PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I first saw the trailer for The Beast Within a few months ago and it definitely piqued my interest. A UK set werewolf film with Kit Harington as the wolf? Sign me up! I was recently given the opportunity from Well Go USA to check out The Beast Within. Did it live up to the hype?
Synopsis
After a series of strange events leads her to question her family’s isolated life on a fortified compound deep in the English wilds, 10-year-old Willow follows her parents on one of their secret late-night treks to the heart of the ancient forest. But upon witnessing her father undergo a terrible transformation, she too becomes ensnared by the dark ancestral secret they’ve tried so desperately to conceal.
The Beast Within was directed by documentary filmmaker Alexander J. Farrell in his narrative feature debut. The film was written by Farrell and Greer Ellison. The film stars Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Ashleigh Cummings (Hounds of Love), Caoilinn Springall (Stopmotion), James Cosmo (The Kindred), Andrei Nova, Adam Basil, Martina McClements (There’s No Such Thing As Zombies), and Ian Giles.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I dove into The Beast Within and discovered the film was from the perspective of the daughter Willow, played by Caoilinn Springall, who I thought was wonderful and creepy as Little Girl in Stopmotion. She gets the opportunity to play a much different role here. Willow is a girl that is sick with an unnamed illness which leaves her short of breath and reliant on oxygen tanks. She lives in isolation near the woods with her parents Noah and Imogen, her sole human contact beside her grandfather her lives in a building next door.
Her father is suffering from an ailments that requires him to be secluded in the woods from his family one day a month in the woods. After following her parents one night she discovers her father’s dark secret and becomes deathly afraid of her father. Springall is perfectly cast as Willow. She is very expressive and is able to capably show the range of what her character is feeling. Kit Harington does a solid job as the father Noah, though we don’t get to see as much of his duality as I would have liked. We are mainly subjected to his dark side and its side effects, only briefly seeing the loving father in him.
Ashley Cummings is great as Willow’s mother Imogen, who is clearly struggling with protecting her daughter and her love for her husband. I loved James Cosmo’s performance as Willow’s grandfather Waylon. You can tell her how much he loves his granddaughter and wants to protect her from her father as well as how strained his relationship with his daughter is due to her relationship with and defense of Noah.
The Beast Within does a good job of building tension, helped greatly by the sense of isolation the characters are subjected to. It feels like the characters are truly alone in their struggle. Willow’s fear that she is like her father is palpable. The mood of the film is very oppressive. The werewolf and gore effects, though we don’t get much, is executed well, particularly a particularly gruesome scene I won’t spoil involving a fingernail. While I enjoyed the majority of The Beast Within immensely, there is a late final act twist that I feel could ruin the enjoyment for some viewers.
Final Thoughts
The Beast Within is a film that excels at mood and a feeling of dread and isolation bolstered by solid effects and strong performances, thought a final act twist could potentially ruin the film for some viewers. Recommended.
