance. She destroys a submersible, drags a fishing boat underwater, and systematically eliminates those who stand in her way. The climax pits Whip Dalton against the squid in a desperate plan involving cyanide darts, only for corporate interests to subvert the mission. The creature is ultimately destroyed not by poison but by a fiery explosion of Whip's own boat, with a Coast Guard helicopter rescuing the survivors at the last moment.

Cast & Character Dynamics

William Petersen anchors the film as Whip Dalton, a gruff Pacific Northwest fisherman whose relationship with the sea is both livelihood and identity. His arc moves from reluctant observer to determined hunter, driven by the loss of those around him and a growing respect for the creature's intelligence. Opposite him, Karen Sillas plays Coast Guard Lieutenant Kathryn Marcus, a professional who becomes Whip's romantic interest and ultimately his co-survivor in the final act. Charles Martin Smith brings authority and moral compromise to Schuyler Graves, the harbor master whose political ambitions set the tragedy in motion. Ronald Guttman portrays Dr. Herbert Talley, the marine biologist whose scientific curiosity is both the community's salvation and its undoing. Supporting players include Larry Drake as Lucas Coven, a desperate trapper coerced into the hunt, and Murray Bartlett as Christopher Lane, Talley's assistant whose death becomes the emotional turning point. Missy Crider rounds out the family unit as Whip's daughter Dana, whose love for Christopher binds the personal stakes to the larger conflict.

Adaptation Choices & Departures from the Novel

Peter Benchley's 1991 novel Beast served as the foundation, but the 1996 screen version made deliberate alterations to suit its medium and setting. The most significant shift is geographic: the book's action takes place in Bermuda, while the television adaptation transplants the story to a fictional Pacific Northwest resort called Grave's Point. This relocation allowed the production to film in Sydney, Australia, while maintaining a small-town coastal atmosphere. The creature's fate also diverges sharply. In the novel, the giant squid is ultimately slain by a sperm whale—a poetic, natural conclusion. The film replaces this with a more explosive, human-engineered ending in which the creature is destroyed by the detonation of fuel drums on Whip's boat. Additionally, the novel features much younger squid offspring that do not appear until the final pages, whereas the film introduces the juvenile earlier to drive the mother's vengeful rampage. The squid itself is scaled down slightly for the screen, though it remains enormous. Numerous characters and subplots were added or restructured to fit the two-part miniseries format.

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