Game of Throne Star’s Underrated Monster Movie Just Returned To Streaming (& It’s Better Than You Remember)

November 2, 2025, 1:00pm

Game of Thrones made household names out of its great cast, many of whom have gone on to have successful careers long after the HBO series wrapped. Three years after he left Westeros for good, Jon Snow actor Kit Harington starred in an underrated monster movie that just returned to streaming. The film was a commercial and critical flop but is definitely better than it was originally given credit for.

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We’re talking about The Beast Within, director Alexander J. Farrell’s 2024 mystery horror-thriller film that is not to be confused with the 1982 werewolf movie of the same name. The movie joined Prime Video’s streaming lineup on November 1st and centers around 10-year-old Willow, who lives in a secluded, fortified compound with her parents. After following her parents on one of their secret late-night treks to the heart of an ancient forest and witnessing her father, Harington’s Noah, undergo a terrible transformation, she begins to unravel the ancient, ancestral curse that plagues her family.

The Beast Within Is a Different Kind of Werewolf Movie

The Beast Within is far from the first film to tackle the werewolf narrative, and it won’t be the last, but it absolutely stands out in the genre. Without revealing too much, the movie uses the werewolf trope as a metaphor to explore themes of generational trauma and domestic abuse, as seen through the eyes of a child, becoming a story that is more about psychological impact than straightforward monster movie.

Whether the choice to mask a grim family drama behind the guise of a traditional creature feature worked is up for debate. The Beast Within was met with mixed reviews from critics and audiences, holding rotten ratings of 40% and 47% on Rotten Tomatoes. Some found the movie to be lackluster or disappointing when going in expecting the action and gore of a monster film, and critics felt the story was not developed enough and the film suffered from pacing issues.

But the movie is still worth a watch and just may be better on a second viewing with a better expectation of what the film actually is. More than just subverting creature feature tropes and bringing a more emotional impact to a genre that usually relies on monster action, The Beast Within excels at atmosphere and suspense, using the isolated setting and haunting sound design to create a feeling of dread and isolation. The movie also features great performances, particularly from Springall, and features creative and realistic practical effects.