Horror Movie Review: The Beast of Walton St. (2024)

Directed by Dusty Austen, who also co-wrote the story with Athena Murzda, The Beast of Walton St. is a werewolf horror film set around the festive period with potent underlying messages about how the homeless are treated and how little value human life has to those in positions of power.

It’s not an original idea, just look at something like the Street Trash remake, but Dusty Austen does a good job of showing just how hopeless it can be for so many and how numerous people disappearing/being found ripped apart means nothing because they are on the fringes of society.

Two such people are Athena Murzda’s Constance and Mia Jones’ Percy aka Sketch, two best friends squatting in a disused car repair ship, where they survive stealing what they need. Or at least Constance does, as Sketch has long-term health problems and needs regular medication. Getting hold of this, let alone their next meal, is hard enough, but the two women make the best of their crappy situation.

That is until the local homeless spot (a large dumpster in an alley on Walton St.) becomes the chomping ground for a big beast. There’s a werewolf on the prowl and nobody cares, except Constance and Sketch, but will they be able to put a stop to its rampage?

There’s a good film hiding here, but unfortunately, what we get is something that can be summarised as disappointing. Disappointing because of a number of reasons, with the most prevalent being the pacing, which is awful. It’s not that the film is boring, per se, as the two lead characters are likable and the actors have chemistry, but nothing really happens and when it does, it almost always has a jarring tone that feels at odds with the film’s ‘tongue in cheek’ vibe.

It’s such an issue that it is easy to forget that this is even a werewolf film, let alone a horror film. Especially when the focus turns to Constance trying to find her ex and win her back. It simply doesn’t matter and the film’s writing isn’t strong enough to make this something anyone will care about.

Unfortunately, the lack of werewolf related content inevitably hurts the film’s messages too. It’s not easy to stay engaged when you’re bored.

The film does have positives though, one of which being the werewolf and the associated violence around it. The creature looks decent and is hidden from sight well enough to avoid the bad aspects of the visuals showing up. The gore is suitably nasty, and the film isn’t shy with killing off important characters (one which is done in quite a harrowing scene). Alongside that, although Christmas is only the backdrop, the film’s wintery setting makes the whole thing feel suitably cold and bleak.

Hopefully it’s clear that I wanted to like The Beast of Walton St. but, sadly, it simply doesn’t live up to its potential.