As I have said, many times, I do dislike intensely a vast majority of SyFy's output save a few exceptions, though I do watch them to see if there are some at least decent films among the sea of crud. Behemoth is not down there with SyFy's worst, not with Quantum Apocalypse, Alien vs. Hunter, Dinocroc vs. Supergator, Moby Dick: 2010 and Titanic II.

What does salvage the movie from being bottom-of-the-barrel quality like the aforementioned titles are the surprisingly good CGI effects, when I finally saw the monster fully I was surprised at how good it looked compared to other effects I've seen on the channel. Also William B. Davis while not outstanding gives a noteworthy performance.

Everything else didn't engage sadly. The settings were okay, but the haphazard editing and rather dim lighting prevented me from properly enjoying. The story is rather plodding, very predictable and by-the-numbers, with any thrills, suspense and tension feeling somewhat tame and only the ending properly exciting.

The script is banal and as plodding as the story. The beginning especially is full of overlong and sometimes meaningless exposition. The direction is often unfocused too, the sound is lacking in clarity even in crucial scenes and the music to me was forgettable at best.

The characters are lifeless, clichéd and none of the characters emotionally resonated with me in any way. This is not just the script and expositions, but the dull acting also plays a major factor in this. Davis as far as I was concerned was the only one who tried, everyone looked bored and were phoning in.

Overall, SyFy has done worse but I don't recommend Behemoth. 3/10 Bethany Cox

In the small Ascension, the constructor Thomas Walsh (Ed Quinn) is working with his team at the Mount Lincoln. Out of the blue, there are tremors and the branch of the tree fall over Thomas' employee and breaks his leg. He brings his truck and finds the man dead. He brings the man to the town and finds that his sister Grace Walsh (Cindy Busby) plans to camp at the mountain with her sweetheart Jerrod Dietrich (James Kirk) while their lunatic father William Walsh (William B. Davis) defends the theory that an ancient being is near to be released on Earth and destruct the planet.

Meanwhile, the geologist Emily Allington (Pascale Hutton) returns to her hometown Ascension to investigate the tremors. The army representative Jack Murray (Ty Olsson) also comes to Ascension to search a mysterious wallet that was lost on the mountain. Soon the dwellers of Ascension discover the secret of the tremors.

"Behemoth" is a ridiculous low-budget movie with a messy and lame story about a creature that lives in a mountain. The subplot of Thomas and his former girlfriend Emily in the mountain is maybe the only one reasonable despite of the corny conclusion. The subplot of Jack is pathetic since if the army needed the wallet to destroy the monster, there should be at least a troop with helicopters and GPS seeking the wallet and not only one man. Further, the only weapon was probably a prototype since it was the unique means capable to defend the planet. The subplot of the stubborn Grace and her boyfriend is absolutely silly. But the worst is the subplot of Professor William Walsh is laughable. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "A Criatura da Montanha" ("The Creature of the Mountain")

BEHEMOTH is a monster flick let down by its own shortcomings in terms of budget and originality. Yes, it's another SyFy Channel production, filmed on the cheap in Canada, that has flashes of decency amid an overwhelming number of strictly middling to poor moments.

The storyline sees strange stirrings beneath the earth and mysterious levels of carbon dioxide rising from the crust. A team of investigators are soon on the case, as is a crazy old man who thinks that some mythical beastie is responsible. Inevitably it turns out that the old guy is right, and the heroes find themselves up against a massive monster from days gone by with plans to destroy the world.

So far so ordinary, but the surprising thing here is that the CGI effects are actually decent; far better than in other SyFy movies or the likes of DRAGON WARS. That monster looks great, especially when straddling the mountain top! I wish it had played a greater part on screen, but it was still a welcome sight. Sadly the rest of the production is less impressive, with boring characters and indifferent acting; the only one who makes an effort is William B. Davis, he of THE X-FILES fame. There's far too much hiking and chatting and not enough monster action for my liking, leaving this a disappointment regardless.