The Beast Of Bray Road (2005) Movie Review
The Beast Of Bray Road (2005) Movie Review
The Beast of Bray Road, 2005
Tubi, Widescreen
This has been on my “to watch list” for a long while- roughly 15 years. Since I’m an OG werewolf/dogman/beast of Bray road fan… I knew about this movie before it even came out in 2005. It happens to be based on the book “The Beast of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin’s Werewolf ”, which is a non-fiction book by reporter Linda Godfrey, about a series of sightings in Elkhorn, Wisconsin of a werewolf-like creature. I originally heard Linda Godfrey interviewed by Ian Punnett sometime back in the early 2000’s, so I really have no idea why it’s taken me this long to see this movie.
Immediately, the production values are a little better than I had expected. More on this a bit later, but that’s obviously a pleasant surprise. Also… this is an Asylum production?! Interesting… I suppose in 2005, this must have been one of their first films? Not sure on that… but it’s interesting. As the film progresses, you can certainly see the “Asylum” style everywhere you look, but it’s still somehow… different. Better. More of a sincere effort, instead of (as one can assume), an entire cast and crew knowing they signed on for a turn-and-burn production. This feels WAY more like a real movie.
The pacing, writing, plot, and effects are all on point. The attack scenes are violent, quick, and actually very well done. I had to rewind them all, wither to catch them (they’re fast), or just to re-watch and enjoy. Certain little things, like a female in distress running out of frame, immediately followed by a werewolf jumping into the same frame from the side, and giving a menacing look for half a second… look so well done when done right (and they are, here). Little half-second framing and blocking decisions, like that one in the opening forest chase, are kind of a lost art in today’s films. There are other effective “horror” shots and sequences in this movie that, although could be critiqued as “cliche”, are still a lot of fun, and are often overlooked toady.
The acting, is still a bit “Asylum” in tone. Meaning, that some of the dialogue still has that cable-TV vibe. Not that this is terrible, and for what it’s worth, even that feels more sincere and less phoned in than more recent Asylum films.
Perhaps because this film is essentially based on a true story (and VERY loosely based… I don’t think anyone died in the real Bray Road incidents), that it let’s the film makers produce a better horror movie. It kind of feels like that, here. The physical effects are well done here. Not “Dog Soldiers” by any means, but definitely effective and unique enough to be scary. A lot better than more modern “werewolf/sasquatch” costumes, for sure. Not sure if that’s entirely a function of budget, or if this movie’s costume department was just that much better. The glowing green eyes are a really nice touch.
Speaking of that, it’s probably worth mentioning that I’m watching this directly on the heels of “Squeal”, and it’s and interesting comparison. Both movies are likely similar in budget, and even if not, they’re decently representative of small budget horror films now and 15 years ago. As I’ve suspected, it’s not had to see that “Beast of Bray Road” utterly spanks “”Squeal”, and newer horror films in general.
I’ll have to watch a few newer, promising Asylum productions, and see if perhaps I’ve been missing some good films. I suspect that this is a product of it’s times, however disappointing that might be. It could also have to do with modern films from the Asylum being primarily edited for TV, while this is very much an “R” rated cut.
Enough about the state of film making on 2020… I’m supposed to be reviewing a werewolf movie here. Well, fuck me running. There could be a little more “werewolfism” in this movie, although the side plot and dialogue scenes really aren’t that bad, and do serve to advance the story. You know, “werewolfisn” isn’t even accurate here, since we’re actually dealing with a cryptid. For those unclear on the difference, a dogman is basically a full-time werewolf. There is no transformation or human form. It’s a (cryptid) creature that is born and dies as an upright, bipedal, wolf-like humanoid. So basically a werewolf that is always in wolf mode, always ready to fuck things up.
We have boobies! Another artifact of a 15 year old film? So sad if that’s really the case.
Oh wow. Much horror. Amputations. Screaming. Biting. Chasing. Clawing the prey down to the ground. Growls of the werewolf. Drunk girls. LOTS of trashy-cute chicks. Damn, there’s a lot to dig about this movie. We even have a pro 2A gun scene. It’s actually kind of sad that they don’t put this much care and effort into low-budget horror nowadays.
3.5/5