The Beast Within (1982)

What do you get when a woman is raped by a slimy creature within the opening of a film? You get one big let down where everything is to dark to see! Why is it that in the 80's they thought it was okay to make a slew of Slashers and Monster movies that is to dark to make anything out? Well this one is very dark and even when you think a scene might be cool you cant really see whats happening. The movie has a few scenes that is actually lit well enough to let you enjoy a little bit of gore but it doesn't last for very long. One of the more memorable murder scenes involves some splattery blood mixed with chop-meat-feet-grinding. Almost sounds more like a fetish for some foot pervert but I think the main reason anybody would possibly like The Beast Within is the transformation scene... The camera lingers on a boys face swelling up (with those crazy 80's latex bubbles, that we all love), allowing the Beast Within to escape and reveal its true form. This scene is awesome and beats the transformation's in most werewolf movies. The funny thing is that The Beast Within plays very much like a werewolf movie. You almost expect there to be a crazy transformation scene and its obvious that the director must have had a soft spot in his heart for werewolf flicks because he went on to do The Howling Part 2 and 3 (oh god, remember The Howling Part 3, with the marsupials?). This movie also stars the great Don Gordon (The Mack and Out Of The Blue). He loses his head in a decapitation death scene but his character is kind of lame. Really only worth a watch for a couple of special effects but if you're going to take this one on don't forget your flashlight because you're really going to need it.