Leigh Scott's "The Beast of Bray Road," released in 2005, is a very loose telling of the legendary "dogman" of SE Wisconsin. In reality, the beast has only been sighted and has never killed anyone. In the film, however, numerous people bite the dust in extremely gory scenes, heads getting torn off, the beast eating their innards, etc.In the beginning it's unclear what type of beast the "dogman" is, is it a bigfoot? A werewolf? A cryptozoologist appears and helps the police pinpoint the probable nature of the creature.POSITIVES: I liked the main protagonists, the police chief (Jeff Denton), the cryptozoologist, the beautiful bartender Kelly (Sarah Lieving) and the other police personnel.The story is generally compelling and moves right along.The killer creature looks excellent and you get quite a few good looks at it; no CGI.The story turns out to be a mystery. The beast may be a human being that transforms into the bloodthirsty creature. If so, who is it? If you've seen films like "The Howling V: The Rebirth" you know what to look for.NEGATIVES: Although the story takes place near Elkhorn & Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, the film was shot in friggin' California, near Los Angeles, likely to keep expenses down; they did fine, however, making sure the scenery didn't look too much like typical Southern California. It sorta passes for SE Wisconsin, I guess.The film is filled with gorgeous women from beginning to end but Mr. Scott fumbles the ball and doesn't truly take advantage (and I'm not talking about top nudity or sex scenes at all; the film has some of both). Scott does much better in this area in 2008's "Flu Birds" and 2009's "The Dunwich Horror." Until the last act the film has a we're-not-taking-this-too-seriously vibe. It wasn't so bad to ruin the horror experience, but it was there. This is a minor cavil, however; all-in-all the filmmakers did a decent job balancing camp with serious horror.Every Wisconsin yokel, male or female, is portrayed as a hip, dour, alcohol-guzzling sex-fiend.BOTTOM LINE: "The Beast of Bray Road" is a worthwhile killer beast flick but contains enough negative elements to prevent it from being truly good. The non-CGI monster looks great, however, and is worth the price of admission, not to mention this is a must if you're a gorehound (I'm not; I can take gore or leave it; all I care about is that the story & cast be interesting and entertaining).The film runs 80 minutes.GRADE: Borderline C+ or B-

The Beast of Bray Road is certainly not an A-List picture, and to put it mildly it is very rough around the edges. The budget must have been extremely low, production values are negligible, and while there is a legend in Wisconsin concerning what may be a "real" beast of Bray Road, the film's claim to be based on a true story is plainly a gross exaggeration. On top of all that, the script populates the small town that is its setting with hardly anybody but unlikeable rednecks, the worst sort of white trash that you're often only too happy to see get torn limb from limb by the ravenous werewolf.But despite it all, I had a lot of fun watching The Beast of Bray Road last night, so much so that it probably won't be too long before I watch it again. The story itself is built on a reliable formula, that of a small town beset by an unidentified monster which just might be something supernatural. Foruntately, our small cadre of heroes are more likable than most of the supporting characters. The protagonist is a local cop, but even so he's from the Big City and the locals mostly see him as an outsider not to be trusted. As our hero slowly puts the pieces together, he gradually comes to the realization that the predator he's looking for may spend most of its time hiding in plain sight as one of the townsfolk he's sworn to protect--even if they hate him for it. A cryptozoologist, drawn by the lure of fame and renown, shows up to lend the esoteric knowledge it takes to track down a werewolf, and aided by the deputy's beautiful almost-girlfriend and the rest of the rather clueless police squad, they put the truth together piece by piece, leading to a climactic hunt for the bloodthirsty monster in the dark of the forest.Yes, this is a b-movie, but so what? It lacks polish and while its tough to ignore the obvious lack of funds, the picture still puts together a suitable atmosphere that, despite its official setting in Wisconsin, could be a small town almost anywhere in the USA. Direction is competent, with some creative shots worked in throughout the movie, and the acting is for the most part more than acceptable. The script does take some bold jumps in logic that require more than a little suspension of disbelief on the viewer's part, but that was okay with me. The werewolf itself is exceptionally well-done, and though we only see it a few times head-on, the eponymous Beast is very fearsome. Despite the low budget, the kills are pretty elaborate and gory, if you're impressed by that sort of thing. The big reveal near the end is quite a surprise, and the climax highly suspenseful.This is a movie that would be pretty easy to pick apart, if you really wanted to. There's no denying its weaknesses, but it also has quite a few strengths. If the cast and crew don't have the tools to make a first-class blockbuster, they make up for it with a remarkable level of enthusiasm and dramatic flair. Together, everyone involved helps to create a story that is entertaining enough to overcome any inherent shortcomings. Thanks to an impressive werewolf, a simple but sound plot, surprisingly good acting, and a nice atmosphere, The Beast of Bray Road adds up to be more than the sum of its low-budget parts.

I actually thought that it was a decent film. I mean it had a couple of good actors, it had good dialog, some gore (a lot of it!) Like the beast climbs on a woman's car, when she gets out, here head is ripped in two. (Very violent) the beginning was good and gory, too. A woman gets out of the car, wanders over two a tree, and is torn in half. (don't know why she got out) Their has a mystery like the plot. (one person is the beast, a main character. Someone you wouldn't expect) The film wasn't boring and wasn't stupid either, so i gave it a ten. I watched it on TV, so I don't know if any of the violence was blocked out. But it did show violence. I recommend this film to a person who like to watch a cheesy b-movie late at night. The film does have suspense, so if you are wandering around at Hollywood video or blockbuster and you go to the horror section and see it on the shelf, you might want to rent it. I think you will think it is a decent asylum film. So i recommend it if you don't see any other movies you want to rent, i recommend you get it.

Where are the parents who gave birth to these imbicles? Probably all dead from busted livers and car accidents? With as much sleeping and drinking and "couple action" depicted in this film, one or two itsy bitsy youngsters are bound to pop up sooner or later. It would have been a suspenseful scene if one of these oversexed morons brought the farm defending an infant instead of drinking and throwing themselves at the first attractive body. Where's the out of shape beer bellies by the way? The closest we come is a scene with a truly nasty TV-watching twit complaining about his wife who's taken out by "the beast", well in that scene I felt it was doing me public service. And in the following scene there's no realistic follow up to the loss emphasizing how much a jerk the guy was.I could cover one IMDb page with complaints about this flick if I turn to the depiction of the police so it's best that I stop the rant here.