Sangre de bestia

One of the better, and most overlooked, monster films of the 80's is this fun and effectively creepy B horror film.

On a dark and stormy Mississippi night, a woman is attacked and raped by a mysterious monster. Now, seventeen years later, her ill teenage son is starting to display some murderous behavior that keeps getting worse...

The Beast Within (based on the Edward Levy novel of the same title) is too often bashed by critics. Many complain that the storyline is convoluted, but frankly if everything were explained it would lose its sense of chilling mystery. There is much to be enjoyed in this off-beat creature flick. The story is nicely creative with a hint of old school horror and a good dose of building tension - all of which is dotted with some startlingly good murder scenes. The gruesome makeup effects aren't bad, this film has one wild transformation scene. Direction wise Philippe Mora does well in giving the film a great southern Gothic vibe as well as an oppressing atmosphere of dread.

The cast holds their own too. Ronny Cox (of Deliverance fame) and Bibi Besch do solid performances as the understandably troubled parents of our title character. Paul Clemens is also good, and strangely alluring, as the teen with the savage side. Supporting performances from Don Gordon, R.G. Armstrong, Katherine Moffat, and L.Q. Jones are good too.

The Beast Within is one under praised horror film. So what if there's a few plot holes, so what if it doesn't follow the book it's based on to the letter - it's a truly memorable horror ride that never has a dull moment. Check it out creature feature fans.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Paul Clemens first came to my attention, with an excellent performance as a teenager with tourettes syndrome in the "Quincy" episode, "Seldom silent, Never heard". When "Fangoria" revealed that he was going to star in this horror film, I got real interested. It was a blast to see at a Tucson drive in, on first release. (probably with a 6-pack of Molson's in the trunk)

The southern setting, (and the presence of Ronny Cox), give this mutant rape saga, a slight touch of "Deliverance". Clemens suffers as necessary, rather convincingly, until the Tom Burman effects take center stage towards the end. This is a very well acted horror film, unusual for this type and time, with some real twists, unlikely as they might be. Burman's effects are top drawer for the pre-digital age. The ending is as perverse, and ludicrous, as one could hope. Take it as you will, this is a longtime favorite, a real change of pace from the interchangeable masked, holiday killers. (you know, "Halloween", "New Year's Evil", "Hell Night", "My Bloody Valentine", "Prom Night", "Friday The 13th", etc...) Your response may change with your mood.

--Judexdot1--

I agree with many points made by fellow commentators. This was one of director Philippe Mora's best efforts: atmospheric, grisly and featuring an extraordinary cast of slumming actors. The makeup transformation effects by the Burman studio are quite well done. BUT...

Why isn't this called The BUG Within? This poor kid doesn't turn into a beast - he turns into a gosh-darn GIANT CICADA! WTF? Where did that come from? There's no explanation in the script, and according to those who've read the source novel, it's completely different from the original story. I remember seeing this at a United Artists screening in Los Angeles back in 1982. My buddy Mike and I were big horror fans, and after the screening let out we kept asking each other, "But why did he turn into a BUG?" Neither of us could come up with an answer then and obviously, even after all these years and with all these discussions on IMDb, no one else has either.

Screenwriter Tom Holland probably could however. Certainly he's proved himself a talent in the horror genre, with his terrific script for the first Psycho sequel and subsequent work on the first Child's Play and his directorial debut, Fright Night.

Philippe Mora has had a more checkered career. A strong visual stylist, he's struggled with poor choice of material such as the infamous sequel Howling III: The Marsupials.

The Bug - sorry, BEAST Within is definitely worth a look for horror buffs, but when you watch the big transformation scene two-thirds of the way through, I guarantee you'll be scratching your head afterwards. The makeup FX are pretty cool though.

Woo-hoo! This freaky puppy needs to go on a leash! The Beast Within is highly entertaining 80's pulp that regretfully got ignored over the years, along with so many other B-movie goodies from that decade like "Dead & Buried", "Basket Case" or "From Beyond". I hope that too many people won't be biased about the gory, cheap looks of this film, because it actually has got more to offer than you'd think! The Beast Within fits perfectly in the "the little town with a secret"-sub genre that I personally adore. The screenplay (written by Tom Holland of "Fright Night" and "Child's Play") handles about a newlywed couple facing a nightmare when the wife is raped by a hideous creature on a remote Mississippi road. The "miracle of life" takes place and 17 years later, the progeny of this unpleasant meeting begins to undergo a bizarre metamorphosis. The adolescent Michael is aggressive, weak and goes prowling overnight. The victims of these nightly hunts all share a common secret that slowly unravels itself and leads all the way back to the night of the rape. The plot contains quite some holes (big ones!) and logicalness is totally out of the question! Hopefully, you'll be able to look passed these flaws and see how director Mora attempts to add tension and atmosphere to his film. The obvious aspect to love naturally is the blood and gore! The Beast Within features an infamous and nearly classic transformation and this scene alone makes the film worthy. A catchy (country) soundtrack and fairly good acting complete my overall positive opinion on this overlooked cult gem. Ronny Cox is quite convincing as the "official" father but it surely is the young actor Paul Clemens himself who impresses. His ultra-mad grimaces while attacking the hillbillies form the best parts of the film.

If you like low to medium budget horrors with plenty of gore, you will not be disappointed in this and Paul Clemens does very well in the lead. Nobody else seems to try too hard, they seem more interested in outdoing each other in wearing the most outlandish wigs. Very watchable despite its shortcomings although it almost comes to a halt on several occasions. The set up is fine, if a little predictable, but the wild and terrible story could have been better told. At first this seems like a Jekyll and Hyde variant, then a vampire tale before it gets back to what it really was at the start, a gruesome tale of rape and impregnation by some swamp like creature. Nice idea and lots of nastiness but not very convincing and too many people wandering in and out to little effect. Have to say though, one amazing and absolutely disgusting transformation sequence at the end.