Review of The Beast Within (1982) by Richard A — 21 Sep 2007

The Beast Within is one of those almost movies. The intro and plot are interesting and something that should result in a gory good time but sadly it doesn't.

The film really turns out to be an exercise in stupidity, ill logic and a couple of nice gore effects instead of a dozen nice gore effects.

The cast is good, you have such vets as Ronny Cox (Deliverance) and R.G. Armstrong (Hills Have Eyes, Race With The Devil, Evilspeak) but they all fumble around the dull script and slow pacing of the plot.

The storyline has Ronny Cox and his wife driving one night when they have car trouble. Cox goes for a tow-truck and leaves his wife alone in the car, when he returns she has been savagely molested by what seemed like some sort of animal.

Moving further along in the plot we find out Cox's wife got pregnant from the precious and romantic encounter she had with the unknown being in the woods. They both decide to raise it as their own son but the boy (played by Paul Clemens) begins to act strange.

The parents go back to the town where the bizarre incident happened and their son follows, Then the killings begin.

Its really not a bad movie but its just too dull to be likeable or entertaining, Clemens transformation scene is a long and gruelling special effects ride and probably the most intense part in the whole film, otherwise it bored me to tears and the monster looks like The Fly from the David Cronenberg remake, when all signs pointed to some sort of hairy wolf-like monster.