The Beast Within (2024)

"Attempt at 'Elevated Horror' Falls Flat"

From that you should be able to deduce that Alexander Farrell's THE BEAST WITHIN, starring Kit Harrington, is not a remake of Philippe Mora's entertaining Lovecraftian giant were-cicada film of 1982. Which is a bit of a shame, actually.

So what's it actually about? Ten year old Willow (Caolinn Springall) lives in a remote country farmhouse with mother Imogen (Ashleigh Cummings) and infrequently-seen father Noah (Kit Harington) who has a habit of disappearing altogether around the full moon. When she eventually follows her parents on one such occasion she finds Noah being chained up in the ruins of a building in the forest, and learns that Noah's 'affliction' may run in the family.

Far less a horror film and more a domestic drama, THE BEAST WITHIN suffers from being terribly slow, with little in the way of plot or even character development for at least the first hour of its 97 minute run time. The exploitation elements - a pretty good werewolf and Kit Harrington's bottom - are present but we don't get to see any werewolf action until the final act, and even then not much of it. One suspects director Farrell had aspirations to make something 'more' than just a horror film but in doing has ended making a film that can comfortably be watched on double speed and you won't miss anything. Here's the trailer:

THE BEAST WITHIN is out on Digital from Signature Entertainment on Monday 19th August 2024