The Beast Within / The Bat People (1974)

Among the Best...The Beast Within is a Forgotten Masterpiece

The Beast Within is an absolute classic of the horror genre, regardless of its status as a "drive-in" or "Grindhouse" or "Midnite" movie. This film has never had the recognition it deserves. It is atmospheric, edgy, and extremely well acted. The teenager undergoes a gradual transformation into a giant man-cicada swamp creature, but about 85 percent of the film focuses on his mental change. It is not a cheesy swamp monster physical transformation, but it is more like in the film "Christine" where you watch this ordinary teenager turn into a blood crazed loony.
His change is kind of a metaphor for puberty, much the way the "Ginger Snaps" films depicted turning into a werewolf as a metaphor for a girl going through puberty. What carries the film is the boy's acting ability as he grows creepier and creepier. Ronny Cox (the guitar playing city slicker from Deliverance) is great as his concerned father coping with the fact that his son may actually be the offspring of a savage beast-man. And L.Q. Jones is another recognizable face, reprising his role as a rural southern sheriff.
Another quality of the film is the way the story deals with the way some small towns have a guilty secret. Some vile crime against humanity lurks in it's past. It is a quiet place in the middle of nowhere, yet something horrible happened there 17 years earlier that they just want to forget. Then along comes this boy...
The climax of the film features quite incredible creature effects that will satisfy the gorehounds and probably nauseate the film critics. This film is an absolute must-see for horror fans, especially if you enjoy similar films like those of David Cronenberg and Stephen King. I would love to see a special edition release of this film with extras and more info about this lesser known horror gem. November 17, 2007

Beasts and Bats

The Beast Within begins this metamorphosis themed Midnite Movies double feature. This was a movie that played sometimes on HBO back in the day and is more or less a forgotten 80s horror flick. It's actually quite fun. On her wedding night, a woman is raped by a mutant in a swamp(hey, at least it starts off with a bang). 17 years later, the child of this unholy union has become rather ill, and the parents now have to go back to the small town where the "incident" occurred to find out all they can about the boy's real father(the human dad wasn't there when the rape happened, and the wife was unconscious, so none of them knew it was a monster that performed the deed) and hopefully shed light on their child's illness. The boy, Michael, also is drawn to the town and soon begins killing folks of a specific bloodline. Michael's affliction resembles that of a werewolf in the sense that he turns homicidal at night and acts kinda like an animal. Other than that, for his "transformation", his face gets pale, his teeth look dirty and he gets some black rings around his eyes. When his change finally happens, he resembles an adult version of one of the babies from Larry Cohen's It's Alive movies. We soon discover that Michael and his murders are linked to the story of a local boy who was imprisoned in a basement years earlier. There's actually more plot here than you'd expect from this kind of movie. Enough clues are given to you to get a grip on why these things are happening, but not everything is explained and you're left in the dark about some of the small details. Needless to say, while this may never win any awards, The Beast Within is definitely not boring. A very fun little piece of horror nonsense that in itself is worth the purchase of the dvd.
The Bat People(it shoulda been called The Bat Person) isn't bad. It's not terribly good, but certainly painless to sit through. During a tour of a cave, a husband and wife stray from the tour to engage in a little spelunking of their own when hubby is bitten by a bat. Everyone's fearing rabies, but rabies is child's play compared to what he gets. Poor John Beck starts getting attacks of....well, I'm not sure what you'd call them other than a case of eyes that like to roll up. Soon his hands are black and webbed, and before you know it, he's prowling the streets and beating the crap out of department store mannequins. Soon he moves on to human victims. Beck's wife isn't sure what to think about her husband's bizarre behavior, and it doesn't help that the local sheriff is making the moves on her. The sheriff has also got his eye on Beck and thinks he has something to do with the recent string of murders. The actual bat makeup is only shown at the end, and briefly. It's not bad and looks more like a werewolf. It was designed by none other than Stan Winston(credited as "Stanley".). You may not find yourself watching The Bat People all that much, but like I said before, The Beast Within is worth the purchase of the disc. October 16, 2007

Midnite Movies Rock( especially Fox releases)

Two fun movies for viewing late night while eating and drinking your favorite snack stuff...The Beast Within is my favorite...Scared my 10 year old nephew but he enjoyed it too. October 13, 2007

The Bat Within...

First, THE BEAST WITHIN is a great, bloody piece of cinematic slime from the early 80s. Ronny Cox (Robocop) is a father out to find out the horrible truth about his "son". You see, junior is the spawn of the mutant-rapist that attacked his mum 17 years earlier. Now, several grisly murders may be connected to this awful past event. TBW is memorable for the hideous transformation scene, where the killer's head expands into a beachball-like size and shape! Yecch! If movies like EVILSPEAK or XTRO tickle your gore-spot, then TBW will be a thrill! L.Q. Jones (Brotherhood Of Satan), R.G. Armstrong (Evilspeak, Race With The Devil) and a young Meshak Taylor also star. THE BAT PEOPLE is the add-on feature here, w/ Stewart Moss (doing his best Bradford Dillman immitation) as the odd Dr. Beck. Beck is bitten by bats in a cave, causing him to become a bloodthirsty maniac. If you enjoy movies like HIDEOUS SUN DEMON or TRACK OF THE MOONBEAST, then this one might be for you. If not, it could be quite an effective sleeping aid. Still, THE BEAST WITHIN is worth the price of this DVD on it's own infamous merit... September 16, 2007

a different kind of batman

looking for fun on a rainy night ? the bat people is a forgotten little film from the seventies with the always underrated michael pataky .
a scientist is bitten by rabid bats that transmit a virius transforming him into a half man half bat .
there is a weird sexual tension in the film between the scientist and his wanting to be pregnant wife . the film today in the wake of the aids epidemic plays differently and adds depth that wasnt there when the film was made .
that said this is a mildly entertaining film with all the grindhouse horror cliches of the 1970s . a fun little film .
the second feature is not worth mentioning needless to say more transforming teenagers out looking for revenge . tired . September 3, 2007

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