by Back tonight reviewing the newest film by writer / director Eddie Lengyel known as Byte (2024). If the name sounds familiar it’s because I’ve reviewed several of his films including Sluagh Awakens (2022), The Curse of Lilith Ratchet (2018), Mother Krampus 2: Slay Ride (2018), Voodoo Rising (2016) and Scarred (2013).
Jett (Marshall Vargas), April (Kayden Bryce), Nora (Carlie Allen) and Damon (Stephen Nicholas Knight) are hanging out on Halloween when Jett downloads an app that claims you can gain werewolf powers. *long pause*
It’s not quite that easy… you need to buy some werewolf blood and perform a ritual. OK. Well, it’s Halloween and there’s a full moon, so they give it a go. Apparently he’d ordered the blood a while back cause it shows up almost immediately. Cause… timing.
From here we get a pretty basic werewolf movie with some decent gore effects in a GREAT looking film – one of Eddie’s best looking films to date.
I’m going to copy and paste my “Cleveland” note from a previous Lengyel review cause it’s still spot on:
I’d be remiss to not point out the Cleveland connection here. I’m a Cleveland guy and it’s always nice to see my home town represented in films I’m watching. I love the fact that Eddie features locations in and around the Cleveland area. While I always support indie filmmakers I’ll always go out of my way to support the CLE!
I’m not really a fan of plot recaps these days… so here’s some of my watch through notes:
- The Thing noises are GREAT – NOTE – this was before I saw the werewolf
- This film looks GREAT already just a few min in
- Blood effects not awesome.
- Sound quality not great during converations
- LOVE seeing CLE.
- Haven’t seen the Beast other than in shadows / passing. By design?
- Eddie as Ellis
- In class (teacher Debbie) – “Satanism is the fastest grown religion in the US.”?!?!?
- Jett in the bathroom… changing due to full moon.
- Two guys walk out of bar… get attacked.
- April goes to Jett’s house. Sees his cat’s skull. Tells him he should see a doctor? WTF. Doesn’t flip out?
- Film LOOKS really good.
- These people are sort of stupid…
- Debbie gets killed. Going in the front door vs. garge? Come on…
- WHY DOES NO ONE FREAK OUT WHEN THEY SEE A WEREWOLF???
- Last line of the film… “God bless America… we are under attack”
Byte (2024) – Thoughts and Recommendation
This is a great looking film by Eddie. His best yet I believe. Ironically I think I said that the last time I watched one of his films, so he’s definitely on an upward trajectory. The wolf design here is good, though I wish we got to see it a bit more and I really would have liked a transformation scene. I know… those are tough to pull off on a tight budget. But hey, this horror geek can dream right?
The plot is unique enough to hold your attention and the effects, while low budget, don’t look ‘cheap’. There’s some really bad character choices made here and some even worse line delivery on occasion but it’s an enjoyable enough ride to let it slide (though just barely sometimes). This isn’t the greatest werewolf movie I’ve ever seen, but it’s far from the worst. If you’re a fan of the genre and you’re looking for a modern twist I’d say this is worth your time to watch.
Byte (2024) – Trailer
Byte is available to watch for free (with with ads) on Tubi. Though, if I’m being honest, I don’t recall a single ad during my viewing. You can check the film’s Facebook page or www.millmanproductions.com for more information.
Special thanks to Eddie Lengyel for giving me access to his film.
Have you seen Byte? Let us know what you thought in the comments below!
I want the byte app to transform werewolf please.