What surprised me most about this viewing experience wasn't the gore itself, although it is occasionally just that. Instead, this is brutal in such a way that I didn't believe was possible for a studio film. Paramount Pictures released this in 1982, and contains a few scenes so brutal that you'd possibly mistake this for an Italian 'giallo' horror film. I also fully, fully expected this to be a 'werewolf origin', especially with Director Philippe Mora's career consisting of two 'Howling' sequels, so imagine my surprise when it...wasn't. That's all I'll say about that.
Recognizable faces in this story include Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, and R.G. Armstrong, but I'd say the best performance comes from L.Q. Jones as the small town Mississippi sheriff. His low-key, calming influence in the midst of chaos helped ground the story enough to stay fully engaged. The onus for the story's conflict involves the son of both Cox and Besch's characters- he's deathly ill, with doctors explaining that his pituitary gland is 'going crazy', and they can't seem to identify the problem. The son starts hearing something of a 'telepathic call' to go to a particular location, and after some shenanigans, he's magically healthy. Young Paul Clemens did a commendable job contorting his unique features to indicate a violent bodily process, but admittedly- it's a little cringeworthy.
How is this possible? What did he encounter? Why is his body changing into something...grotesque? The answers to these questions were a wee underwhelming, and the ending was rather abrupt- but saving the film from being forgettable was the aforementioned brutality. It's not a piece of art I'd ever want to see again. Kudos to the production value, tension, and shock value, but if we're being honest, there are at least 10 body horror films I'd recommend before this one.