[Review] Beast Within Tries Too Hard

In Beast Within, a game company throws a launch party for employees and press for their digital game Werewolves Awaken, which is basically an advanced game of Mafia (aka whatever regional name you’ve played it as). You know that party game where someone’s secretly the killer and each round kills a player, and the others have to guess who it is? In Werewolves Awaken, there’s a secret werewolf killing innocent villagers. I’m pretty sure you can guess what starts to happen at the launch party.

A werewolf whodunnit centered around gamers? The premise sounds awesome, and I was pumped to see that play out on my screen. Too bad the game aspect didn’t really go anywhere and it’s not a true whodunnit after all.

Beast Within wants to be a whodunnit and the characters even act like they’re in a classic whodunnit. The only problem is the story doesn’t follow the rules. It’s like everyone acting like they’re in a romance movie…only no one falls in love. How do murder mysteries work? There’s a murder early on (check), characters try to guess the culprit’s identity (check), there’s red herrings (check) and clues sprinkled around so that on repeat viewings you can see the mystery and motivations as they truly are (no check!). You know going into this that the killer is a werewolf, but the question is who’s the werewolf? I won’t spoil the werewolf’s identity (which I correctly guessed about ten minutes in) but what pissed me off is there’s no motivation. It’s literally character X reveals themself to be the killer because (drum roll) they’re a werewolf and they like to kill. So fine, besides being angry that it’s not a werewolf murder mystery (I’d call it a werewolf slasher, as there’s a high body count), how does the rest of the movie stack up?

Well some of it’s awful and some of it’s fun, so an average of Eh.

We’re introduced to the main cast and setting through an angsty voice over monologue (yeah, never a good sign), by our protagonist, nerdy yet buff yet socially awkward August (Steven Morana). August is the lead programmer for Werewolves Awaken so he’s forced to attend the launch party because company founder Brian Fenris (Art Hindle, Black Christmas (1974), Porky’s) is a bad boy who needs a squeaky-clean shield for the press.

Amongst the partiers, there’s PR guru Remy (Ari Millen, Orphan Black), Conservative Christian lawyer Veronica, her husband, her sister, August’s love interest, August’s goofy mascot buddy, Brian’s reporter ex-girlfriend, Brian’s new girlfriend…you get it. There’s just about one hundred characters in this, or at least it feels like it. Plus side is that means there’s a high body count, even if it’s hard to keep track of just how many people are running around and where. Oh, and I didn’t even mention the criminally underused Colm Feore crashing the launch party as a pissed off priest.

Here's something that bothered me, maybe it won’t bother you, but if you're going to have a computer nerd with social anxiety issues, maybe don't hire a hot stud to play him? Actor Steven Morana does a fine enough job performance wise, and I guess I shouldn't discriminate against hot people? The way the character's written, I don't buy that he goes to the gym three times a week. "How'd you get that great body?" "Just from eating junk food while I code all day…" Riiiiight.

As a werewolf movie, how does it stack up? Decent. The werewolf is offscreen for most of it, so the film sidesteps clunky effects for the most part. There’s a transformation scene that’s done in silhouette that looked pretty cool. The filmmakers clearly did their research, sprinkling names that callback to werewolf lore that’s not in your face, but I appreciate. I will say that I was going to complain that this takes place on October 27th, instead of Halloween night, but then I looked and October 28th, 2019 was a full moon. And often in werewolf lore, the wolf is active during a three-night period surrounding the full moon, so good on them for paying attention to the details.

Ultimately, Beast Within fails because it tries to do too much. There’s so many characters and sub-plots and sub-genres that no single element is allowed to breathe and excel. That said, I’ll watch a movie with too much going on before one with nothing happening. There’s always something happening here, it’s fast, it’s occasionally funny, sometimes gory.

Troy’s Takeaway: In the long ago, before COVID-19, I’d see my best friend Erin a couple times a year. We like to sit on a couch, drinking Moscow Mules or wine and talk while a “bad” movie plays. You know, like Showgirls or Jupiter Ascending. You don’t need to pay attention to the movie, but you joke about it while you’re having a 90-minute conversation about ten different topics. While I was watching Beast Within, I wished I was drinking on Erin’s couch so we could enjoy it together. If you’re looking to sit down with a great werewolf flick or horror mystery, I’d keep looking. But if you want something fast and fun on in the background, this is a fine option. Beast Within is now available on VOD and digital.