The Beast Within

Slow, tedious and boring. A superficial family drama with a werewolf overlay, and of course there is a child with obligatory major health issues, a character seen in so many recent films - an unnecessary and irritating distraction. Oh wait, it's there to tie up the ending - nah, not really.

What horrors do walls of a domicile holds? The curse of trauma is already passed down to the next of kin when the answers to the question gets honestly answered. With the magic of folklore and a well assembled cast Beast Within tells a story of survival. Though the turn of events may upset some in the audience it's a clever way of portraying what it is to come of age in a traumatically abusive household. Acting was sincere and emotional. Especially by Caoilinn and Ashleigh. Great audio effects. Beautiful sceneries both calming and haunting. Movie provides enough explanation as to why there isn't much emphasis on showcasing a monster and that's even more terrifying. A story with a meaning loved it.

At first glance, it’s a bad werewolf movie — a theme that still rarely gets done well in cinema, and this certainly isn’t the exception. On second viewing, though, it reveals itself as a story about an alcoholic, abusive father who hits his wife and is violent toward his daughter — a daughter who, influenced by the book she’s reading (White Fang), sees him as a monster, a wolf. That’s the real meaning, the one clearly intended by the screenwriter. The werewolf is just a metaphor for the father’s drunken, violent outbursts — which explains why they happen randomly, not just during a full moon. But even with that layer, the film is far too slow to truly engage. It ends up being just plain boring.

With some more specificity in story telling, this could have been a really good film. I think the complex ambiguity around the werewolf aspect of the film let it down.

Very slow movie. Nothing much happens in first half. Doesn't seem to go anywhere. Just a waste of time. Don't think I will see it all.

Snooze fest, so boring

Watched all the way through despite the filmmaking seeming terrible. The overall plot was ok, but the loads of silence and weird noises put me off.

This just doesn’t work. The film has no slow burn and you need at least a bit of that to create momentum. This film launches into the horribleness right from the beginning. Misery from the beginning. No light and shade that is substantial in order to save it from mediocrity. It tries too hard.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Beast Within, but it surprised me in the best way. It’s a slow burn, but the tension builds beautifully, and Kit Harington delivers a powerful performance. The film's atmosphere pulled me in completely, and I found myself thinking about its ending long after the credits rolled. It's the kind of horror that creeps under your skin and stays there.

The storyline was flat and failed to deliver a great plot.