The Beast Within (1982)

A Seventeen Year Cycle of Revenge That Never Ends

Michael MacCleary (Paul Clemens) is seventeen and dying of an unknown genetic disorder. His parents, Eli and Caroline MacCleary (Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch), must travel to the small town of Nioba, Mississippi where Caroline was raped by a man beast seventeen years ago. In order to save their son, they are determined to discover the identity of his biological father.

Meanwhile, Michael is having strange visions of a man beast chained in the cellar of an abandoned house. Fleeing the hospital, he travels to Nioba where he begins transforming into a blood thirsty creature that is similar to the one that raped his mother. He seeks revenge against those responsible for turning his biological father into a hideous creature.

I love vigilante justice movies and monster movies. "The Beast Within" is a great hybrid of both genres. It reminded me of Dario Argento's "Phenomenon" (a.k.a. "Creepers") where a young girl can communicate with insects. Michael supposedly has this same power but the viewer is never shown evidence of it.

"The Beast Within" has plenty of gore but not too much. It doesn't overwhelm the plot. A memorable transformation scene occurs in the hospital where Michael finally turns into the insect-like creature that has been waiting to burst out of him.

The ending is very downbeat. There could've been a sequel but one was never made. The viewer can only assume that the seventeen year cycle of revenge continues. Unfortunately, the MGM DVD doesn't offer any special features (such as interviews or commentaries) that could answer our questions.

"The Beast Within" is a great monster movie. It is highly recommended for those who enjoy movies in which supernatural creatures, such as vampires, werewolves, etc., attack and drink the blood and/or eat the flesh of their prey.
November 16, 2008

3 ½ - Stars: A Horror Tale About Secrets and Familial Sins

THE BEAST WITHIN (1982) is an obscure horror film that has a very small cult following. The film is directed by Philippe Mora (Howling 2 & 3) and written by Tom Holland (Thinner) based on the novel by Edward Levy. The film is about secrets, familial sins and vengeance. The film has a very small budget, and as amazon friend Karen Shaub would say; "it's not fair to compare a B-flick to a high profile film, but B-movies have their charm..".

A married couple, Eli and Caroline MacLeary (Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch) is driving down a lonely Mississippi road in the dead of night. Suddenly, their car spins out of control and they get stuck in the marsh land. Stuck in the mud, with no traction, they couldn't get out. Eli decides to walk back to town which is only a couple miles away to get a tow truck. Caroline protests but Eli insists that she be left behind to watch the car. Before Eli could come back, his wife is brutally attacked and raped by an unknown assailant.
17 years later, Eli and Caroline now have a son named Michael. Michael is stricken by an undetermined disorder in the Pituitary gland and he is dying. Desperate, the couple remembers what happened years ago and decides to return to the small town to find an answer. Michael breaks out of the hospital and follows his parents to the town; but for some reason he feels drawn by an unnatural force to a small house in the woods; particularly the cellar. A day later, Michael is found and confined in the hospital. However, strange and brutal killings have began to occur. The MacLeary family's lives are about to be changed forever.

The film may have all the clichés inherent in a horror film in its first act. Leaving your wife alone in the night in the woods to get help? Too cliché. The first act also has a lot of flaws in the script, certain details were unexplained as to how Caroline knew what to look for in the newspaper's back issues and just how Michael was able to drive to the small town by himself. Some scenes were also too convenient, such as his meeting with Amanda (Kitty Moffat). At first, I thought I was in a exploitation film, a monstrous unknown attacker raping a beautiful woman seemed straight out of J-horror sexploitation.

But the film does OVERCOME its lackluster first act soon enough. I noticed ambition in its direction, when we see the woods in the attacker's first person view and only the hand was revealed when this thing undresses the younger Caroline. Surely signs of calculated direction by Mora. What also got my attention is the film's foreshadowing. The town undertaker, newspaper man were being killed; one by one. What was the killer's motivation? The killer's identity is not at all subtle, we all see him do the deed but the mystery lies in the why rather than in the who. The cellar door being opened also serves as the evil being unleashed.

The direction and cinematography is quite competent and succeeds in the build up of its characters. You see Michael suffering as he exhibits very peculiar behavior and obscene acts. The film also has some clever bits of "First Night", that gave me the impression that I was watching a werewolf movie, but no, we don't get away that easy. The so-proclaimed "Beast within" is quite more sinister in its own way. In a way, it can be seen as the representation of raw fury and savage rage; the links between Michael and his mother's attacker may seem obvious but what isn't so obvious is just what exactly he is changing into.

The direction manages to keep me very intrigued. Michael's slow transformation first affects his boyish features, slowly giving him signs of lack of sleep that results in his youthful looks to change into something very different. Now, when the final transformation does occur, it embodies all the film's hard work in generating restrained suspense that ends with an exclamation point. The transformation is a cross between "The Howling" (nope he's not a werewolf) and something totally "Alien" to me. The use of prosthetics were used to emulate the transformation; eyes were sinking under and his skin becomes part of gooey, slimy features--but it's not over, once Michael sheds his youthful skin then we see just what exactly the attacker was. Effects Supervisor Thomas Burman deserves a pat in the back. Rick Baker (An American Werewolf In London, Thriller), Stan Winston (R.I.P) and Thomas Burman have the stuff before to match today's standard CGI.

Now the film does succeed in certain aspects of its premise. Restrained suspense, some blood and gore, full frontal nudity that all have the makings of a cult classic. The so-called secrets actually have some credibility but SOLID answers as to the causes of the transformation are never given. Biological failure due to cruelty, Hereditary causes or Possession? The answer is left to the viewer.

Overall, I found "The Beast Within" a very creepy and suspenseful monster feature despite its flaws. The film's cinematography and direction were solid enough that it was able to make the argument that it is a good movie, and I was able to ignore the weaknesses in its script. Of course, the fact that the film is low budget gives it some elbow room. The film had an intriguing story, decent performances, the plot is mapped out quite well. If you compare it to the recent garbage the horror genre has been plagued for the past 3-4 years, it holds up quite well and may prove their better.

Recommended! [3 ½ - Stars]


September 30, 2008

A FORGOTTEN CULT GEM

'The Beast Within' is a 1982 movie directed by Philippe Mora and stars Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, and Don Gordon. It's loosely adapted from the novel by Edward Levy.

Our story starts off with a couple on their honeymoon driving down a quite and isolated road in the Mississippi Delta. After sudden car problems, Eli(Cox)is forced to walk several miles to the service station they were at previously. As Carol(Besch)is quietly waiting, she is attacked and raped by an unknown 'thing'.
17 years later, Eli and Carol's son Michael(Clemens)has become gravely ill in addition to increasingly violent personality shifts. In an effort to find an answer, they travel to the quite town where Carol was attacked. What they find is a shocking revelation of mutants and cannibalism.

This movie was released in '82 and was panned at the time. It fell into obscurity for many years, but has developed a growing cult following. The plot is similiar to Lovecraft's 'The Lurking Fear' and the 90's movie 'Bleeders'. It's fairly predictable, somewhat cliche', and has a few plot holes, but suspencefull and enjoyable at the same time.

The acting is solid, Cox and Clemens carry this movie. Clemens' transformation(you'll have to watch to see what!)is at first through body language, facial expressions, and mannarisms. It's only in the latter part of the movie that his transformation becomes visably physical and He pulls this off very well. Clemens really brings a creepy and uncomforatble feeling with his overall performance.

The editing and cinematography is really good. The movie takes place over the course of 3 days, and I never grew bored nor did my mind wander. The balance of suspence and gore is really good, and is one of the movies strong points. The parts of this movie that take place at night are really, really dark, and the low-budjet 80's style only adds to the overall look of the film.

Some of the effects are a little dated, but this flick has a decent amount of blood and gore, although some death scenes could have gone further. The 'transformation' is what has stuck with me over the years, if not for that memory I would have completely forgotten about this(yes, I was that young). While not over the top, It's really unique, shot well, and quite disturbing. It sucsesfully uses the air-bladder technique, and combined with Clemens' acting makes the whole scene really great. Clemens' acting building up to these moments really helps sell the whole overall scene.(clips can be seen on Youtube).

This movie is a forgotten cult gem!! Watching this movie as an adult after so many years has not diminished my appreciation for this flick, it still hold up very well! While not perfect, this is a creepy little sleeper classic that is highly recomended if you like monster, cult, and gore movies.

Nostalgia wants me to give this a 5 out of 5, but it's an honest and enjoyable 4 out of 5.
September 14, 2008

What a movie!!!

After months of putting off seeing this movie I finally caved in and purchased it, I was very excited to see the movie and boy was it worth every dollar I spent on it. The Beast Within is one of the movies that does not have to use excessive gore or violence to prove that it is a good movie, however do not let my statement throw you off as this movie does have it's fair share of violence and gore and than some!! I read tons of reviews all over the internet saying this movie is bad, and I am really baffled as to why exactly people do not like this movie it is a very well put together movie that does not let up on the viewer from start to finish.

I know the review will not be to helpful, but this is one of the movies that you really do have to see for yourself as it will please ANY horror fan, and my words could never do this masterpiece justice. If you have the spare change laying around I would suggest picking this up, as this movie belongs in any horror fans collection, I am just ashamed at how long it took me to stumble upon this. Viewer be warned there is a rather creepy and brutal rape scene at the end of the movie, and when the gore and violence takes place it can get rather graphic. June 11, 2008

The Beast Without a doult is awesome!

I don't know what are some people problem. This is a great classic from the 80's. The story is not bad, and the fx were good for that time. Some people are effended about the rape scene. I see more rape scene on basic tv. It's a movie do all movies have to make sense. I brought the dvd with pride, and enjoy watching it. People who are not into good horror should stop giving out bogus reviews. March 2, 2008

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