The Beast Within is a 1982 American supernatural horror film directed by Philippe Mora from a screenplay by Tom Holland, and starring Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, and Don Gordon. Set in a small town in rural Mississippi, the story centers on a couple Eli and Caroline MacCleary's son Michael, who begins exhibiting strange behavior after his 17th birthday. Producer Harvey Bernhard had purchased the rights to the then-unfinished novel based on the title alone. Due to the book not having been finished prior to production, the resulting script bears little resemblance to the source material. Principal photography officially began on February 8, 1981, in and around Jackson, Mississippi and concluded on April 10, 1981. The Beast Within was released theatrically on February 12, 1982, by United Artists, and grossed a total of $7.7 million at the U.S. box office. The film drew criticism from film critics for its depictions of graphic violence and rape, as well as for its amalgamation of horror elements that numerous reviewers felt lacked cohesion; other critics, however, praised it for its tone and style, which was likened to that of the monster movies of the 1950s, as well as for its Southern Gothic atmosphere and themes, which drew comparison to the works of Tennessee Williams.
Plot In 1964 on a rural Mississippi backroad, newlyweds Caroline and Eli MacCleary get stranded. While Eli walks to a service station to retrieve a tow truck, an unseen creature escapes from a nearby cellar before attacking and raping Caroline. Eli and the service station attendant find the brutalized Caroline lying in the forest. As they drive off, two gunshots are heard. Seventeen years later, the MacClearys' son Michael, conceived as a result of Caroline's rape, has become ill. The family returns to Mississippi looking for information about the man who assaulted Caroline, in case Michael's illness is genetic. They learn about the unsolved murder of a mortician named Lionel Curwin, seventeen years prior. The townspeople, including Judge Curwin and newspaper editor Edwin Curwin, refuse to tell them anything. Eli and Caroline ask Sheriff Bill Poole about Lionel's death. Poole tells them Lionel's corpse was found partially eaten. Seemingly possessed, Michael murders and cannibalizes Edwin Curwin. He stumbles to the home of Amanda Platt and collapses. Amanda calls the police, and Michael is taken to the hospital. Doc Schoonmaker tells Michael's parents that he needs rest. Michael goes to Amanda's house to thank her. Amanda tells Michael she is the daughter of Horace Platt, an abusive alcoholic who is Lionel Curwin's cousin. As the teens kiss, Amanda's dog arrives with a decomposed arm bone. They alert the sheriff. Horace arrives and commands Michael to stay away from Amanda. Caroline and Michael return to the hospital, while Eli, Poole, and Schoonmaker search for clues. They uncover a swamp full of human bones with human tooth marks. Schoonmaker thinks one bone belonged to a patient of his who died years ago. The men go to the mortuary and question Dexter Ward, who was Lionel Curwin's apprentice when the woman died. Ward denies that anyone else was buried in her place. After the men leave, Ward calls the judge and demands money in return for silence. He is soon killed by a possessed Michael. At the graveyard, the men discover the woman's coffin is filled with rocks. They return to the mortuary to question Ward but find him dead. Michael, still possessed, finds a man named Tom Laws. Laws converses with the spirit possessing Michael, whom he calls Billy Connors. Assuming direct control of Michael, Connors describes using magic to return as a spirit to punish the Curwin family after his death seventeen years earlier. The next day, the judge tells Poole to investigate the murders. Laws tries to tell Poole that Connors has possessed Michael and is killing people, but Poole dismisses him. Connors kills Laws for talking to Poole. Afraid of his behavior, Michael goes to Amanda and warns her to leave town. While she packs, Connors and Michael struggle to control Michael's body. Michael throws himself from Amanda's window to prevent Connors from killing her. He returns to the hospital and begs to be killed, fearing that Connors will take over and Michael will be unable to stop him. He tells Poole and Eli to go to Lionel Curwin's house and look in the basement. They find a skeleton with a chain wrapped around its leg, which they assume is Connors's remains. At the hospital, Poole, Eli, Caroline, and Schoonmaker witness Michael metamorphose into a monster as Connors takes control and kills Horace. Everyone flees to the police station. Judge Curwin confesses that Lionel was responsible for Connors's death. After discovering Connors was having an affair with his wife, Lionel killed her and imprisoned Connors in his cellar. He fed Connors corpses stolen from the mortuary until one night, Connors metamorphosed into a monster, broke free, and killed Lionel. He raped Caroline in the woods before being shot by Lionel's relatives, apparently returning to the cellar to die. Connors attacks the police station, kills the judge, and is pursued into the forest. He finds Amanda in a broken-down car and rapes her. When Caroline and Eli find him, he attacks Eli, forcing Caroline to shoot him in the head. It is implied that Connors may have impregnated Amanda, continuing the cycle of his resurrection.
Cast
Themes Several film critics have noted the film's Southern Gothic atmosphere and themes, which have been likened to the works of Tennessee Williams. Writer John Kenneth Muir notes that the film touches on themes of social class in the Southern United States, as well as adopting elements of Romeo and Juliet in its depiction of doomed teenagers from different social classes falling in love. Muir also interprets the Michael MacCleary (Paul Clemens)'s monstrous transformation in the film as a metaphor for male puberty and its relationship to male sexuality.
Production
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