As the Beast Sleeps

Set in Belfast's Rathcoole, As the Beast Sleeps follows Kyle, a man who channels his loyalty into every role he plays: husband, brother, and employee. In a world unsettled by the shifting politics of the peace process, Kyle finds himself squeezed between old codes and new realities. The story looks at a tight-knit loyalist clan as they try to hold together a fragile order while suspicion and fear creep in. The line between duty and self preservation blurs, and the men and women around Kyle must decide where their allegiances truly lie, under an uneasy calm. The mood is tense, and the everyday pressures of loyalty press in from every direction, hinting at storms to come. Despite appearances, trust itself becomes a fragile currency for some characters today.

Directed by Harry Bradbeer, this 2002 television drama emerges from creators Susie McClelland and Gary Mitchell. It adapts a tense regional story for the screen, anchored by a tightly knit northern Irish cast with a restrained pace that suits material.

Box Office: Not applicable. As a television film, it did not report a theatrical worldwide gross; it aired on television and later on home media in some regions, so traditional box office figures aren’t relevant here.

The film uses Rathcoole as a microcosm of the ceasefire era, showing how loyalty binds families and communities even as violence ebbs and flows. Its Belfast setting anchors the narrative in a real place, inviting viewers to consider how memory, community, and identity persist beyond ceasefires today.

Critics noted the drama's timely focus on shifting loyalties amid political change and its tough portrait of intimate ties tested by public upheaval. The story foregrounds duty, betrayal, and love as forces warring within a fractured community, with restrained performances and careful social observation that linger after the credits screen.