Drive-In Dust Offs: The Beast Within

The horror landscape was changing by 1982. People were tiring of slashers; even the Halloween franchise decided to take a left (some would say wrong) turn away from Shatner masks and sharpened knives, and used the brand name to explore the holiday itself in the perpetually under-appreciated Season of The Witch. The genre seemed to be turning towards monsters, from large scale dread fests such as John Carpenter's The Thing to more intimate fare like Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case. The horror films of 1982 displayed a refreshing variety of ways to make audiences jump, squirm, gasp, smile, and when the occasion arose, vomit. The Beast Within giddily checks all the boxes.

Released in February by United Artists, the film took in a total of 7.7 million at the box office. Those were not great numbers, and the reviews were worse. Mainstream critics in general have never been kind to horror; almost always dismissive and sometimes downright hostile. However, as the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure, and The Beast Within is a gory goldmine.

Our story goes something like this: Eli and Caroline MacCleary (Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch) are on their honeymoon passing through Nioba, Mississippi when they encounter car trouble on the outskirts of town. Eli goes for help, and Caroline is attacked and raped by a man-creature who escapes from the cellar of a nearby house. Eli returns with a tow truck and finds his wife naked and unconscious in the woods.

Flash forward 17 years. The MacCleary's son Michael (Paul Clemens) is dying. His pituitary gland is growing at an alarming rate, and the doctors are at a loss as to why.  However, his parents realise that Michael's malady is due to Caroline's impregnation by the aforementioned man-creature 17 years prior, and try to find out who or what is responsible so they can save their son. Meanwhile, Michael keeps having visions; drawing him closer to the town, its secrets, and dealing with hormonal issues that a bucket of Clearasil won’t be able to fix.

Okay, that's already a whole lot of story, and we're barely 15 minutes in. What follows is a tale of revenge, rebirth, and southern inhospitality. The Beast Within stands out from the crowd due to its straight faced determination to be an updated, twisted version of 1957's I Was A Teenage Werewolf and its ilk; an earnest story of a teenage boy going through changes against his will. Sure, in this version they’ve added monster rape and cannibalism, but with Australian director Philippe Mora at the helm this seems perfectly normal. Mora would follow this up with Howling II and III (yes, the one with the kangaroo werewolves) and while those films veer closer to comedy (intentional or not), here he opts for a southern Gothic feel that's heightened, but surprisingly solemn.

This brings us to the screenplay by Tom Holland. Well written and plotted, with a measured pace that doesn't play all of its cards too early, the one thing it lacks is the true Holland trademark - a sense of humour. There's a joy in his future works such as Fright Night and Child's Play; a feeling of playfulness that involves the viewer. Here, all of his characters seem so pained and insular, that a lighter touch could only draw the viewer in more. It works great as written, but I would have loved to see this film made later in the careers of Mora and Holland, when their humour was fleshed out.

The cast is pitch perfect. Michael is played by Paul Clemens (whose mom, Eleanor Parker, was The Baroness in The Sound of Music), and he gives an aching, naturalistic performance that really makes you feel for him. I wish I had seen him in more. Ronny Cox (Robocop) and Bibi Besch (Star Trek II) shine as Michael’s parents, bringing pathos to their roles as they race against time to help their child. If you’re a fan of character actors, you’re in for a big treat: R.G. Armstrong (Race with The Devil) as the sympathetic Doctor, L.Q. Jones (The Wild Bunch) as the Sheriff, and Don Gordon (The Final Conflict) as the town’s Mayor (and Judge) all put their stamp on characters that would register as stock in lesser hands. So while the film is written and directed in earnest, you can’t help but smile as these veteran actors light up the screen.

Kudos to Tom Burman, makeup man extraordinaire (he was hot at the time, providing effects for My Bloody Valentine and Happy Birthday to Me), for providing not only Michael’s transformation near the end of the film (a bit of trickery using air bladders – it was a popular technique at the time), but various bits of viscera along the way.

As I mentioned earlier, the intent of this film is to pay homage to the great American International Pictures of yesteryear; this is further bore out by having Michael wear a Letterman jacket throughout the film (as many of the teenagers did in the films of the 1950’s), and having the sweeping score composed by AIP legend Les Baxter (who claimed this was one of his favourite scores).

The Beast Within keeps you involved throughout - providing an hour and forty minutes of twisted southern fun, a town full of secrets, and one major, messy, growth spurt.

The Beast Within is available on Blu-ray from Scream Factory.