It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a good werewolf movie, and while The Beast Within may not be destined to be a classic, it has more up its sleeve than a pair of hairy claws.

Full Review | Jun 5, 2025

What we end up with is an almost entirely forgettable werewolf outing that had something it wanted to say, but was entirely too late to do it.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Oct 21, 2024

... a film that grows on you as you are watching it.

Full Review | Sep 14, 2024

The Beast Within is a deeply distressing portrayal of generational trauma through the eyes of Little Red Riding Hood.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Sep 3, 2024

At its heart, this patient and measured horror thriller has human interests that stretch well beyond genre. Father-daughter relationships, loss of innocence, and generational trauma are just some of the thematic through-lines.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 20, 2024

A clunky and irritatingly dull domestic abuse drama masquerading as a werewolf film, The Beast Within is too unsophisticated in its approach and ultimately insincere in its explorations of trauma.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Aug 7, 2024

Though chillingly atmospheric, there's not much of a story.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Aug 6, 2024

Lycanthropy as a family secret.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Aug 5, 2024

It's certainly possible to pull off a fresh take on the werewolf formula, but this movie doesn't quite make it; it's atmospheric, to be sure but also slow-paced and lacking in surprises or scares.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 1, 2024

There are so many issues in orbit around domestic violence–the danger of staying, the danger of running, the way violence might pass on generationally–that are portrayed without due consideration...

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Jul 31, 2024

The Beast Within isn’t a terrible film, but sadly it is not a particularly great one either, so ham-fisted is its approach to its central themes.

Full Review | Jul 30, 2024

The Beast Within yearns to be more than a small-scale monster horror flick, desiring to explore challenging, interesting ideas about identity, family, and even free will.

Full Review | Original Score: 5.5/10 | Jul 30, 2024

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Jul 29, 2024

Kit Harington reviles as a monster inside and out in a poorly executed allegory of domestic abuse. The Beast Within's double entendre has poetic intent but doesn't fill the common sense void in a flawed narrative.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jul 29, 2024

If you excised the film’s brief prologue and the film’s final few minutes, you’d have a straightforward, reasonably powerful family melodrama. Which reminds us what a problem it is that this is supposed to be a horror movie.

Full Review | Jul 28, 2024

The film prioritizes an unsettling ambiance and strong performances over a high body count and full-on creature reveal. It’s worthwhile if you enjoy a slow burn but may leave those hankering for straightforward bloody horror hungry and drooling for more.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 26, 2024

The polished craft contributions and solid cast help to round out a tight production package. But it’s one built around a concept that doesn’t entirely work in the end.

Full Review | Jul 26, 2024

The actual ideas that might lift this above ordinary genre fare fall short, while the vivid tension and anxious character identification needed to excel on a humbler plane never quite arrive.

Full Review | Jul 26, 2024

There’s no sense of life being lived within the world of the film, which is indicated by a general refusal to shade in any details about the environment or even the characters beyond their scene-by-scene purpose.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Jul 26, 2024

This slow-burning British psychological thriller struggles to build consistent suspense to match its atmospheric visuals.

Full Review | Jul 26, 2024