The Beast Must Die (1974)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Paul Annett

Writers:

Michael Winder (screenplay) and
James Blish (story)

Release Date:

April 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Action | Mystery

Tagline:

One of these eight people will turn into a werewolf. Can you guess who it is when we stop the film for the WEREWOLF BREAK? See it ... solve it ... but don't tell!

Plot:

Eight people are shrouded with the mystery behind the werewolf, and only one of them is! It's up to the viewer to find out!

Plot Keywords:

Werewolf | Guest | Hunt | Surveillance | Helicopter

Cast

Calvin Lockhart	...	Tom Newcliffe
Peter Cushing	...	Dr. Christopher Lundgren
Marlene Clark	...	Caroline Newcliffe
Anton Diffring	...	Pavel
Charles Gray	...	Arthur Bennington
Ciaran Madden	...	Davina Gilmore
Tom Chadbon	...	Paul Foote
Michael Gambon	...	Jan Jarmokowski
Sam Mansary	...	Butler
Andrew Lodge	...	Pilot
Eric Carte	...	2nd Hunter
Carl Bohen	...	1st Hunter

Also Known As:

Black Werewolf (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Amicus Productions

Trivia:

This is the first movie in which a dog actually tackles and fights a werewolf. The more famous example is Eric Red's Bad Moon (1996), but this is the first. Sadly, the dog-character dies; the actual dog lived a long life, happily.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Directing the Beast (2003) (V)

Enjoyable high camp werewolf mystery....

Amicus are a studio most famous for putting out horror anthologies; but they did a couple of feature length horror films, mostly with mixed results. The Beast Must Die could easily be described as a mixed result all by itself. On the one hand, it's based on a fun premise, which does a great job of getting the audience involved in the film; yet it doesn't quite work. The werewolf sub-genre is full of failures, but this film can't quite be considered such because it's not really a werewolf film. The werewolf plot is only in the film to tie it to the horror genre, which Amicus had so much success with; and the real point of the film is the mystery. In the style of the great William Castle film, 'The Tingler' - The Beast Must Die talks to it's audience, and actively involves them in the search for the wolf. The plot follows a hunter who invites six guests to his country mansion on the basis that one of them is a werewolf. The full moon cycle lasts for three days, and our hero vows to find out which one is the werewolf, and kill that person, before the three days are up...

The Beast Must Die profits from its cast. Headed by Peter Cushing (who dons a very silly accent), The Beast Must Die benefits from a stellar English cast including Anton Diffring, Michael Gambon and Calvin Lockhart (who's actually from the Bahamas) in the lead role. The film is high camp throughout, and director Paul Annett does a good job of ensuring that The Beast Must Die never becomes too serious. The mystery itself takes the lead over the horror element, but that's not a problem because going into this film, you really should be expecting a mystery thriller, not essentially a horror flick. The film is a long way from being a perfect piece of camp, however, as it gets a little too boring at times; and the fact that there isn't a lot of wolf will no doubt annoy certain viewers. The mystery isn't exactly brilliant either, but by the end - it really could have been anyone, making the 'guess the werewolf' game fun; but a bit pointless, as the rest of the film hasn't narrowed it down. I enjoyed this film a lot; but wouldn't recommend going out of one's way to find it.