DVD Review: Delivery: The Beast Within

By Brad Henderson

Yay! Another pregnancy devil movie! In the past couple of years these kinds of films are blowing up but they all do the exact same thing. I was a little apprehensive about checking out Delivery: The Beast Within because I’m kind of bored with the routine.

I was pleasantly surprised with the fresh approach the film took in the beginning. It’s a ballsy approach but that’s what is needed with films like this. The first half of the film is a TV show pilot filmed by a documentary crew and the second half is found footage. The first half will catch you off guard because it is odd, but it works well. I wish they would have kept it up longer but on the other hand, I can also see how that setup could get old quickly.

Now, the second half drops the ball and turns into the kind of found footage movie we see all the time, although it is a little different because the film crew is still involved and they incorporate themselves into the story. At this point in the film’s narrative, they are kind of part of the family and are close enough to not be invasive. To claim this film is like the others is a little unfair because Delivery: The Beast Within tries really hard to be unique.

Still, the second half of this movie feels like if Katie and Micah from the Paranormal Activity franchise had a baby. You’d probably still think this even if I hadn’t mentioned it because that franchise has been so successful that everyone thinks they need to copy it to have the same success. Well, I hate to tell all the found footage filmmakers, but that isn’t the case and it won’t happen.

So, is Delivery: The Beast Within worth watching? Yes, it is. Even though it relies on a lot of the paranormal tropes, there are still a few surprises. I also would recommend not blinking towards the very end because the ending is quite horrifying and one of the better moments in the film.

There are found footage films released every week and some are boring, some have great ideas and poor executions, and some are just a great time. Delivery: The Beast Within is a great idea and has an excellent execution in the beginning but falls flat after the first half and becomes the kind of found footage film we are burnt out on.

Every once in a while a found footage film does come along with a scary and new idea and it’s a hit. However, this hardly happens. We need to stop using ghosts and demons to tell a story. There are many other scary things out there that we can use. You can only spin the same story so many times.

Delivery: The Beast Within was released on September 30 by Salient Media.