The Beast Within (1982)

In the beginning of the movie you see a woman getting raped by a man-creature of some sort. The movie takes place years later when the child that was a result of that rape is on the rampage... See full summary »

Director:

Philippe Mora

Writers:

Tom Holland (screen story and screenplay), Edward Levy (novel)

Stars:

Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ronny Cox	...	Eli MacCleary
Bibi Besch	...	Caroline MacCleary
Paul Clemens	...	Michael MacCleary
Don Gordon	...	Judge Curwin
R.G. Armstrong	...	Doc Schoonmaker
Katherine Moffat	...	Amanda Platt (as Kitty Moffat)
L.Q. Jones	...	Sheriff Pool
Logan Ramsey	...	Edwin Curwin
John Dennis Johnston	...	Horace Platt
Ron Soble	...	Tom Laws
Luke Askew	...	Dexter Ward
Meshach Taylor	...	Deputy Herbert
Boyce Holleman	...	Doc Odom
Natalie Nolan Howard	...	Court Clerk
Malcolm McMillin	...	Gas Station Attendant

Storyline

In the beginning of the movie you see a woman getting raped by a man-creature of some sort. The movie takes place years later when the child that was a result of that rape is on the rampage looking for a girl to rape to start the process all over again.

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Plot Keywords:

rape | interspecies sex | small town | female pubic hair | bestiality | 

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Taglines:

Kill me, please kill me... before it's too late.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Studio

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 February 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

A bennemlakó szörnyeteg

Filming Locations:

Bolton, Mississippi, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$1,400,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Katzka

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The translation into English of the German title is "The Angel Face: Three Nights of Horror."

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Goofs

Even after Amanda puts her bra on twice before leaving the house, when she is raped later on in the movie, she has no bra on at all.

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Connections

Referenced in Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006)

User Reviews

This trashy horror movie often delivers the goods to please the horror audiences.

Eli MacCleary (Ronny Cox) and his wife Caroline (The late Bibi Besch) are on they way to their honeymoon until Eli misses the detour route, he was supposed to take and find himself stuck on the road. When Eli leaves his wife to wait in the car for help. Then moments later... Caroline finds herself raped by a strange creature and her husband finds her barely alive in the woods. Now 17 years later has passed... now their only son Michael (Paul Clemens) finds himself having strange vivid nightmares and the doctors thinks that he might die young for his age. Eli and his wife thinks that if they could find the cure of his sickness. Since Caroline had the rapist's child. they decided to investigate in the small town of the state of Mississippi. Where she was brutally raped near that small town. Eli and his wife are trying to find the man, who raped her 17 years ago. But some of the town's citizens are keeping their mouth shut from these strangers. When Michael wakes up from his sleep at the hospital and he finds himself being called by a voice in his dream, a strange mysterious man who's been trapped in the cellar of a old house. Now Michael is actually carrying out the revenge of this "voice" he hears in his head, who was tortured by the corrupted citizens of this small town. But Michael is slowly changing to a monster himself and there's no turning back.

Directed by Phillipe Mora (Howling 2 & 3, Communion, Mad Dog Morgan) made an entertaining if graphic horror film with plenty of shocks and gore. A surprisingly good cast keeps this movie from being completely silly like Don Gordon, R.G. Armstrong, L.Q. Jones, Luke Askew and Meschach Taylor. Which this fine cast keeps it together. Although the interesting premise doesn't always make perfect sense and at times, the film is a bit incoherent as well. Although the novel, which it was written by Edward Levy probably made much more sense. But it's hardly matters since it was made to please the Die-Hard Horror Fans of the early 1980's and it's quite suspenseful at times also. The highlight of this film is the transformation of Michael, which it's still look good after all these years. The creature effects might be cheap-looking at times but overall it's quite effective. On the technical side of film-making, the strong music score by the late Les Baxter and the terrific cinematography of the late Jack L. Richard (Which the film looks great in Widescreen) are the plus side of the forgotten movie. It's not as clever or imaginative as you would like (Especially towards the last act could have been better and it's quite a mess in its storytelling). But it's fun enough for the horror fans, who grows up watching these kind of pictures. Certainly worth a look and not for all tastes. Tom Holland (Child's Play, Fright Night, Thinner) wrote the screenplay this flawed horror effort. One of the producers is Harvey Bernhard (The Omen Series, The Goonies, The Lost Boys). Panavision. (*** ½/*****).