THE WOLF MAN (1941), DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1931), the majority of David Cronenberg's films, all deal with man’s fear of losing control of ones body and mind. Reluctantly giving in to a more primal and aggressive nature has been a popular and reoccurring theme throughout cinematic history, especially in the horror and sci-fi genres. With each generation putting their own spin on it, incorporating the political and social issues of their day. Plus, it's an easy and exploitable way to turn a relatable character into a raving mad beast.

Newlyweds Eli and Caroline MacCleary (Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch), while en-route to their honeymoon, have the misfortune of suffering a breakdown late one night, just inside the city limits of Nioba, Mississippi. Having just past a gas station a few miles back, Eli leaves his new bride and their dog, Thor, in the disabled vehicle, while he doubles back up the night road to retrieve a tow truck. Locked in the stranded car, Thor's insistent barking begins to wear thin on Caroline, so she reluctantly unlocks and opens the passenger side door. Thor immediately darts out of the car and runs into a near by swamp, followed close behind by Caroline. Moments after Thor's repetitive barking come to a yelping halt, Caroline stumbles across his body, bloodied and mangled in the leaves. Before she has time to scream, she is accosted and raped by a creature that has been lurking in the swamp near the road. Seventeen years later, Eli and Caroline’s son, Michael (Paul Clemens) is in the hospital with a condition that doctors are having a hard time explaining. His pituitary gland is growing in such an unexplainable and rapid rate that his doctor referrers to his condition as "an occult malignancy in his system".

With tests and medical history ruling out both Caroline and Eli of having passed down such a rare condition, they decide to do what is in their son's best interest, and return to Nioba to search for Michael's biological father. Their first day back, proves to be frustrating as few of Nioba's locals are willing to share more that friendly hello with the couple. While digging through back issues of the local paper, Carolina comes across an article about the murder of a local man, Lionel Curwin, which coincides with her past assault. After a brief discussion with the town's sheriff, Bill Pool (L.Q. Jones), they learn that Lionel’s demise could have been due to an encountered with the same creature that attacked Caroline. Returning to their motel room for the night, the couple receives word that their son has also returned to the small town. Drawn to specific locations and residents of Nioba, Michael’s arrival brings trouble and misfortune to the small town, as the chemical imbalance raging inside may lead him to follow in his dear ol’ dad’s bloody footsteps.

Based on the novel by Edward Levy, THE BEAST WITHIN is often referred to as a typical werewolf picture. Released in 1982, one year after John Landis' AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON award winning special effects won over audiences, it is easy to see why, as both films feature striking and memorable scenes of men transforming into creatures of animalistic impulse and destruction. While THE BEAST WITHIN does have its share of full moon imagery and primitive inner conflict, some of its strongest scenes revolve around the residences of the small Mississippi town. An effective and impressive cast of character actors portray the towns eccentric and peculiar individuals, many of whom are hiding secrets they would prefer remain buried. An eerie and haunting score by Les Baxter helps to elevate the films tension, accompanied by an impressive sounds design that incorporates many of the sounds found naturally in the south, such as the screeching of cicadas. THE BEAST WITHIN is an effective, entertaining and somewhat exploitative blend of sci-fi and horror elements that are most often associated with werewolf pictures. Sadly, the same level of enjoyment can not be associated with the disc’s second bill, THE BAT PEOPLE, found on the flip side.

John and Cathy Beck (Stewart Moss and Marianne McAndrew) are enjoying an outdoor picnic, when their causal lunch is interrupted by an unwanted visitor crawling across their flannel blanket, a bat. Cathy finds the winged mammal repulsive, while John, being an immunologist, is fascinated with the creature. After John shoos the bat away, Cathy suggests that they alter their itinerary and head straight for the ski slopes, bypassing their scheduled tour of the local caves. John reluctantly agrees, as their time together is supposed to be their long overdue honeymoon, but Cathy, aware of how much John was looking forward to visiting the caves, relents and the couple make their way to the caverns. Once inside, Cathy begins to feel frisky, so the two break away from the group and stray from the tour path to find a comfortable stalagmite to fornicate on. Before their petting gets very heavy, the two slide down a rock wall into a small enclave, whose floor is covered in bugs and various other creepy crawlies. The two scream for help, but their tour group has already proceeded on. As the couple try and figure a way out of their predicament they are attacked from above by a rather aggressive bat. John swats the creature away from Cathy but in the process is bitten on the forehead. Terrified, Cathy kicks the bat off a cliff, deeper into the cave only to later regret her action, as the bat would have been necessary to check for rabies.

The two are eventually heard and pulled to safety. Not letting a little thing like being bitten on the face by a flying rodent slow them down, the happy couple stays on schedule and makes their was to the ski slopes. However, halfway up the mountain, John’s eyes roll back into is head and he has visions of his running from and being attacked by bats. John comes to, before the gondola reach the mountains peak, but the incident leads Cathy to insist that John start treatment for rabies immediately. John’s initial rabies treatment leads to a violent allergic reaction and worries Cathy into believing that something else might be wrong. Her concerns are not unfounded as John’s behavior becomes more unpredictable and the local police sergeant (Michael Pataki, GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE) favors him as his lead suspect in a series of murders.

Jerry Jameson was a rather prolific television director, having worked on HAWAII FIVE-O, MAGNUM, P.I. and Dr. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN, to name a few. THE BAT PEOPLE, one of his few theatrical outings, could have easily been told in the 44 minutes needed to fill an hour of prime time, but instead was drawn out to over 90 minutes. Unfortunately, the film quickly loses one's interest much sooner than that. The acting here is rather stiff, with the only likeable characters being killed off as quickly as they are introduced. John’s transformation into a Bat-like creature is slow and other than being able to roll his eyes WAY back into his forehead, Stewart Moss does little to portray the inner conflict and confusion of his transformation from man to man-bat. While Marianne McAndrew is rather easy on the eyes, she does little but looked confused throughout the film. Originally released by AIP, THE BAT PEOPLE marks one of the first makeup effects jobs for legendary special effects director Stan Winston. Though his work only appears at the end of the film and is rather disappointing, looking more like a gorilla than a bat, it does illustrate just how far Mr. Winston's skill and craftsmanship have grown.

THE BEAST WITHIN, previously released by MGM as a stand alone title and THE BAT PEOPLE are both presented in anamorphic widescreen, and maintain their original aspect ratio, 2.35:1 and 1.85:1 respectively. Both films being featured on a double sided, single layer disc. Picture quality is respectable, with only some minor ghosting visible during THE BEAST WITHIN. Not a single scratch or grain of dust to be found, however some colors do seem muted, especially noticeable in darker scenes. The audio is very clear, with the English language track presented in Dolby Digital Stereo for both films. A Spanish language track is available in Dolby Digital Stereo for THE BEAST WITHIN, with THE BAT PEOPLE featuring one in mono. Subtitles are available in English Spanish and French for both featured titles.