Man vs Beasts On Film

by Helen Earnshaw | 20 August 2015

Man vs Beast is a regular movie film with some of our favourite characters having to do battle with animals, monsters, creatures from another world over the years.

Into The Grizzly Maze

Into The Grizzly Maze is the latest film that pits man against beast as James Marsden and co go head to head with a grizzly bear - the movie has just been released on DVD.

So, we take a look at some of the man vs beasts movies that cinema has treated us to - do you have a favourite?

- Jaws (1975)

When it comes to beats on film, there is none greater or more iconic than Jaws - a movie that is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Released back in 1975, Jaws kick started the blockbuster genre that we all love and saw Steven Spielberg back in the director's chair.

Spielberg has been behind some wonderful films during his career but Jaws remains one of the best... not to mention, one of the most terrifying. Jaws is a film that has been scaring film lovers for generations and as is as powerful a watch today as it was when it was released.

When a gigantic great white shark begins to menace the small island community of Amity, a police chief, a marine scientist and grizzled fisherman set out to stop it. But it seems that they are going to need a bigger boat...

I love the fast pace of this movie, Spielberg keeps the story, the action, and the terror zipping along - never giving the audience a moment to breath or relax. This only heightens the anxiety and keeps you well and truly on the edge of your seat. In that respect, Spielberg has delivered one of the most perfectly planned and constructed horror movies of all time.

Jaws was a critical and commercial smash upon released and remains one of the greatest blockbuster/horror movies of all time. Not to mention it is also one of the best and most loved man vs beast films.

- Troll Hunter (2011)

It was back in 2011 when writer and filmmaker André Øvredal returned to the director's chair for his comedy/horror Troll Hunter, which was only the second feature film of his career.

Shot in a mockumentary style, Troll Hunter followed a group of students who set off to investigate a series of mysterious and unexplained bear killings. They soon discover that they are on the trail of real-life trolls, whose existence has been covered up by a government conspiracy.

From start to finish Troll Hunter really is a whole lot of fun and not a film to be taken too seriously. The mockumentary style with handheld cameras works really well as it makes the audience feel right in the heart of the action. I have to say, I thought that the trolls themselves looked terrific and it was great to see this folklore explored in such a fun and rather laidback way.

Troll Hunter is a movie that mixes comedy, with creepy horror, as well as some great action and was unlike anything else that hit the big screen back in 2011.

When it comes to man vs beast movies, Troll Hunter is something that does offer something that is a little different - needless to say, it is the only troll movie on our countdown.

- Dog Soldiers (2002)

It's hard to believe, but Dog Soldiers is a movie that is already thirteen years old - yes, it really was released back in 2002.

Directed and written by Neil Marshall, it remains one of my favourite British horror movies and marked the directorial debut for Marshall. A routine military exercise turns into a nightmare in the Scotland wilderness when a team of British soldiers are hunted by a pack of werewolves.

Not only is Dog Soldiers a terrific directorial debut, but it is a movie is also action packed and will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish - the gallows/black humour is also terrific and right up my street.

Dog Soldiers is a movie that I have been a huge fan of for many many years and it does remains one of the coolest and best British horror films of the last decade or so. The movie is packed with some great characters and the comradery between the central cast really does drive this film forward.

Dog Soldiers is one of the most original werewolf films of recent years and it was great to see Marshall not only put a new twist of a genre we know so well, but make a name for himself whilst doing it. Tense and funny from beginning to end and is a movie that you will want to watch again and again.

- King Kong (1933, 1976, 2005)

Another iconic beast of the big screen comes in the form of King Kong, a character that seems to have infatuated Hollywood and film audiences for decades.

King Kong debuted back in 1933 with Merian C. Cooper and

Ernest B. Schoedsack in the director's chair, before being remade by John Guillermin and Peter Jackson in 1976 and 2005. All three films follow an expedition to an isolated island... where they find a giant gorilla.

The movies have seen Kong battle a T-Rex and giant snake in a bid to keep Ann Darrow from harm, before being dragged back to New York to be put on display - naturally, that doesn't go to plan.

King Kong is one of the most iconic big screen beasts of all time and really paved the way for movie such as Jaws and Jurassic Park. The 1933 movie remains the one against which all others are measured and is arguably one of the most memorable monster movies of all time.

Of course, the special effects and filming techniques have developed over the years - Jackson used motion capture with actor Andy Serkis to bring Kong to life in 2005 - and yet there is something in the emotion and the idea that this 'monster' has a soul that makes the original so powerful.

- Jurassic Park (1993)

We have already taken a look at one Steven Spielberg movie with Jaws, but there is a second of this director's films that fits into the category of man vs beast... it has to be Jurassic Park.

Jurassic Park was the film that thrilled and terrifying a generation when it was released back in 1993 - with many of us who were kids watching in amazement as dinosaurs were brought to life in front of us. For many, Jurassic Park with be the one of the films that had a big impact on them as a child and remains one of their favourite films today.

Jurassic Park is one of those blockbuster masterpieces that not only make you sit up and say 'wow' but change the way that movies in this genre are made forever: movies that have such an impact don't come along very often.

The special effects hold up after twenty year and - in my humble opinion - Jurassic Park remains one of the greatest blockbusters of all time. While we have been treated to other Jurassic Park films over the years, not a single one has been able to live up to the original.

Spielberg broke the mould when he made this film and he brought dinosaurs to life in a way that had never been done before - this is the ultimate dino movie and all others sadly pale in comparison.

- The Birds (1963)

Alfred Hitchcock is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors of all time and he too made a superb man vs beats film... of course, I am talking about The Birds.

Starring Tippi Hedren in the central role, the film is set in a Northern California town which becomes overrun when bird of all kinds begin attacking people with increasing viciousness.

There are very few directors who could have turned birds into one of the most terrifying film villains of all time - but that is exactly what Hitchcock did as he builds the tension, suspense and danger with every frame of this movie.

While The Birds doesn't quite have the psychological depth of some of his other thrillers, is it still a movie that really will send a chill down your spine and make you jump out of your seat.

Hitchcock really did know how to make a horror movie and The Bird is a masterclass in this wonderful film genre.

- Into The Grizzly Maze (2015)

Starring James Marsden, Thomas Jane and Billy Bob Thornton, Into the Grizzly Maze tells the story of a sheriff (Jane), thrown into turmoil when a massive rogue grizzly wreaks havoc in a local Alaskan community. Enlisting the help of his estranged brother (Marsden) he enters the labyrinthine Grizzly Maze to track down his missing wife, before the bear does.

As the body count mounts, things are only further complicated when an infamous bear hunter (Thornton) enters the fray, determined to take down the bear he's been waiting for his whole life...

Other great man vs beast movies include Predator, An American Werewolf in London, Godzilla, The Ghost and the Darkness, and The Grey.