Beast Within, The (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Jan 23, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Phillipe MoraRelease Date(s)
1982 (December 31, 2024)Studio(s)
Katzka/United Artists (Kino Cult #22)- Film/Program Grade: C+
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A-
- Extras Grade: A
Review
Directed by Philippe Mora (Howling II and III) and adapted from Edward Levy’s novel by Tom Holland (Fright Night and Child’s Play), 1982’s The Beast Within is an oddball horror film that didn’t do well upon its initial release, but thanks to home video, has longer-lasting cult appeal, being praised by film critics like Joe Bob Briggs for its uniqueness and its excellent special effects and make-up appliances.
The film opens with newlywed couple, Eli and Caroline MacCleary (Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch), whose car gets stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere. Caroline is suddenly kidnapped and raped by what appears to be some sort of horrible creature, and years later, the son of this unholy conception, Michael (Paul Clemens), begin to exhibit strange symptoms and behaviors. Slowly, he seems to be turning into something else entirely. Whatever it is, it’s monstrous, and neither his love interest Amanda (Katherine Moffat), old doc Schoonmaker (R.G. Armstrong), the local sheriff (L.Q. Jones), or the local judge (Don Gordon) can stop his violent rampage.
Above all else, The Beast Within is impeccably directed and shot, with a strong voice behind the camera, even if it doesn’t totally work. There are plenty of effective scenes and makeup effects, but none of the film’s leads are all that appealing. The performances are mostly hammy and range from decent to laugh-inducing. It certainly earns points for taking a bizarre and insane concept and just running with it, executing it in a way that raises it above mediocrity, if only for the special effects, which are on par with films like The Howling and An American Werewolf in London. For a film about a teenager that turns into a deadly, oversized cicada, that’s something.
The Beast Within was shot on 35mm film by director of photography Jack L. Richards using Panavision Panaflex cameras and Panavision C- and E-Series anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Kino Cult brings the film to Blu-ray for a second time in the US (third overall) on a dual-layered BD-50 disc carrying the exact same master as the Scream Factory release, right down to the chapter markers. That said, it’s a master that holds up rather well. It doesn’t have as refined a grain structure as modern 4K scans, but it doesn’t look entirely dated either. It also has an increased bitrate and more disc space over the Scream Factory disc, which was a BD-25 and hovered between 25 and 30Mbps, whereas the Kino release sits between 35 and 40Mbps, sometimes rising above that. The color palette and contrast are the same, though I daresay the Kino disc is ever so slightly darker, but not at the expense of fine detail. Blacks are deep and the image is stable with no leftover imperfections to speak of.
Audio is included in English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH (the latter of which wasn’t included on the previous Scream Factory Blu-ray). The film was originally released in Dolby Stereo and this track offers a fine approximation of that experience, and appears to be the same track from the previous Blu-ray. All aspects of it are offered up cleanly and clearly, including dialogue, score, and sound effects, with some nice separation and excellent fidelity. For what it is, it’s a very robust experience.
Kino Cult’s 1080p Blu-ray release of The Beast Within sits in a blue Amaray case with an insert and a slipcover featuring the original theatrical artwork. (It’s worth pointing out that the Scream Factory Blu-ray used the same front-facing artwork on their insert, but offered alternate artwork on the reverse that was also used for the MGM Presents Midnite Movies DVD release.) The following extras are included, all in HD:
- Audio Commentary with Philippe Mora and Calum Waddell
- Audio Commentary with Philippe Mora and Paul Clemens
- Audio Commentary with Tom Holland and Rob Galluzzo
- I Was a Teenage Cicada: The Making of The Beast Within (45:43)
- Storyboarding the Beast with Director Philippe Mora (13:30)
- Theatrical Trailer (1:42)
- TV Spot (:34)
- Radio Spots (2 in all – 1:03)
First up is an audio commentary with director Philippe Mora with film historian Calum Waddell, ported over from Arrow Video’s 2014 Region B Blu-ray release, which is a nice Q&A-type conversation between the two. Next is another audio commentary with Philippe Mora and actor Paul Clemens, ported over from Scream Factory’s 2013 Blu-ray release, which is a pleasant conversation as the men enjoy each other’s company and have plenty to speak about. Last is another Scream Factory port, an audio commentary with screenwriter Tom Holland and writer, musician, and filmmaker Rob Galluzzo, which is another Q&A session, but a good one as they’ve done other commentaries together before, so there’s good rapport between them. I Was a Teenage Cicada is a documentary about the making of the film, featuring interviews with Tom Holland, Paul Clemens, special effects technician Garry Elmendorf, and actors John Dennis Johnston and Katherine Moffat. Storyboarding the Beast offers a set of storyboards with commentary by Philippe Mora. There’s also the film’s theatrical trailer and two radio spots. Exclusive to this release is a TV spot. It’s also worth mentioning that all of the extras have carried over from the Scream Factory and Arrow Video Blu-rays aside from an image gallery.
The Beast Within is one of those underdog horror films that took a long time to get any kind of decent recognition, even if it was only from the fan community, but it continues to thrive as a mid-tier but beloved monster movie. Kino Cult’s Blu-ray release slightly improves upon the previous Blu-rays with superior video, added subtitles, and a compendium of nearly all of the previous extras. It’s a fine release and recommended for deep-seated genre fans.
- Tim Salmons
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