Hitting every cliché, not taking itself seriously in the least, and tossing in some over-the-top gore, Beast of Bray Road is a wickedly entertaining creature feature. No, it's not a classic, just a B-movie done right every step of the way. The quick twist at the end puts a nice cap on things too.
Based on a true tale while using none of the source material, this one revolves around a massively oversized werewolf rampaging through Wisconsin. This is purely a slasher flick, with tons of drunk (and eventually dead) teens, creepy forests, exploitation by the towns leaders, and the standard investigation process by small town cops. It's been done before countless times.
What Bray Road has is witty, sharp dialogue that brings out the absurdity in the entire situation. None of this is to be taken seriously, and discussing a BBQ dinner around the remains of a victim is one way to show it. Thomas Downey and Jeff Denton work flawlessly together when exchanging priceless banter about the situation they're in.
Bray Road's unwanted inhabitant isn't a typical werewolf. Its gargantuan size, masses of muscles, elongated hair, and grisly face give the critter its own unique look. It's a memorable design, hid a little too often by quick cuts and close ups. Mangled bodies get more screen time, and it's a shame. No cheap and phony CGI is present. These effects are done on the cheap, but they're practical and effective.
This all leads to the inevitable: a quick, turn around ending that's all but impossible to see coming. The final 10-minutes are edited together perfectly to maximize the shock, the false deaths, and the eventual destruction of the beast. The latter doesn't come off as planned, shown mostly in cut away to avoid keeping the obvious stunt on screen for any extended period.
Leigh Slawner directs this one, and even bigger surprise given some of his previous disasters like the exploitative King of the Lost World. The actor set in Bray Road is also familiar (and to a lot of Asylum's generally dirt cheap productions), and that could be one of the reasons why this works so well. Expect some campy fun going in with superbly disgusting gore and you'll love this one from opening credits to closing credits.
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