A group of Georgia college students assigned to rediscover a moment in history go into the woods nearby to investigate the legend of Emily Bunt, the supposed Talbot County werewolf. One of them is Isabella Cruz, a young Latina woman with a mysterious and troubled past. She lives near where Bunt is buried, and reluctantly leads their party off to its location from the land her adopted mother has. Naturally, this turns out to be a horrible idea when a mysterious killer starts to hunt them down while in the woods.
Examples:
- …And That Little Girl Was Me: Isabella tells the others a story of a girl who went camping with her parents, then woke up to find them both horribly murdered, eviscerated by someone or something. The only part that was ever fictional is the girl's later suicide of course. However, in the end Isabella does kill herself stopping her evil adopted mother so even this part comes true.
- An Arm and a Leg: According to the legend Kenny looks up, the Talbot County werewolf lost a paw when a farmer shot it, which became a human hand. Emily Burt, a young local woman, was later revealed to have lost hers at the same time, pegging her as the werewolf.
- Big Bad: Isabella's adopted mother turns out to be the real one. She's a killer and implied to have turned Isabella into one too. As the last Burt, she's stated to be carrying on a legacy since Emily Bunt, who's been identified in legend as a murderous werewolf (whether real or not is unclear).
- Designated Girl Fight: The ending has Isabella fight her evil adopted mother, to let Blake escape. Isabella ends up killing them both.
- Dwindling Party: Six college students enter the forest to investigate the Talbot County werewolf legend. They're all picked off by a killer until only Blake survives.
- Fan Disservice:
- The opening scene shows a fat, average-looking guy who is having vigorous sex with a very good-looking prostitute.
- Isabella, who's very beautiful, is shown bathing in Kenny's blood nude (not explicitly).
- Fanservice Extra: The film opens with a good-looking prostitute and her (unattractive) client having very vigorous sex together.
- Forced into Evil: Isabella turns out to have somehow been adopted by her parents' murderer. It's implied she was then raised to kill. Along with her self-loathing and final heroic act to help Blake escape while taking out her evil adopted mother, it keeps her somewhat sympathetic even after it's revealed she's a serial killer.
- For the Evulz: The killers murder solely for pleasure, and it's also described as addictive.
- I Am a Monster: Isabella basically claims this to Blake at the end, hating herself for being a murderer but admitting she's addicted and indicating she was raised to kill.
- Interrupted Intimacy: The prostitute and her client are having sex at the beginning when they get interrupted by someone attacking.
- Intimate Marks: Isabella has a rather large tattoo right over her buttocks, as seen when she's on her way into the shower.
- Irony: In spite of the film's title and "The Beast is real" tagline, we never actually find out for sure if werewolves exist within its universe.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The legend implies werewolves really exist, and wolves are seen or heard often in the film around when people get killed. At the end, they appear in the company of the killers. However, it's also not shown that they are werewolves, but at least implied that something mystical may be involved even so.
- Mr. Fanservice: Blake and Irving are handsome, muscular young men. Both have lengthy scenes where they take off their shirts.
- Ms. Fanservice: Isabella, played by the lovely Dania Ramirez, spends much of the film wearing a shirt showing frequent sideboob due to a large gap, and no bra. She's also shown naked from the back once while getting into the shower, in a shot that focuses on her bare backside.
- Nobody Poops: Averted. Isabella goes off to pee, and Blake follows her, leading to awkwardness then a suggestive verbal exchange while he looks away as she does her business.
- No Periods, Period: Averted; when the group is taking inventory of their supplies, Blair says she's got Maxi Pads due to it being "her time of the month".
- Parental Abandonment: Isabella lost both her parents to the killer, who brutally slaughtered them. Later it turns out that the killer adopted Isabella too and, it's implied, raised her to kill. She ends up killing her own adopted mother, along with herself, to stop her.
- The Reveal: Isabella, along with her adopted mother, are serial killers.
- Rich Bitch: Blair comes from a very wealthy family and is consistently an asshole to Isabella simply because she's a Latina who works for a living.
- Serial Killer: Isabella turns out to be one, along with her adopted mother. Both of them kill people with some kind of metal claws, making it look like an animal did and furthering the werewolf idea.
- Shirtless Scene: There are multiple lengthy ones with Blake and Irving, who show off their six packs by doing so (with no particular reason for it).
- Slipping a Mickey: Kenny tries to spike Chrissy's Sprite when they're drinking out in the woods. It gets Irving instead though when he mixes up their cups.
- The Stoner: Kenny spends most of the money smoking a joint, but it doesn't seem to affect him.
- Taking You with Me: At the end Isabella (while losing in a fight with her adopted mother) severs the house's gas line, which blows them both away. This insures neither of them can harm anyone else as well.
- Token Minority: Irving, an outspoken black guy who is the only man of color in the group.
- Token Religious Teammate: Isabella, a Latina, is Catholic and prays multiple times, first saying the Hail Mary with her rosary while out in the woods. No other characters are shown to be religious.
- Twofer Token Minority: Isabella, a young Latina woman who's the main character in an otherwise mostly white cast.
