The Beast Within

Woo-hoo! This freaky puppy needs to go on a leash! The Beast Within is highly entertaining 80's pulp that regretfully got ignored over the years, along with so many other B-movie goodies from that decade like "Dead & Buried", "Basket Case" or "From Beyond". I hope that too many people won't be biased about the gory, cheap looks of this film, because it actually has got more to offer than you'd think! The Beast Within fits perfectly in the "the little town with a secret"-sub genre that I personally adore. The screenplay (written by Tom Holland of "Fright Night" and "Child's Play") handles about a newlywed couple facing a nightmare when the wife is raped by a hideous creature on a remote Mississippi road. The "miracle of life" takes place and 17 years later, the progeny of this unpleasant meeting begins to undergo a bizarre metamorphosis. The adolescent Michael is aggressive, weak and goes prowling overnight. The victims of these nightly hunts all share a common secret that slowly unravels itself and leads all the way back to the night of the rape. The plot contains quite some holes (big ones!) and logicalness is totally out of the question! Hopefully, you'll be able to look passed these flaws and see how director Mora attempts to add tension and atmosphere to his film. The obvious aspect to love naturally is the blood and gore! The Beast Within features an infamous and nearly classic transformation and this scene alone makes the film worthy. A catchy (country) soundtrack and fairly good acting complete my overall positive opinion on this overlooked cult gem. Ronny Cox is quite convincing as the "official" father but it surely is the young actor Paul Clemens himself who impresses. His ultra-mad grimaces while attacking the hillbillies form the best parts of the film.

I agree with many points made by fellow commentators. This was one of director Philippe Mora's best efforts: atmospheric, grisly and featuring an extraordinary cast of slumming actors. The makeup transformation effects by the Burman studio are quite well done. BUT...

Why isn't this called The BUG Within? This poor kid doesn't turn into a beast - he turns into a gosh-darn GIANT CICADA! WTF? Where did that come from? There's no explanation in the script, and according to those who've read the source novel, it's completely different from the original story. I remember seeing this at a United Artists screening in Los Angeles back in 1982. My buddy Mike and I were big horror fans, and after the screening let out we kept asking each other, "But why did he turn into a BUG?" Neither of us could come up with an answer then and obviously, even after all these years and with all these discussions on IMDb, no one else has either.

Screenwriter Tom Holland probably could however. Certainly he's proved himself a talent in the horror genre, with his terrific script for the first Psycho sequel and subsequent work on the first Child's Play and his directorial debut, Fright Night.

Philippe Mora has had a more checkered career. A strong visual stylist, he's struggled with poor choice of material such as the infamous sequel Howling III: The Marsupials.

The Bug - sorry, BEAST Within is definitely worth a look for horror buffs, but when you watch the big transformation scene two-thirds of the way through, I guarantee you'll be scratching your head afterwards. The makeup FX are pretty cool though.

"The Beast Within" was a staple of TNT's MonsterVision many years ago, and its unique (yet often convoluted) premise reveals why: how many movies have featured a bloodthirsty cicada monster? Based on the novel by Edward Levy (adapted by future "Child's Play" director Tom Holland), the plot has happy newlyweds Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch running afoul of terror along a backwoods Mississippi road, where Besch is raped by some vague, subhuman creature; 17 years later, son Paul Clemens is exhibiting some extreme growing pains that include the occasional ghastly murder when his parents return to the scene of the crime looking for answers. While the plot never really comes together as well as it should, "Beast" is a model of B-movie efficiency that utilizes atmosphere, location, and some supremely grotesque special effects to leave the viewer rattled (director Philippe Mora also has an excellent grasp of light and shadow to create mood). In hindsight, the film has the type of contained, small-town-America aesthetic that has become the watermark of Stephen King's prose, and the cast is appropriately comprised of rather typical faces, not marquee stars. In the end, "Beast" is a wonderfully ghastly little flick with a creepy story that's executed just well enough to overcome some poor acting and an occasionally sluggish pace.

Philippe Mora does has made lots of very strange movies in his underrated career, some good, some truly awful. This is one of the better ones. If you analyze the plot too much the holes become big enough to drive a truck through, but just ignore the urge to do that, and you'll find you're watching an near-classic of transformation horror.

A newly-wed (Bibi Besch) is raped by a mysterious beast on her wedding night. Seventeen years later her son (Paul Clemens) is dying of an unknown illness. She and her husband (Ronny Cox) return to the scene of their past trauma to try and get some answers. They find some strange townsfolk who appear to be hiding some mysterious secret. Exactly what it is I won't say. It would not only spoil the movie, but I must admit I'm a trifle confused myself at the "explanation" for the weird events depicted on screen! Like I said, think about it too much and you'll ruin it. Just go with the flow...

'The Beat Within' contains plenty of creepiness and some gruesome murders. An added attraction for film buffs is the interesting supporting cast, which includes Peckinpah veterans R.G. Armstrong ('Predator'), L.Q. Jones ('Casino') and Luke Askew ('Easy Rider'), and character actors Don Gordon ('Out Of The Blue') and Mora semi-regular John Dennis Johnston. ('Flesh & Blood')

'The Beast Within' rarely gets mentioned in discussions of 1980s horror movies, but it should. It may not be up there with the best of Cronenberg, Carpenter, Romero, or Raimi, but it's well made, original, strongly acted, and damn good fun!

If you enjoyed "The Terror Within" or "Humanoids From the Deep", then this movie is for you. It is a classic early eighties horror film about slimy creatures that rape young women, only to repeat the cycle at the end of the film. Special effects (by today's standards) are pretty thin, but still worth seeing.