The Beast Within
United Artists | Release Date: February 12, 1982 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
42
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 5 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
63
Slant MagazineChuck Bowen
An ambitious monster movie that attempts to explore the metaphorical ghosts lingering over the atrocities committed by the residents of a small, noxiously chummy Southern town, and whose collective closets obviously symbolize the troubled historical legacy of the American South at large. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Written by Tom Holland, who would go on to write and direct FRIGHT NIGHT and CHILD'S PLAY, the script does a nice job of translating the awkwardness of adolescence into a horrifying event. Read full review
50
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
There does come a time when Clemens has to get out of his body and get on with being a bigtime monster. Thanks to Thomas R. Burman’s make-up effects, this sequence actually creates chills as the boy’s head bubbles and bursts and his skin pops and stretches. Read full review
40
The New York TimesVincent Canby
Philippe Mora is the director, but the only name really worth noting is that of Tom Burman, who did the frequently grotesque special effects. Read full review
30
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jay Scott
One of the gorier and more witless horror films in recent memory. [19 Apr 1982]
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