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France & Alex present
based on true events
Did you hear that?
Look, over there!
Let’s go!
Picture of the monster that saddens the Gévaudan country
This beast is the size of a young bull;
It preferably attacks women and children;
It drinks their blood, cuts their head off and takes it away;
2700 pounds are promised to whoever kills this animal.
Let us kill that damned beast!
Well?
No, nothing here.
Did you find something?
No! No trace of the beast anywhere.
What about you?
No, nothing either…
And we searched everywhere.
You would think it doesn’t exist...
Come on, Marguerite, move it, for goodness’ sake!
What’s the matter? Come on!
Fathers and mothers who complain
about seeing your children slain by this God sent monster,
don’t you think you’ve deserved
to be struck by God with such a terrible scourge?
How do you care for your children's upbringing?
Didn’t you neglect to teach them
the principles of religion
and the duties of Christianity?
If we stop offending God,
his vengeance will also cease
and his anger will give way to his former mercies.
Then will God give us strength and courage
to destroy this monster.
Let us pray for our hunters...
Mummy, I’m scared…
Enough!
I don’t want to hear any more about that beast.
How is it that, so far, all the hunts held
were totally ineffective?
This story is starting to be known everywhere
and I am becoming the laughing stock of the English.
Ah, Mr. Antoine, there you are!
Your Majesty?
Did you ask for me?
Mr. Antoine,
you are my best harquebusier.
I order you to go to Gévaudan right away
to destroy this damned beast
everyone is talking about.
Take with you my best hunters
and my best dogs
and bring me its dead body back here in Versailles.
At your service, Your Majesty!
And most importantly...
do not come back empty-handed...
I wanted to tell you, I don’t know if you're aware,
but a strange man has moved to the village
in the old farmhouse,
you know, down the hill over there.
Well, I wouldn’t like to meet him,
people say he is...
What the...
Watch out!
Well, this is where the beast attacked us!
I wounded it,
it fell into the water,
but I think it came out a little further over there.
If it can bleed, it can be killed!
Thank you very much for your testimony,
and congratulations for your courage, Miss Marie-Jeanne.
We should be able to track it now.
Traces of blood...
Look! These prints look just like those of a large wolf.
Night is falling.
We will search again tomorrow.
Too late…
This damned beast shouldn’t be far away from here.
Over there! I can see it!
Go! Ya!
This mountainous country is really harsh:
there are many deep and steep ravines.
The beast is cunning and elusive, it moves fast,
it finds passage ways to avoid the many pitfalls
and sloughs present in the region.
I fell in one of these sloughs two days ago
where my horse slightly injured me.
How dangerous it is! You can perish mercilessly
if there are no strong hands to rescue you.
Fortunately, my guards were not far from me!
The weather has been horrible these last three days;
Every morning, rain and thick fog
have delayed our operations.
I just learned that the dogs the king had promised
finally arrived,
but the monster, with its characteristic flair,
seems to know what we are plotting against him
and leaves the area where the hunters are posted...
The country is poor,
but people are willing to help us with our hunts.
Fear and dismay are spreading;
The countryside is being deserted.
The bravest men dare not go out unarmed...
There is no hope,
I'm afraid I will fail miserably as all my predecessors did.
Your Majesty,
I’ve just been told
that a big wolf has been seen in the “Chazes” woods.
This wolf fits the beast’s description.
Tomorrow, I will command a great hunt
with 40 good shooters.
All right, Mr. Antoine,
the woods are surrounded! It cannot escape!
Good!
Let's finish this once and for all!
Oh my God! I don’t have time to reload!
Help!
Are you alright, Mr. Antoine?
Are you injured?
No, no, I’m okay...
The important thing
is that the beast has been destroyed.
Yes, this is the beast that attacked me!
You killed it! Praise the Lord!
Yes, I recognize it,
this is the one,
it’s the Bestia!
The one that killed my child!
Damned beast!
Yes, damned beast!
I nearly killed it!
I stabbed it here with my bayonet,
What a horrible creature!
you see, here's the mark!
And I injured it with my knife!
Thanks, Mr. Antoine, for getting rid of that monster!
Oh yes, thanks, you’re our savior!
What about you, Miss Marie-Jeanne?
What do you think?
Is that the beast that attacked you on the bridge?
Look at its claws?
Err... I think so,
but actually, I’m not quite sure...
Cheers to Mr. Antoine!
Hurray! Hurray, Mr. Antoine! Hurray!
Long live Mr. Antoine!
Show us the beast, Mr. Antoine!
We want to see it!
Yes, show it to us!
We want to see it!
Yes, come on!
Ladies and gentlemen,
I have the honor and privilege
to present to you...
"The Bestia"!
But, it’s a wolf! Is it a wolf?
Fear not,
it is definitely dead.
I had it dissected and embalmed.
In fact, this beast is nothing more than a big wolf,
as I thought from the beginning.
Throughout Auvergne and Gévaudan,
in Paris and in all of France,
from every mouth and in every newspaper,
they only spoke of the beast’s death.
The long-affected population
would finally find the peace of mind
and serenity they had been waiting for.
Agnes shouldn’t be long, now.
The beast resurrected!
How awful!
Your Majesty,
it seems like there have been other victims in Gévaudan...
Impossible, since the beast was killed by Mr. Antoine.
I don’t want to hear about Gévaudan any more,
this story is over.
No, it isn’t true! No!
The beast is here!
Help! No!
Let me go, damned beast! Help!
Go away, damned beast! Go away!
Noooo...
Deliver us, Lord,
of all evil, past, present
and future...
The beast attacks more and more often!
And it's been almost 2 years since the King let us down!
Yes, and the private hunts are rather useless!
And so are the various poisoning methods
that we’ve been recommended to use!
Yep, for sure, true indeed!
And besides, it stinks everywhere!
Mr. Marquis! Mr. Marquis!
The beast has just devoured a girl
not far from here!
How I wish I could rid my country of this monster!
Well, no time to lose.
I will gather the local hunters,
and we will follow its fresh tracks.
The beast is close by.
Let’s not waste this opportunity!
We must return with honor!
Let’s go!
I’m going to “La Sogne”,
it’s a well known place for hunters.
Good idea, go on!
It’s now or never. Release the dogs!
Come on, we're counting on you!
Go find it!
Go! Ya!
On June 19th 1767,
the hunter Jean Chastel definitely put an end
to the misdeeds of the Gévaudan Beast
by killing a large animal
near Auvers in Haute-Loire, France.
Between 1764 and 1767,
around 200 people were attacked by a beast,
and a hundred of them were killed.
To this day,
no one could tell what kind of creature it was
or where it came from...
Directed by France & Alex
Animation, editing, special effects by France & Alex
Sets by France & Alex (except Archenval by Stephle59)
Voices by...
Additionnal voices by...
Music and sounds:
Documentary sources:
Software and hardware:
Special thanks to Kyubi66 & Fujiia
Photos by France & Alex
(c) October 2010-June 2013