[.ca] The Beast Must Die

Who's the werewolf?:
By this time British horror was sinking and the companies knew it. It wasn't the companies fault, it was the fact that the market had changed and if they wanted to tread water then they had put a new face on their product. Amicus decided to make a werewolf tale set in modern day and then throw in elements of mystery and add a dash of blackploitation for good measure and here is the result. Calvin Lockhart invited a group of people to his secluded mansion because he is certain that one of them is a werewolf. He has equipped his area with all kinds of monitors and tracking devices and he hopes to flush out the werewolf and kill it. We have plenty of groovy music, a strange bunch of suspects (none of them seem particulary shocked when they are told why they are there) and a few plot twists here and there. The film oftentimes seems very off kilter and uneven, but you still watch because the whole concept is fairly interesting. The film seems a little \olow-budget\c due to the werewolf being a dog with an extra fur coat being the werewolf. Calvin Lockhart tries and he is fair, but having legendary Peter Cushing, steely-eyed Charles Gray and ice cold Anton Differing in the supporting cast really gives this one a boost. Not a great one, but certainly interesting.

agatha christie wit a werewolf thrown in:
THE ROUGH OUTLINE OF THE PLOT IS WHERE A RICH SPORTSMAN INVITES SOME GUESTS WHO ARE ALL UNDER SUSPICION OF BEING A WEREWOLF. A JACKPOT GAMEPRIZE WHO THE SPORTSMAN IS DETERMINED TO CATCH. AS A KID I FOUND THE FILM SPOOKY BUT RECENTLY ALSO FOUND THE FILM ENJOYABLE FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.ALTHOUGH ITS IS A BIT CHEESY I FOUND IT THOROUGHLY ENTERTAINING.THE GROOVY 70S MUSIC AND CHESSY ACTING AMUSED ME.ALSO THERE ARE SPECIFIC SCENES THAT STILL FREAK ME OUT A LITLLE: THE WOLFFACE AT THE INTRO AND THE SCENE WHERE THE RICH HUNTER(CALVIN LOCKHART) IS TRACKING DOWN HIS QUARRY AND THE WEREWOLF JUMPS THROUGH THE SUNROOF AND KILLS HIS ASSISTANT. AS ENTERTAINMENT GOES THE HIGHLIGHTS WERE THE FAMOUS "WEREWOLF BREAK" AND THE HUNTER TOM NEWCLIFFE SHOOTING AWAY AT WHAT LOOKED TO BE A POOR HARMLEES ALSATION FROM DINKY CHOPPER. FOR EASY SIMPLE ENTERTAINMENT I WOULD RATE THIS FILM HIGHLY PROVIDING ITS NOT TO PRICY.

Forgotten gem!:
I first discovered this movie about 15 years ago when it ran on a rainy Saturday afternoon throwaway slot. This isn't a great movie, but it's a great potboiler, where even if you know how it's going to end, you like watching the characters unravel throughout the story. Camp at its best. You don't see movies like this anymore, probably because they don't use self-conscious ironic detachment. The (over)acting must be good enough that the players actually inhabit their roles. Play it straight and it's unwatchable. The effects aren't so special, so it's just as well that the action is implicit rather than graphic. Everything about the film is dated--there's no mistaking the costumes or the music for any era other than the mid 70's. For that matter, the voiceover, the ticking clock and the freeze-frame shots of the characters probably looked dated even when the movie was new. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Later the horror film evolved into the mindless slasher film in the late-70's-early 80's, where the killer was only a setpiece, and then into the 90's, where the ironic, self-aware Scream type picture cannibalized the former genre. So hungry were moviegoers for subtle, sincere horror that they drooled over Blair Witch. It was a valiant effort, the spookfest had all been done better, when films relied on pacing, acting and camera angle to scare the audience instead of gore. It's surprising enough that this film merited a DVD release at all and I was so thankful to find it that I didn't even care about the lack of outtakes and extra comments. The next rainy Saturday afternoon I'm watching this again.

A laugher from start to finish:
If you are looking for a movie to catagorize the poor films of the 70s, here it is. A rediculous plot and poor acting go right with hilarious special affects, including the dog falling through the sun roof and the dude being electracuted by a chain-link fence. It was worth it for me, because me and my friends needed to rent 1 more movie to get a discount, and the comical title and our lack of time forced us to hurridly pick this turkey. Plus it was fun to rip on everything in a MST3K-style manor with my buddies that night, but certainly dont spend 25 bucks on this disasterpiece.

A Who Done It With A Werewolf:
The Beast Must Die works on two levels, a solid horror film and a interesting mystery. Even though it features a werewolf, the whole process of leading up to who actually is the beast is very clever and should be of interest to those who enjoy powers of deduction. Peter Cushing is the main reason I first viewed this along with Anton Diffiring. Their performances make the movie what it is. I am very pleased it is finally available to own, it ranks as one of the best werewolf movies ever!