The Beast Must Die (1974)

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Admirable film.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Continuing to review werewolf movies in chronological order, we're now at 1974 with The Beast Must Die. A rich man invites his friends over to his home on an island to determine which one of them is the werewolf. I'll stop there and just say while there are some moments that seem illogical, I was mostly entertained through and through. And that "werewolf break" in which the narrator gives us 30 seconds to guess as stills of the characters pass by and a printed clock appears on screen is pure genius though I didn't guess right. Nice performances by lead Calvin Lockhart as well as supporting ones from Charles Gray, Michael Gambon, and horror veteran Peter Cushing, among others. So on that note, The Beast Must Die is worth a look.

Some films need a strong performance to lift them above the mediocrity of their concept and execution. And this films saving grace is in its lead, Mr Lockheart, who gives a great swaggering and charismatic performance pitched at just the right operatic intensity to match the essential absurdity of the premises. Very much a product of its time and place, when traditional horrors were attempting to recast themselves in more modern clothes with elements of then modern culture, car chase scenes, hi-tech and a dash of blaxploitation.Definitely a late night fun movie to enjoy purely on its own merits. Marred mostly by terrible 'Day for Night' effects (a curse of British productions throughout that period) and the cheapest, saddest werewolf ever put on film (it looks like a cuddly family pet) it's otherwise a fun and well acted romp of Hammy Hammer proportions.Just to clear up what seems a plot absurdity; how does Tom know one of his guests is a werewolf?Simply, this film takes place in a world where they exist (the characters seem to accept the basic premise with neither protest nor disbelief) so Tom simply uses both his intelligence and hunters instinct (something repeated and emphasised several times) to round up the most likely candidates knowing that by casting a wide net he will bag his target.Well, that and the script says so.

Some people may have very fond memories of this film and you can perhaps see why . This is the film that's famous - or infamous depending on how you look at it - for "the werewolf break" where the audience are allowed to discuss who they think is the werewolf . First of all can you imagine watching this at the cinema in 1974 and some smart arse shouting out "I saw this last week and it's (Insert character name here ) . Secondly you have to care who the werewolf might be and on first showing I couldn't have cared less . In effect THE BEAST MUST DIE is a whodunit and like every story in that genre there's only any real value in watching this type of story once and that's where this film fails!!!! SUGGESTIVE SPOILERS !!!!! In fact the whole is constructed in to constantly pulling the rug out from under the audience . Take the opening scene where Tom Newcliffe is on the run through some remote forest . Played by Calvin Lockhart Tom is black his pursuers are white and being a 1970s film that can mean only one thing - a modern day lynching but don't jump to conclusions because Tom is a multimillionaire playboy big game hunter type and he's invited a group of people who he believes one is a werewolf . Who is it ? You decide at the werewolf break Another problem is you really don't care about these characters . Lockhart himself is a fairly lousy actor and gives the impression he's playing the role as Peter Wyngarde would while stoned . Peter Cushing sleeps walk through the entire film , Michael Gambon looks like a German porn star and acts accordingly while Tom Chadbon looks like a Swedish gay porn star and acts accordingly while Ciaran Madden doesn't do any acting accordingly or other wise unless it involves screaming . In fact the nest performance comes from the German Shepard dog whose name is probably called Fido and even he can't give a very good performance as a werewolf . Yes that's right the werewolf is actually played bog which is as every bit as unconvincing as the day for night scenes . Who is the werewolf ? Who cares !

This is a fun little film to watch late at night with a girlfriend...It is actually a fairly good "who-done-it" British style, but not all that scary for the most part. With some fine plot twists, and the infamous "werewolf break" added at the end, I enjoyed it a lot...The main things that ruin this movie are...1- the horrible 1970's Techno-funk music...(Now THAT is really horrible!!!), and...2- the idea that a black guy in England would have that many honky friends to invite or that he would have that much money without being a deposed African dictator...All in all, an enjoyable romp with excellent acting from most of the cast...but don't expect too much from it, just sit back and let 'er roll.