The Beasts

The Beasts, Rodrigo Sorogoyen's fifth feature film, transports us to rural Galicia, in northern Spain, where a recently relocated middle-aged French couple are trying to live a peaceful life away from the hubbub of the city. The family next door aren't making things easy, however. An unpleasant incident with their neighbours throws the couple's idyllic plan into disarray. From then on, a constant sense of danger threatens any hint of their stability, forcing them to always be on alert in their own home.

The tone is tense and oppressive, but Sorogoyen also incorporated some sly social discourse into the narrative. The best example is a conversation captured in a masterful long take where the script introduces a fascinating debate about rural lifestyles and gentrification that makes us question everything that we've seen up until that point. Halfway through, though, The Beasts morphs and takes a different path. The gut-wrenching tension that builds during the first half mutates into something deeper – although perhaps something more hackneyed too. Even so, Sorogoyen remains faithful to his style, which navigates with ease between mainstream and arthouse, resulting in a psychological thriller that's accessible and – for the most part – rewarding.

Despite its imbalanced nature, there is a lot to take away from The Beasts, from the excellent performances to the solid camerawork and its occasional sparks of brilliance. It may lose some narrative strength as it goes on, but its many virtues outway its flaws.

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Released 24 Mar by Curzon; certificate 15
Screening at GFF 3-4 Mar