“The Beast Within” is a stylish, allegorical werewolf thriller that toys with its mysteries but can never escape the absurdity that clumsy plotting built into it.

Alexander J. Farrell’s British woodslands tale is seen through the eyes of a child. Willow (Caoilinn Springall) lives in a remote highlands compound (actually Yorkshire) with her mother (Ashleigh Cummings of “The Goldfinch”), father (Kit Harington) and grandpa (Harington’s “Game of Thrones” co-star James Cosmo).

It’s a not-quite-idyllic life, with no school and her needing daily doses from an oxygen tank. And every so often, Mum bundles up Dad in a fur rug, stuffs a squealing pig into the Land Rover and heads off deep into the woods for…something.

A prologue tipped us off that this is werewolf country and that we’d be watching a werewolf tale. Free-spirited mother Imogen, who changes into a dress whenever she and Willow skip off to town for supplies, seems unhappy. Grandpa knows this.

Dad? He’s an old school wood-cutter — apparently. “I’m KING of this Forest,” he bellows playfully to his child. But he has his dark side.

“Mummy?”

“Yes sweetheart?”

“Are we SAFE?”

Willow sees Dad’s mood swings. Or does she dream them? They have him naked, in a ruined stone holding pen, transforming into a werewolf, his wife unleashing him on yet another hapless pig.

The allegory laid out here is obvious once you take in the nature of the marriage. But director and co-writer Alexander J. Farrell (“Refugee”) teases us with the supernaturalism of it all.

As we see the parents leave for anothe pig-sacrifice deep into the forest, Willow somehow shows up at the place where they park to witness the horrors Daddy Noah commits. For a minute there, I wondered if Willow was a werewolf. How else could a nine year-old on OXYGEN chase them miles away from the house?

The picture’s haphazard long before the third act botches its allegory and undercuts any hope of rising suspense as it defies all common sense, time and again. Our co-writer/director clutters his plot with red herrings.

He breaks Chekhov’s Gun Principle, taking pains to introduce Grandpa’s gun, then dispensing with it in the silliest fashion possible.

The performances are more effective than affecting, although every player has her or his “moment.” There are interesting ideas thrown in, but they’re bandied about, not really addressed or dealt with.

The finale reaches a somewhat satisfying “werewolf” climax, then staggers into “in case you missed the allegory” explanations.

The result is more frustrating than anything else.

Rating: R, violence, nudity

Cast: Kit Harington, Ashleigh Cummings, James Cosmo and Caoilinn Springall

Credits: Directed by Alexander J. Farrell, scripted by Greer Ellison and Alexander J Farrell. A Well Go USA release.

Running time: 1:37