Among the most morally repugnant and vile aspects of the exploitation genre in the 1970s was the Rape-Revenge genre, a subset of films focusing on the prolonged, torturous rape of a female protagonist before doling out equally prolonged and vicious vengeance on the perpetrating forces that carried it out. Spearheaded by the likes of films such as the US entries “The Last House on the Left,” “I Spit on Your Grave” and the Italian efforts “Last Stop on the Night Train” and “The Last House on the Beach” among others, the genre made its way to Hong Kong where Dennis Yu produced his take with this underseen but highly effective gem.
Agreeing to a trip to the countryside, Wah (Eddie Chan) and his sister Ling (Patricia Chong) meet up with friends Louis (Paul Cheung), Ken (Ko Chun-man) and Pauline (Wong Siu-ling) and head into the mountains together. While on their journey, the group meets up with bandits Moe (Kent Cheng), Fu Ko, (Kwong Chor-fai) Holland (Wong Ching) and Fai which results in the group raping Ling and killing Wah on accident while trying to stop them. Due to the traumatic events, Ling is unable to identify the men, allowing them to go free and unpunished, which infuriates Chen (Sing Cheng), their father. Determined to dole out his own brand of justice, he sets out on a crazed mission to torment and kill the group responsible for the actions taken against his children.
There's quite a lot to like with “The Beasts.” Among the better elements featured here is the outright sleaze present from director Yu. This gets intense almost immediately with the pre-credit sequence showing Mo and the rest of the bandits catching and slaughtering a pig in the middle of the jungle. This is a feature carried over into other parts of the film, where the group is shown catching and killing animals to eat before turning their attention to Ling and her friends camping. Beyond the animal violence, there's a lot of sliminess and disgust dripping off the attitude of the thugs while the instigating rape that propels the movie forward is appropriately sleazy and disturbing. Given that this goes for the explicit in the encounter, focusing on the group overpowering, stripping, and forcing themselves on her in quite graphic close-ups, allows for a generally unpleasant sequence. Likewise, that continues with the inadvertent death of Wah trying to bring them to justice shortly after the attack, which sets the rest of the film in motion.
Featuring that appropriate setup in the first half, “The Beasts” also has a lot to like with the revenge part of its setup. Since they go free, we're treated to several fun scenes of the group running amok in town trying to intimidate anyone else from coming forward against them; there's enough action to be had here before getting to the full-on revenge aspects. Rather than go for catharsis in the exploits against the thugs, Yu goes for the jugular with a vengeance as the deaths doled out are quite brutal, graphic, and generally emotionless, since Chen is out purely to make sure they die as a result rather than teach a lesson. That ensures the low-rent nature of the traps, and that the encounters are realistic and capable of appearing as something a person could actually manufacture in this scenario. Even better is the cheap but effective gore that adds a thrilling nature to the scenes.
There aren't a lot of flaws with “The Beasts” yet they are pretty prominent. The biggest drawback will undoubtedly be the feeling that the violence and sleaze here border on the gratuitous due to the overall presentation.. The low-budget look and feel Yu creates is quite bleak with the attitude towards the thugs as well as the retribution carried out later that comes across more like a gleeful reveling of sleaze than outright condemnation. That difference in tone is a key part of the grubby, slimy atmosphere which might not be something all viewers are appreciative of. As well, there's the issue of the movie running through the usual tropes of the genre, which isn't a fault of this one but of every film that attempts this style. It's no surprise the first third climaxes with the rape of the protagonist, followed by the events that allow the guilty to go free and finishing off with the torture of the group that committed the crime. It's no surprise what's going on and can make this feel no different from other, better entries in the style by going through the motions as it does. But these aren't truly detrimental factors against the film overall.
Featuring plenty of sleaze and a grimy atmosphere that's engaging if not entirely original or special, “The Beasts” emerges as a general curiosity in the genre rather than becoming anything more which potentially is the point behind it. Fans of the more exploitation-heavy side of the genre or curious about an Asian take on the Rape/Revenge genre will find this one as a curiosity rather than a stellar example of the style.
