THE STORY – 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 CAST – Kit Harington, Ashleigh Cummings, James Cosmo & Caoilinn Springal
THE TEAM – Alexander J. Farrell (Director/Writer) & Greer Taylor Ellison
THE RUNNING TIME – 97 Minutes
Premiering at the Fantasia International Film Festival, Alexander J. Farrell’s “The Beast Within” begins with a proverb: “There are two wolves inside all of us…they are always at war.” This “good wolf” vs “bad wolf” struggle is akin to good vs evil, a thematic element present in almost every story. With a title that mentions a beast and a proverb that speaks of wolves, it’s not hard to figure out what this story will be about, and deciding to open the film with a scene of a woman attacked by her transformed husband makes this even more apparent. But revealing this as a werewolf story so obviously does work to the detriment of the film’s narrative. This wouldn’t be that big of a deal if the film were stronger in most other aspects of its plot, but it makes the baffling decision to ignore the meaning of the very proverb that sets this whole thing up.
In a solitary, decaying mansion surrounded by woods lives a family haunted by the blood-soaked happenings under a full moon. Roughly once a month, although we never feel this much time pass in the film, Willow (Caoilinn Springall) observes her mother Imogen (Ashleigh Cummings) and father Noah (Kit Harington) take a mysterious trip to the forest, only to see her father return covered in blood. Willow walks around her home as though she’s frightened – and the constant secrecy gives her many reasons to be. The secretive whispers between her mother and grandfather (James Cosmo), the person who really shows Willow comfort and protection, causes the child sadness, fear, and anger. This sparks a never-ending list of questions, only made worse when she and her father are kept at a distance. Her mother is captured mentally and physically exhausted, and her daughter’s questions are a frustration. Any distant screech or howl causes a pause of fright and caution, but no one ever wants to address the monstrous elephant in the room. How long can parents keep secrets from their children until they decide to discover the truth on their own, no matter the danger?
This isn’t a horror film that is actively out to terrify its audience, but as it is set near a forest, it gets its spook factor by emphasizing that we never really know what could be lurking in the dark. It excels in creating an uneasy feeling from its setting and production design, with this family’s cooped-up life making you feel like they’re just a bunch of trapped pigs waiting to be slaughtered – and the constant squeals of terrified pigs will get you at your core. Feeling trapped with nowhere to go is especially true for Willow, who is kept in the dark but can’t go very far as she needs an oxygen tank. The why of her maladie is left unsaid, but her heavy breaths add to the suspense and weight of her fear. You really get invested in this story thanks to the talent that is Caoilinn Springall – she steals the show. Despite us knowing what the truth is, and even though it would have been more effective to have us discover the truth along with Willow, it doesn’t damper the overall mystery surrounding why Noah is afflicted with this curse and what will happen to this family in the end. Some questions remain that you want to see through to the answer.
How long can secrets go on within this family before it falls apart? Depending on various factors, family dynamics and how they can change can create some hard-hitting stories. This could have been one of those if it hadn’t forgotten what the story was about in the first place. The characters here are pretty flat, and the saving grace could have been the internal struggle of “good wolf” vs. “bad wolf” that the film promises Noah to go through. You never get any sense that Noah is a good man. In fact, after a tense third act, the film throws in this metaphorical angle that gives you the impression that the werewolf element was just a disguise to throw us off the scent that he’s just an abusive husband and father. This family portrait reveals love on the surface, with Noah showing in moments that he cares for his wife and daughter, but never enough or without the emotional pull required to make this ever seem like an internal battle against evil that a good man is fighting. He’s awful and unlikable, resulting in a hollow film without much to say or accruing any sympathy for the titular beast.
