The Beast Within

Years after a strange creature attacks them in a small southern town while on their honeymoon, a couple notices changes in their son.

The Beast Within is a well-written monster movie that’s a lot of fun, despite it’s decidedly B-movie trappings. Most of the credit for this goes to lead Paul Clemens and writer Tom Holland.

Clemens nails his part, bringing a good mix of teenage angst and awkwardness to bear, mixed with a believable menace, which makes for a compelling and at times frightening character.

But what really puts The Beast Within over the top is Holland’s script. Chock full of black humor (L.Q. Jones’ first line on the telephone in the police station is hilarious), the story is an original variation on the werewolf archetype, mixing in the trauma of adolescence and the general creepiness of a small, somewhat backwoods, southern town.

The film makes the most of its budget, but it’s ultimately uneven. Nowhere is this more evident than in the special effect, particularly the film’s climactic transformation sequence, which starts out top-notch before devolving into near comedy. A shame, as when the movie clicks, it really works.

Unfortunately, The Beast Within wound up lost in the shuffle of 80s werewolf films such as The Howling and An American Werewolf in London, and while it’s not in the same league as those two films, it’s not half-bad either, and definitely an easy recommendation for fans of the genre.