Topic: Brickfilm of the Week: Beast (June 12, 2015)
This week’s Brickfilm of the Week is Beast by Nathan Wells.
Time to be a little self-indulgent! It’s my birthday next week so I thought I’d be selfish. Beast is a horror myster brickfilm about Dr. Wilson, a scientist who will do anything to find a cure for cancer and must deal with the sudden murder of his lab assistant. It was made by me, Nathan Wells, in 2006 for the Fame, Infamy and Glory Contest, and ultimately won second place. Beast was also nominated for Best Sound Design in the 2006 Brickfilming Achievement in Motion Picture Arts Awards. I was an active member of Brickfilms.com from 2005 to 2008, and have been active on Bricks in Motion since its founding, save for a “short” hiatus. My other films include Alex and Derrick: Five Years Later, 30 Years: The Story of the Minifigure, Blinders, Unsound, and Infinity Squared.
SPOILERY DISCUSSION BELOW!
Instead of attempting to analyze Beast from a neutral third person perspective, here are some never-before-seen facts about Beast. Beast was my first attempt at a serious brickfilm, and I was heavily inspired by Robinson Wood’s Frankenstein. My original script for Beast, which I still have somewhere, was around 15-20 pages long. Because of contest time limits and running out of time, I had to trim the story a lot, and ultimately half of the characters had to be cut (but they survived the end credits). Originally Beast was going to focus more on the CSI team, and would feature two women CSI investigators and a coroner with a morgue scene. Dr. Myers, Dr. Wilson’s friend, was also going to die, and his death would lead Bill Gristle to suspect Dr. Wilson, but unfortunately that whole subplot had to be cut.
What are your thoughts on Beast? What did you like about it? Did the new facts about Beast change how you see the film? Did you have a favorite moment?