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How great that in an industry currently so apparently afraid of original content that it is mining every filmic property from the eighties and nineties, that something comes along that breaks the mould by leaning on conventions from sixty years before that, yet infuses it with a sensibility that feels utterly contemporary.

Although if I’m honest I don’t know how much of an industry film this is. It was made for only $150,000 and is the brain child of just two guys, Mike Cheslik and Ryland Tews, with both writing, Tews starring and Cheslik directing, editing and creating the visual effects. It was shot in real locations across two consecutive Michigan and Wisconsin winters with a crew of just six people. Having made it into a few festivals and getting good word of mouth, here it now is in select cinemas* alongside Twisters and Bad Boys: Ride or Die.

The older work this riffs on is that of Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy and Charlie Chaplin along with strong influences from Warner Brothers and other cartoons. In fact the best way to describe this is as a bunch of people acting out a Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner short, with a bit of Felix the Cat and early Mickey Mouse thrown in for good measure. Like the best of those animations it is also highly inventive and very funny. And while this might be for budgetary reasons more than anything else, it really leans into the men in suits effects those old black and white slapstick films used any time they needed a gorilla or a bear in the story. It really, really leans into it.

Of course those old cartoons, and many of the classic Laurel & Hardys and the like, were only five to twenty minutes long. This would have definitely have lent itself to the short film format but they have gone for it with a nearly two hour running time. As it is this is masterfully sustained with escalation of the action and clever running jokes and with so many comedies out staying their welcome and struggling to build a full film around one idea, this is as much of an achievement as anything done with the physical comedy and the good Adobe effects program.

There is an appealing gallows humour employed here as well and it is this that feels a bit more up to date. There are some gentle sex references in there too (the deliberate innuendo in the name of the film included) which collectively earns this a 12A certificate. The story as it is concerns an apple brandy supplier whose livelihood is destroying by forest beavers, leading to him becoming a trapper and starting an epic man versus nature battle where the one sidedness builds to the level indicated by the title. It’s hard to know who to side with in this brutal contest but the fact that you care in a movie this broad also speaks to its favour.

There is no doubt that Hundreds of Beavers is unlike anything else you’ll see in cinemas at the moment, or have done for around a century. (Although it’s probably only a matter of time until Hollywood looks to make City Lights 2.)

*Having said which trying to see it in cinemas is going to require a hunt of its own. The film has made it into theatres but not on many screens. It is only showing at one venue in London for example, and is most likely to turn up in specialist showings elsewhere around the country. Do see it if you can though, not only to reward the creativity, commitment and boldness of this team of filmmakers but also because it’s a lot of fun. I’m sure it will be streaming soon as well.

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The Ripley Factor:

The one female character in the film is a bit of a trope but that’s the point. Complaining about that would be like worrying about the harm caused to animals when all the creatures here are people in mascot costumes. There’s also no denying that she does drive the plot quite a lot.