When we sit down to watch a movie, we all expect to be entertained in one way or another. Whether it’s an action-packed thriller with lots of explosions and car chases, an emotional character drama that pulls at our heartstrings, or a light-hearted comedy to put us in a good mood, movies are always trying to give us what we want. However, sometimes a film comes along that completely misses the mark and becomes something more like an epic failure than anything else. For me, The Rise of the Beast is one such film.

A group of activists decide to break into a lab to expose the unethical animal testing they believe is happening at the company. As they make their way through the least guarded secret base I’ve ever seen, a member of their group is taken out by something, and things go from bad to worse.

The story itself is utterly ridiculous, with plot holes big enough to drive a truck through and nonsensical twists and turns that make absolutely no sense at all. And it’s not just the plot that is bad – the acting is horrible too. I felt embarrassed watching some of these poor actors deliver their lines, as they clearly had no idea what they were doing and were just reading words off of a script. If that wasn’t bad enough, the overall production quality of this movie was laughable too; it looks like it was shot on someone’s cell phone camera in their backyard! Needless to say, there is no easy way to say this: The Rise of the Beast is bad. Avoid it at all costs if you value your sanity.

While Elena (Sarah T. Cohen) and Pete (Peter Martins) try their best as the leads, the acting ranges from over the top to wooden and dull. That goes for everyone, not just them. The villains are so ridiculous that you wonder if they are ever an actual threat. If you want a good idea of the acting and line delivery, think of Resident Evil on the PlayStation.

From a technical point of view, the sound and visuals aren’t as bad as the acting and script. But that’s not a high bar to clear. The beast in question is probably the worst looking CGI creature that I’m seen outside of a high school production. On the other hand, the audio was actually not too awful. The sound effects weren’t all the great, but the sound design was even throughout, and I did appreciate that.

The worst part about this movie is the writing. One of my all time favorite books is World War Z, which makes The Rise of the Beast feel all the worse because this was written by Max Brooks–the writer of World War Z. I actually had to research to make sure it was in fact the same person. It goes to show that writing a novel and writing a screenplay are two very different things.

2 out of 10