Who doesn’t love a good Werewolf movie? It feels like it’s been forever since we had one worth talking about so I welcome every new entry into the flea-soaked sub-genre. The very latest entry, The Beast Within, starring Jon Snow himself, Kit Harrington, takes a different path then most films of its kind. It’s a path that’s sure to be divisive but for the right viewers will be a more than enjoyable ride.
The Beast Within tells it’s story through the eyes of 10 year old Willow (Caoilinn Springall) who lives in the English countryside with her Mom Imogen (Ashleigh Cummings), Dad, Noah (Kit Harrington) and her less then bubbly Grandpa (James Cosmo). This sounds like an idyllic existance for a child, and for the most part it is. Though Willow begins to notice that once a month her Mom drops her Dad off somewhere for the night. When he returns, he’s never the same man he was when he left. As curious kids are want to do, Willow decides she has to find out what’s going on and stows away on one of her Mom and Dad’s “trips”. I’m sure she had some ideas of what was happening, I’m also sure that no idea of her’s including dear old Dad transforming into a Werewolf before her eyes. Now aware of what’s going on around her, her world will never be the same again.
I love a good allegory and that’s what The Beast Within is all about, really it’s even right there in the title. We’ve all heard of an abusive drunk being referred to as not being able to contain “the beast within’, what we see here is a literal depiction of just that. Director Alexander J. Farrell proves himself adept at handling tension and building suspense, but most of all at exhibiting restraint. It would have been far easier to show Noah as simply a horrible person but the story takes the time to show Willow and Noah at their best. There’s no doubt that Noah loves his family, and that’s what drives the emotional impact of his inability to control that other, more hairy, side of himself. You don’t need a film degree to tell that the whole thing is a metaphor for domestic abuse, I would argue to be more specific and say alcoholism driven abuse. Honestly, it’s shocking how well it works when you strip away the visuals. Farrell does an admirable job showing you the visual horror while still ensuring that the parallels to the real world aren’t overshadowed.
Caoilinn Springall, who plays Willow, is what makes this film. I’m always astounded when I see someone so young, so small, with such talent. This is a tough role, there’s nuance and subtlety required and the difference between a good film and unintentional laughs is razon thin. If Springall were to have over committed, overacted at any point it would have completely changed the tone of what was being relayed on screen but, suprisingly, it never happened. The love, fear, confusion, and horror were all delivered with expert craftsmanship resulting in a personal story that drew you in.
A word of warning for werewolf superfans though, this isn’t Dog Soldiers. The story is a slow-burn, emotionally driven piece that at time drags. Honestly I was shocked to see the runtime was only 1hr 37 min, as it felt like at least 2 hours. This is where my only major gripe with the film comes in, I feel like a Werewolf film should come with certain guarantees. While this is a family horror/drama at it’s core I don’t think it would have hurt the movie to add a scene or two of Noah’s beastly form tearing through a pub or two. If nothing else then to really hammer home the danger that his family calls home.
In the pantheon of Werewolf movies, The Beast Within is not going to hold any laurels, nor will it appear on top 10 lists. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad film, quite the opposite. This is simply one of those films where your expectations need to be set prior to watching. While the slowness of the story threatened to lose my interest it never quite crossed that line and I was left with a unique and emotionally impactful experience.
