Hundreds of Beavers

"Possibly thousands."

2024 1h 48m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

🔥

97%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.6

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 339🍅97%Rotten Tomatoes●82Metacritic★7.6IMDB · 14,842

ComedyAdventureAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In the 19th century, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America's greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.

“Possibly thousands.”

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Cast

Ryland Brickson Cole Tews
Jean Kayak
Olivia Graves
The Furrier
Doug Mancheski
The Merchant
Wes Tank
The Master Fur Trapper
Luis Rico
The Indian Fur Trapper
Brendan Steere
Mascot
Jon Truei
Mascot
Jay Brown
Mascot

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mike Cheslik
Writers: Mike Cheslik, Ryland Brickson Cole Tews
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 8.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mike Cheslik, shot by Quinn Hester. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Chris Ryan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mike Cheslik shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ryland Brickson Cole Tews and Olivia Graves and Doug Mancheski carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Possibly thousands.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mike Cheslik directs. Quinn Hester behind the camera. Chris Ryan scores. Mike Cheslik cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 8.5× over at the box office.
3Released 2 years ago.
4Directed by Mike Cheslik, shot by Quinn Hester. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Chris Ryan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Mike Cheslik shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ryland Brickson Cole Tews and Olivia Graves and Doug Mancheski carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Possibly thousands.".
9IMDB entry: tt12818328 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Quinn Hester
Original score: Chris Ryan
Editing: Mike Cheslik
Costume design: Casey Harris
Makeup / hair: Jenni Schenk
Sound: Bobb Barito
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $150,000
Box office: $1,267,995
Return: 845% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Hundreds of Beavers (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 97% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 82/100
IMDB rating: 7.6/10 · 14,842 votes

Awards

23 wins & 23 nominations total

Also by

Mike Cheslik

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots2023-04-23
★ 10/10
By: Louisa Moore / www.ScreenZealots.com This film was screened at Fantastic Fest I attend several major film festivals every year, and it’s always a pleasure to discover a gem that’s hiding somewhere in the cinematic void. Genre film fests are among the most interesting because they showcase independent horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and other avant-garde, eccentric, micro-budget works of art. That’s why director Mike Cheslik‘s “Hundreds of Beavers” was the perfect fit for Fantastic Fest. This black and white game of man vs. beaver is my favorite film that I saw at the festival this year, and it’s not even close. In what I can only describe as a Looney Tunes cartoon meets Charlie Chaplin meets “Cannibal! The Musical,” this dialogue-free film tells the story of an often-drunk applejack salesman who wants to become the greatest fur trapper in North America. The only way he can reach his goal is to defeat hundreds of beavers in the snow-covered woods. It’s a simple plot, but the humor is on point and the situations our hero finds himself in are absolutely hilarious. Those with a penchant for slapstick will appreciate the whimsy that defines the entire film. Although this is a silent film with no dialogue, it’s engrossing from the get-go. To make a project like this so interesting takes a different kind of skill from a filmmaking team, and Cheslik along with co-writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews have an intuitive flair for the farcical and absurd. You’d think the one hour and forty eight minute run time would be excessive, but it doesn’t feel overly long at all. That’s just astounding and is a testament to how strong the storytelling is. To reveal too many plot points would ruin the surprises because this is a film about discovery in the moment. Even the look of the beavers is hysterical, and when paired with goofy, exaggerated facial expressions and scenes that are reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote chasing the Roadrunner, it’s easy to become engrossed in the absurdity of it all. As the trapper begins to eliminate his furry foes one by one, crude animation registers the beaver kills. His traps become more inventive, clever, and outrageous as he embarks on his quest to annihilate a forest full of beavers. The film ends with a spectacular sled and snowball chase finale that’s as exciting as it is ridiculous, and the humor drifts between dark and lighthearted with ease. “Hundreds of Beavers” is a true achievement in oddball independent filmmaking, and I am here for every last drop of it.
wimpywhipple2024-08-27
★ 10/10
This is a fantastic "wait for it" film. Pleasantly surprised.
CinemaSerf2024-09-22
★ 7/10
Hunky "Jean" (Ryland Tews) has quite a successful little cider business until the pesky beavers manage to destabilise the whole enterprise leaving him homeless with nothing but the clothes he stands up in - and with an hard winter approaching. It's only now that he realises just how much the terrain favours the critters who must now become his prey if he's to survive and not starve to death. The rabbits are no slouches, the fish no fools and the beavers - well they are actually quite brutal as they fell just about every tree they can find to fuel a construction that makes the Aswan dam look like the work of an amateur. Luckily, there is a trader (Doug Mancheski) with a beautiful daughter (Olivia Graves) who will supply all sorts of useful things in return for pelts, so with the help of an expert trapper (Wes Tank) and his carefully drawn map of the lares and snares, off he sets on a series of frequently laugh-out-loud escapades that almost brings the best of Warner Bros. cartoon artistry to life. The comedy is quickly paced slapstick and you can usually see the punchlines from space, but it does work amidst this snowy wilderness where our hero must eat or be eaten. His gradually honed skills see him use a bit of science, grim determination and loads of blind luck to gradually increase his visits to the trader, become better equipped and more loved-up. The title gives us a clue as to what price the man has put on his daughter, and so that's soon the concluding task for "Jean" but them toothy-beasts ain't just going to surrender - especially when we do find out what is going on in their industrial-scale complex on the water. It's much too long, though, and at times it's a bit like a board game where we just go round and round (gathering points) rehashing the same old scenarios and jokes, and I felt the last twenty minutes did drag a little - but for the most part it's part Chaplin, part Harold Lloyd with bits of "Grizzly Adams" thrown in too. It's entertaining and who knew you could do so much with a beaver's innards...?