We Didn’t Hear You

Delivery: The Beast Within Review

Delivery: The Beast Within

Recently I posted my review of the made-for-TV miniseries remake of Rosemary’s Baby. Now I’m back, reviewing a horror film that offers a little bit of a different take on the baby horror genre. Brian Netto’s Delivery: The Beast Within provides just enough creativity to allow it to break free from the pack and prevent it from being “just another found footage film.”

Synopsis:
Delivery tells the story of Kyle and Rachel Massy, a young couple who agree to document their first pregnancy for a family oriented reality show. The production spirals out-of-control after the cameras capture a series of unexplained events, leading Rachel to believe that a malevolent spirit has possessed their unborn child.

Presented as clips from a reality television show, interviews, unedited ‘behind-the-scenes’ footage, and the typical planted cameras, Delivery utilized the found footage formula in an original and innovative way. Instead of just having the couple, Kyle and Rachel, film their own experiences during their 9 month pregnancy with a shaky handheld camera, incorporating the other techniques that I mentioned really allowed this film to break the mold and bring new life to a sub-genre that is being used way too much. It’s rather puzzling to me why this film didn’t make it into theaters, but Devil’s Due, which I always reference in my baby horror reviews, managed to squeeze its way into theaters everywhere. The subject matter is shockingly similar, while I believe Delivery was executed much more successfully than Due. This is the first found footage film that I can recall that actually felt like a documentary!

It wasn’t only the different filming techniques that made The Beast Within stand out above the rest. The casting for this film was outstanding. I don’t envy casting directors and filmmakers for having to sit through hours upon hours of casting calls and auditions, but when you have actors that are this good coming out for your roles, the decision must be pretty simple. Everyone from Laurel Vail and Danny Barclay as Rachel and Kyle, to Rob Cobuzio as Rick, the man behind the reality show cameras, did an amazing job. They played their characters with a sense of authenticity that I have not seen in some time. Everything seemed so natural, as if they weren’t acting at all.

As far as the plot goes, Delivery: The Beast Within isn’t original. We’ve seen it done before, a few times, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch this one. I highly recommend this film for its inventiveness, its creativity, and its desire to do something new. Brian Netto did a great job keeping me enveloped in the story the entire runtime and shocked the hell out of me with the climactic birth and finale. You’ll want to prepare yourself for that final scene because I did not see it coming at all!

Be sure to pick up your copy on DVD and Digital HD from Cinedigm, on September 30. I give this film 3.5 bites of raw meat out of 5.

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