The Beast of Walton St.

This was a movie that I was intrigued to check out. I knew this was part of the Ohio features section of Nightmares Film Festival. I had the pleasure of in passing meeting the co-writer/director Dusty Austen while in line at concession. She was quite funny and gracious to everyone that came to see her feature.

Synopsis: as the homeless population of an Ohio town is ravaged by brutal deaths in the dead of winter, two outcast women defend their turf and fight back against the deadly creature - a werewolf.

We start this in an alleyway where a guy hears something in the nearby dumpster. He goes to check out and is attacked. It is from there that we learn this isn't the first. The homeless population is being killed, but it isn't being investigated by the police. This is a challenging way to live and there is no one looking out for them. We then shift over to our lead, Constance Wilmenson (Athena Murzda).

She hacks into an ATM and gets money from it. She then goes to the local clinic where the charge nurse ignores her. She steals something from the place and a security guard chases her. Once she can get away, we see that she lives in an abandoned auto garage. Living there with her is her friend, Percy 'Sketch' Williams (Mia Jones). We learn that it was her medication that was taken. Sketch is slowly dying.

A bit more insight to our lead, it was revealed during the Q and A that Constance is on the autistic spectrum. That explains why she is calm and calculated with her decision about things. She is also emotionless. Constance takes Sketch with her to a restaurant. They don't end up paying the bill, threatening to reveal that they found a raccoon in the bathroom. There seems to be a problem with these little creatures in town.

On their way back, things change when they come to the alleyway where the attacks are centered. There is something in the dumpster. It gives chase and our two women get away. Constance points out that it was a werewolf. Sketch can't believe that as they aren't real. There needs to be a logical explanation. Since the authorities won't help, Constance decides to take care of this problem. It won't be easy and extremely dangerous. She can't sit by and wait to die though.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is first commending this team for making this movie. I sat behind everyone that could attend. This included Austen, Athena Murzda, Charles Murzda and other members behind the camera. They went out and made a solid werewolf movie. What I think works best is the care and time put into making this.

Now that I've said that, let me go to my favorite part of this movie. That would be the character of Constance and her banter with Sketch. I tend to have dry humor so that is partially why I liked this. Hearing them go back and forth made me smile. What is wild is that I learned the first day they met was on set. That's crazy to have that much natural chemistry. The character of Constance makes sense to be as solidified as she is. I learned they've done a web series in the past and she is the lead, so the development has been done over years. That made sense.

Let me then go to the next part that I loved, which was the werewolf stuff. It is wild to see with what little budget they're working with to bring the creature to life. It is reminiscent to me of An American Werewolf in London as this is a quadrupedal monster. Charles Murzda is inside of the suit to bring it to life. Seeing the up-close shots of the eyes and just glimpses of it as it is moving around was great. I should just commend the cinematography, lighting and editing as well. They are strategic in showing us what we need to, but not long enough to critique it too much. I'll also just finish out here that the blood and gore in this were good as well. They went practical with all that could and it shows. There is a charm there.

There is another bit to go into and that deals with social commentary this explores. This one is pointing out the plight of homeless people. They are largely ignored by the government and by police. If something happens to them, it is better for the streets according to those in power. They have a story and why they are there. I like that this is shedding light on them and the news reports in this are also pointing out the major problem there. I appreciate this movie for pointing out these things as a former worker who has helped people who are down on their luck.

I believe all that is left then is the acting. I've already said that I like Athena Murzda's performance. She is good along with Jones. They play so well off each other. I didn't realize this had a cameo from Aimee-Lynn Chadwick who is the ex-girlfriend to Constance. I've seen her in a few things here and there. I'll credit LaVail Duncan, James L. Edwards, Mark Lammert, Yvonne Newman, Tim Novotny and Aaron Pagniano in their roles. They all add what is needed and then special credit to Charles Murzda as the beast. He was great as our monster.

In conclusion, this is a solid low budget, independent werewolf film. I think that this does good things with its messaging and bringing this creature to life. I also thought that Athena Murzda led the way with her performance, also crediting Jones and Charles Murzda as the other bright spots. I do think this focused a bit too much on the characters where I wanted a bit more of the attacks. I understand why it doesn't though. This is one that I enjoyed my time with and would recommend giving it a viewing if you are into regional cinema.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

The Beast of Walton St is horror film about a werewolf. It centers around two women Constance and Sketch who seem to be squatters living in a car repair shop. They witness a large wolf hanging around a dumpster where the homeless resides and feel compelled to stop it from feasting on more of the homeless population.

This film has a lot of societal under tones. It deals with homeless and the thought of these folks as nothing more than a statistic as they are being eaten by the werewolf. You see the struggles the two women go through to get life saving medication and also a meal. It even deals with topics that has long left society's mind like AIDS. This story shows that AIDS is still very much prevalent in this part of society.

One thing this film does not get into is the origin or really who is the werewolf as most films in the subgenre seem to have a need to do. And it works, we don't need to know who the werewolf is, it's a creature that exists in the dark alley preying off people. There is some witty dialogue around the sex of the werewolf which is a nice break from the ominous threat around them.

Constance and Sketch have great dynamics to them. It is not clear how they met or their relationship. They are not lovers even though the mind probably tries to start there, but they do have a sisterly love and bond. None more evident than when they engage in female breast talk. There is some genuine great dialogue between the two, from werewolf mythos to shaving and hygiene.

The tone of the film is bleak and reflects it with a most blue hue through most of the film. Folks in this world have worse than 1st world problems. Constance steals for her and Sketch's necessities. On the surface, it probably seems wrong, but in this world in the film, you sympathize.

This film is well shot, and well directed and has a brisk running time. If you like the sisterly bond of a film like Ginger Snaps, you will definitely like The Beast of Walton Street.

With the 2023 movie "The Beast of Walton St." being a werewolf movie, horror movie, and a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I had to check it out, as I had the opportunity to do so here in 2025.

But I have to be honest here and say that I harbored no expectations to director Dusty Austen, as the majority of werewolf movies tend to be dubious affairs. But perhaps I would be in for a surprise here.

The storyline, script and narrative in the movie was pretty slow paced and rather uneventful. Sure, there were some things happening throughout the course of the 88 minutes that the movie ran for, but the events were too few and too far in between. And that made for a less than adequate viewing experience. The majority of the movie went by with it only being dialogue between Aimee-Lynn Chadwick, playing Gloria, and Mia Jones, playing Percy 'Sketch' Williams. I can't claim that writers Dusty Austen and Athena Murzda delivered a particularly entertaining or wholesome script.

Something that worked in favor of the movie was the fact that I was not familiar with a single actress or actor on the cast list. Seeing new and unfamiliar talents on the screen is something I do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie. The acting performances in the movie were fair.

The werewolf effects in the movie were low key and rather amateurish. Sure, I've seen far worse werewolves in other movies, but the creature effects in "The Beast of Walton St." wasn't anything to write home about.

My rating of director Dusty Austen's 2023 movie lands on a generous three out of ten stars.