Writer/Director Tom Holland recently broke the news to Fangoria that he is interested in remaking the horror classic The Beast Within. The original film is directed by Philippe Mora and adapted by Holland from a tome penned by Edward Levy. Portions of his script were not feasible to create in 1982 and thus did not make it into the feature. Not seeing his true vision make the transition to the screen has left Holland wanting to take another stab at it and remake the 1982 film for contemporary audiences.
Holland told Fangoria: “Cicadas were a large part of the script I wrote; their 17-year transformation foreshadowed what was happening to Michael [the afflicted young hero played by Paul Clemens]. You couldn’t work with insects then, couldn’t capture what I wrote, but CGI now does make that possible.” In regards to Michael’s transition and the advent of CGI, he said the following: Michael’s transformation should still be old-school, done in-camera. The lure of a remake is to finally be able to do what I originally wrote.”
The 1982 version of The Beast Within concerns the story of Michael, a young man who was born as the result of a rape. When he turns 17, Michael begins to exhibit signs of illness. He learns that the sickness he is experiencing is a precursor to a major physical transformation of which he is about to undergo. The origin of Michael’s transformation traces back to his biological father. He must learn the cause of his condition before it overcomes him.
