Cheslik and his co-writer, producer, and star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, are the same creative team responsible for the weird and wacky Lake Michigan Monster, so if you saw that film, be forewarned, or totally psyched. This time around, they take their eccentric vision even further, yet somehow, it works better.
Kayak was once a hard cider brewer, but his business was ruined by hungry beavers. Frankly, he was too hammered to notice at the time. Nevertheless, he now must live off the land to survive, so that means trapping. At first, the rabbits and beavers (all of whom are played by “grown-up adults” wearing furry animal costumes) run circles around poor Kayak, until the “Master Fur Trapper” takes him under his wing. Eventually, Kayak will ask to marry the Furrier daughter of the trading post Merchant, but he demands delivery of “hundreds of beavers” before he will consent. Naturally, that means war.
It takes a while to get acclimated to the off-kilter style of Beavers. It should also be noted that the gags get funnier as the film progresses. It is not for everyone’s tastes, but viewers should at least give it a solid twenty minutes before passing judgment, because Cheslik and Tews have a lot of clever stuff coming down the pike. In fact, it is often ridiculous in smart and inventive ways.
