10-year-old Willow watches as her mother and grandfather help her father into the old two story home located in a compound deep in the woods and into bed. Unable to walk for himself, Willow’s father seems to be ill and suffering. The grandfather warns the mother that he’s getting worse. Strangely, after a day or two, Willow’s father appears healthy and happy. While most of the action and danger is seen off screen, THE BEAST WITHIN attempts to build suspense and drama of the mysteries behind the strange occurrences within this family and their ancestral secret using an old-fashioned werewolf story to drive the horror.
Director Alexander J. Farrell has created a different sort of werewolf movie that views the creature through the lens of another. In this case, a child. Through an incredible performance by Caoilinn Springall, Willow is our eyes and ears, but sometimes the film gives us glimpses of things she isn’t seeing. And most of these moments fit nicely into the allegory of being a film about domestic abuse. While the mother, played by Ashleigh Cummings, is torn by her love for her husband and fear for the dangers that may come, her actions, or lack thereof, to protect her child can sometimes be frustrating. Viewing the film through the lens of an abused victim creates at least a sympathetic understanding of someone who doesn’t know how or is too scared to get out of their awful situation. These domestic themes and ideas through the screenplay from Greer Ellison and Farrell are a welcome exploration even if not always efficiently executed on film.
Bonus points for THE BEAST WITHIN in utilizing Kit Harington of ‘Game of Thrones’ fame to star and promote the film. As Noah, the father with a disturbing two-sided internal change from man to beast, Harington is phenomenal. But he is a supporting character in Willow’s world and Springall’s breakout performance. It was also nice to see James Cosmo, another GoT alumni side by side again with Kit Harington, as the grandfather. His character brings a gravitas to the film as the only one truly looking out for Willow.
THE BEAST WITHIN is a subtle horror film that has some unique ideas through a visual touch with a few startling moments. However, at a normally appropriate 84-minutes, THE BEAST WITHIN sometimes still feels a bit long in the tooth so to speak. Some of the editing choices are a bit heavy handed, using unnecessary flashbacks in a film that doesn’t seem to have enough material or substance to repeat images that ultimately insults the intelligence of the audience. In fact, I think THE BEAST WITHIN would work incredibly well as a short film that otherwise needs a bit more meat on the bone for a feature. Either way, I look forward to a promising future for everyone involved in this interesting take on the Wolfman genre.
