- "Only the brave will conquer."
Blood of Beasts is a 2005 South African-British fantasy film based on Beauty and the Beast.
Freya is a Norse princess betrothed to Sven. Her father goes on a quest to slay Agnar, a creature cursed by Odin. When the beast attacks, Sven leaves his king to die so he can claim the throne. Freya learns that her father was merely captured and goes to rescue him. Sven pursues her under the pretense of saving her from Agnar, leading to an epic confrontation...
This film contains examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy: In most versions of Beauty and the Beast that have a non-Beast suitor, the suitor is usually a boorish idiot who thinks the Beast is an evil monster. Even more sinister versions, like Gaston, are more stupid than malicious. Sven, the suitor figure here, uses the fight against Agnar as a cover so he can do a coup d'etat on the throne and is willing to threaten his "best friend" with death to shut him up.
- Arch-Enemy: Freya has Sven, a warrior of her tribe who left her father to die and wants to make her marry him to rule the tribe.
- Artistic License – History: In the opening scene, a group of friends plays in the water wearing trunks and bikinis. For most of history, humans swam naked.
- Big Bad: Sven is the fiancé of Princess Freya and The Usurper of the tribe's throne.
- Bittersweet Ending: Sven is defeated and Agnar is cured but at the cost of Freya's life.
- Chainmail Bikini: Averted; Freya wears armor that covers her whole body except her eyes and jaw.
- Curse: Agnar had one placed upon him, so he transforms from a man to a creature most closely resembling an ogre wearing the skin of a bear and randomly becomes The Berserker mailing everybody around him to death.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Agnar becomes a monster because Odin cursed him for killing a bear.
- The Dreaded: Agnar is so feared that no warrior has set on his island from the time he appeared to the beginning of the film.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Agnar is cursed by Odin to be a flesh-eating fiend, but Odin is never seen in the film.
- Hate Sink: Sven, Freya's fiancé, acts like a warrior of great valor but is secretly a scumbag out to become chief at any cost. After leaving the chief to die at the hands of the monstrous Agnar, Sven consolidates his power by threatening his best friend's life and declaring that Freya will marry him whether she likes it or not. Freya then rescues her father, whom Sven decides to kill to keep his power going. However, he is distracted by leading the tribe to rescue Freya so he doesn't look like a coward, an accusation he threatens to kill anybody who makes.
- The Hero Dies: Freya jumps in front of Sven's blade to save Agnar.
- Setting Update: Beauty and the Beast in Viking times.
- The Sociopath: Sven, a beloved warrior who wishes to rule his tribe, leaves his chieftain to die to do so, threatens to murder his best friend to keep the secret, and intends to marry Princess Freya and bear her children to make his rule legitimate.
- The X of Y
