They don’t make too many werewolf-themed Skinamax movies. The only ones I can think of are Meridian and Tomb of the Werewolf. Knowing that they are such a precious commodity, you have to watch these things when you can, even if the results are usually uneven. Such is the case with The Beast Inside Her.
Tara (Jenna Bodner) is an American who returns to her ancestral estate in Wales after the death of her father. One night, she finds a naked girl in the wine cellar who curses her with a low-grade strain of lycanthropy. Soon after, Tara begins developing superhuman reflexes and an insatiable appetite (both for food and for sex). Slowly but surely, she gives into her newfound animal instincts.
The Beast Inside Her is an odd, but not entirely engaging amalgam of traditional gothic horror flick and ‘90s erotic thriller. While there are some atmospheric moments to be found (like the impromptu photo shoot in a cave), the film never truly embraces its horror elements, which will probably leave most horror fans a bit unsatisfied. Luckily, the generous helping of Skinamax scenes and gratuitous nudity helps to alleviate the boredom during some of the clunkier passages.
Despite its many shortcomings, the movie has what has to be one of the most jaw-droppingly weird werewolf curse scenes in horror history. In most werewolf flicks, the werewolf bites you and you become a werewolf. End of story. Here, when Bodner encounters the naked wolf girl, a giant ball of light shoots out of her, chases Jenna around her wine cellar, rips off all her clothes, and enters her. You don’t see shit like that every day, that’s for sure.
The subplot about Bodner’s childhood friends trying to fleece her of her family fortune kind of feels padded out. The complete non-ending/set-up for a sequel is rather underwhelming too. Another problem is the fact that Bodner never becomes wolfy enough to label this as an out-and-out werewolf flick. Her eyes turn black, she sprouts fangs, and runs around on all fours, but that’s about it. (The werewolf scenes mostly seem inspired by Mike Nichols’ Wolf.)
On the plus side, Bodner is quite good, especially during her many nude and sex scenes. She’s equally fine when she begins embracing her newfound animalistic powers. If only the movie truly embraced its animal nature, The Beast Inside Her could’ve been a howling good time.
AKA: Huntress: Spirit of the Night. AKA: Spirit of the Night.
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