A loner and a vet aptly named Luke Wolf (Devin Montgomery) comes back to his hometown unemployed and an alcoholic. On his first night back, after the singer in a bar insults the bartender, we see a gruesome wild animal head with long gnashing carnivorous teeth appear in Luke’s head. Luke is helplessly overcome and proceeds to attack the guy. The only reason the offending singer lives is that others pull Wolf off the attack.
Quizzically, the American flag is wrapped around Wolf/Montgomery in promos and appears throughout the film. This causes us to pause to consider the connection.
The wild animal shows its drooling, long fangs when Luke Wolf is confronted with injustice and danger. Does the violation of moral values provoke within all of us a beast ready for vigilante vengeance? Is that rise to unbeatable, righteous violence an American essence?
The entire film is an ambitious project spearheaded by Devin Montgomery, the writer, director and producer, who also plays the principal character, Luke Wolf. The film is dedicated to Samuel French, also a producer with Montgomery, and the one who portrays the most evil member, Cyrus, of the cast. French, who died from cancer after the film wrapped, is known for his work in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Fear the Walking Dead” and “Texas Rising.” His portrayal of a mean man who brings out the monster in Luke Wolf is chilling.
The antidote to the beast is love, played by Luke’s girlfriend, Lily (Kendall Cavener). When both she and Luke are savagely threatened by Cyrus, you find yourself calling for the beast to appear.
An added feature to the cast is Montgomery’s real-life sister, Daniella Montgomery. He has her portraying Luke Wolf’s sister, who died under unexplained circumstances. She is handicapped and her cameos add a possible clue, aside from Wolf’s service in the army, about his protective nature and rabid passion to stick up for those physically weaker than their attackers.
Daniella has performed at several events for the Down Syndrome Associations and Special Needs choir in Oklahoma. Promo for “Monsters Within” has revealed Devin Montgomery made her the heart and soul of this film. That’s another puzzle piece to the overall meaning of “Monsters Within.”
In this case, I’m wondering what it is. What does the open-fanged monster, the American flag, vigilante justice, and his handicapped sister tell us? That there are times when everything that the American flag stands for, like liberty and justice, must allow for individual vengeance?
“Monsters Within” has layers of meaning and the audience may participate in figuring it all out.
Credits
Written, directed, produced, and stars Devin Montgomery
Executive Producers: Kathy and Curtis Gardner, Matthew Helderman, Nikki Stier Justice, and Luke Taylor
Producers: Devin Montgomery and Samuel French
Cast: Devin Montgomery, Kendall Cavener, Skeeta Jenkins, Daniella Montgomery, Brandon Stewart, and Samuel French.
Director of Photography: Brandon Stewart
Genre: Thriller, Horror, Drama and Romance
Website: https://www.monsterswithinmovie.com
Released: On digital platforms Oct. 3, 2025 and premiere on Cineverse’s Screambox on Nov.7, 2025
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