The Beast of Walton St.
Written and Directed by Dusty Austen
Starring Athena Murzda, Mia Jones, and Aimee-Lynn Chadwick
Unrated
Runtime: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Available on Blu-ray from Scream Team Releasing November 20

by Samantha McLaren, Staff Writer

We’ve had Christmas movies about serial killer snowmen, sinister sentient gingerbread, and murderous mechanical Santas. But if you’re looking for a good old-fashioned werewolf movie with a festive feel, you might want to ask Father Christmas for a copy of The Beast of Walton St., releasing just in time for the holiday season.

Written and directed by Dusty Austen, The Beast of Walton St. centers around the underclass of a chilly Ohio town. Someone—or something—has been stalking and killing homeless people, but the police seem unconcerned. In fact, the city is withdrawing its plans to create affordable housing that would get this vulnerable population off the streets, leaving them at the mercy of this unknown killer.

The opening scene establishes the severity of the danger, with an unhoused man (Tom Novotny) being dragged, screaming, into a dumpster as teeth close around his throat. The editing is effectively frenzied, giving us only the briefest glimpse of the creature and leaving us hungry for more.

This is one of The Beast of Walton St.’s greatest strengths: it knows when and how much of the titular beast to show. Austen and cinematographer Aaron Pagniano make the smart choice to rarely show the creature in full, instead offering a flash of fur, a growling maw blowing hot breath into cold air. When the big reveal does come, Rana Murzda’s practical creature design is impressive for an indie film. Combined with Charles Murzda’s physicality in the suit, the werewolf manages to look both fluffy and menacing, with a bear-like quality that is unusual and interesting.

The beast is indeed mistaken for a bear when it’s first spotted by leads Constance (Athena Murzda) and Sketch (Mia Jones). Making the best of a bad situation, the pair appear to be living in an abandoned, tire-filled garage surrounded by stray cats that Constance feeds.

Constance is quickly established as a rebel with a cause, stealing money from an ATM to buy medication for the dying Sketch. While Sketch’s dialogue is often grating, Constance is a compelling and grounding presence in the film. It’s a shame that we don’t learn too much more about them because this feels like a character rich with backstory. Austen’s script is notable for being refreshingly nonchalant in its presentation of queerness and its willingness to avoid a forced love arc between its leads. Queer friendship is just as worthy of screentime as queer love and there aren’t enough films that recognize that.

After discovering the bloody dumpster that was the site of the opening kill, Constance sets out to investigate and eventually take down the beast terrorizing their community. In some films, the characters’ unwillingness to call the cops during situations like this would seem like an oversight, but The Beast of Walton St. seamlessly makes that route feel like a non-starter. Set against the backdrop of a town obliviously enjoying the holiday season, Austen’s script and the sparse cast help create a world that feels out of sight and out of mind from the supposed protectors, one where the only help available comes from one’s own community.

This all leads to a satisfying and much-needed final fight at the end of a film somewhat light on kills. What we get is bloody and brutal, but a few more body parts flying might have helped keep the sometimes sluggish pacing ticking along.

Overall, though, The Beast of Walton St. is a nice little slice of indie ingenuity. The diverse cast, strong practical effects, and focus on a forgotten population come together to create an enjoyable werewolf movie — and a promising showcase of what Austen and Athena Murzda’s Street Rat Studios is capable of.