THE AISLE SEAT - by Mike McGranaghan
"THE BEAST WITHIN"
The Beast Within establishes immediately that it's going to be dark and shocking. The first scene has a woman being raped by a giant cicada. That woman is Caroline MacCleary (Bibi Besch), and she becomes pregnant from the incident. Seventeen years later, the child she bore, Michael (Paul Clemens), develops a mysterious illness that doctors can't explain. Caroline and her husband Eli (Ronny Cox) return to the small Mississippi town where the rape happened to look answers. The town's judge and newspaper editor have some answers, but both are resistant to sharing them. Michael, meanwhile, escapes from the hospital and joins them. Strange murders begin taking place upon his arrival. Is Michael the culprit, or is he turning into something monstrous? (Hint: it's the latter.)
That is a very simplified description of the plot. The Beast Within, released in 1982 and now on Blu-Ray from Scream Factory, actually has a lot of twists and turns. So many, in fact, that it can be a little difficult to follow. A very convoluted history of the town and one of its citizens unfolds over ninety short minutes. On one hand, it's great to see a horror film with some storytelling ambition; on the other hand, it bogs down the pace when the movie has to keep stopping to explain what's going on.
Thankfully, the film offers up some delightfully weird, twisted moments of horror, especially in the final half hour. Used as a selling point in the advertising, the last 30 minutes of The Beast Within include imaginative and suitably icky makeup/FX work. Such things were not uncommon in horror cinema during that time period, but this picture really pushed the boundaries. Director Phillipe Mora was willing to go all-out to deliver a grand finale that is fun to watch, regardless of whether the complex story works for you or not.
Scream Factory has again assembled a few cool extras for this Blu-Ray release. Mora and Clemens team for an amusing audio commentary. They discuss their shared displeasure with the opening credits music, and reminisce about a battle with the MPAA over a twist of black humor added to a gory shot. (In typical MPAA style, the violent act itself was enough to secure an R rating; the joke would have pushed it over to an X.) The ongoing cult status of The Beast Within is also reflected upon, with Clemens relating an encounter with Queen Latifah who, it turns out, is a major fan of the film. Screenwriter Tom Holland provides a second audio commentary. The theatrical trailer and a few nifty radio spots are here, as well.
The Beast Within is rated R for violence/gore, rape, and language. The running time is 1 hour and 38 minutes.
Buy a copy of my book, "Straight-Up Blatant: Musings From The Aisle Seat," on sale now at Lulu.com! Paperback and Kindle editions also available at Amazon.com!
