The Beast Must Die

source: The Beast Must Die

I don't know why all the positive reviews but it's basically 70's garbage. Perhaps it's 'hip' now to try and admire 1970's films but I grew up in that era and there were some decent movies like perhaps 'Jaws' (the 1st one, not the others) but this is just garbage. I'm not going to say don't watch it but you would have much more fun watching 50's sci-fi movies than to watch this. Yes, there are some campy moments but not enough. They want me to ad more info. hmmm, I like Vincent Price movies, like Dr. Phibes was great. I wear black socks, dress in mounties clothing and hang around in bars. Is that enough yet?

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.

Others commenting here seem to have been distracted by the "game" aspect of the movie, which was, of course, a gimmick added after the movie was finished. Although the story really required a larger budget, this well-cast, intelligent horror thriller is well worth watching. The story is reasonably suspenseful, the direction good enough most of the time, and it is unusual in depicting the central villain as someone who LOVES being a werewolf. It's based on a good novel, which was given reasonably respectful treatment.

THE BEAST MUST DIE begins with some of the worst music for this film as you can image (other than Polka music). This twangy techno-70s music is just terrible and seems all wrong for a werewolf film. And, once the film gets starts, the sound track continues to blare--with music way too loud and invasive for the film. Rarely do I ever complain so much about a soundtrack, but it just hits you like a brick when the film begins. The film begins with an exciting chase scene--so exciting that you can perhaps ignore the dopey music. It is reminiscent to the film THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, as a man is being tracked by hunters. However, the hunting ground is very high tech--with motion detectors and microphones everywhere. It turns out that this weird setup was created by a rich guy so that he can invite a group of people there in order to determine which of them is a werewolf!! How, exactly, you'll have to wait to see. The rest of the film plays a bit like "Ten Little Indians" (also made into the movie AND THE THERE WERE NONE). In other words, it's a bit of a waiting game until ultimately the true werewolf reveals itself. However, despite an interesting story idea, it's undone by a few dumb touches. For example, just when the rich guy is about to kill the wolf, his wife inexplicably stops him from shooting it--even though this wolf is tearing apart their doggy. The other dumb thing is that although this guy is supposed to be such an amazing hunter, he keeps missing--even at point blank range. He's not the only one--two others do the same thing. These moments are just plain sloppy and do so much to undo the good of the film. Plus, with all the rich guy's money, why doesn't he just lock everyone into cages and see exactly who is the werewolf?! The only big plus is the very ending--it's pretty cool. The bottom line is that I hate films where characters must act stupidly to make the film work. It's a sign of lousy writing--and this film manages to take a very good idea and ruin it. It is watchable, but just barely.

what a great idea. badly executed. the best big game hunter in the world tries to kill a werewolf. seems to me like he was one of the worst shots, let alone one of the worst hunters in the world. not once did he use his skills, relying on everyone else around him to do the work for him, and he could just walk in for the kill. wheres the honour in killing your foe with a machine gun? i sat and watched as a film i'd wanted to see went plodding along until the end(though the ending was quite good). a weak film with some 'jazzy' music. what would terence fisher have done with it? made it fun at least. for once, a remake might do this idea justice. and make it scary this time, darnit!

Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) is a man of wealth who has enjoyed hunting just about every animal possible. He has invited a group of friends to his house for a hunting party. But this is no ordinary hunt. Newcliffe has it in his head that one of his friends is a werewolf. He's not sure which friend he will be hunting, but over the three night full moon cycle, he's sure the werewolf will show himself. Unfortunately for Newcliffe and the rest of his party, a werewolf proves to be the most cunning and dangerous game he's faced. I'll never list The Beast Must Die among my favorite films, but it's certainly enjoyable enough. The concept is original. I can't remember seeing anything similar. Much of the film is presented not so much as a horror movie, but as a mystery. These elements of The Beast Must Die worked for me. I found myself playing along as I tried to decipher the clues to the werewolf's identity. And in the end I was able to pat myself on the back for at least being half right. The Beast Must Die even gives the viewer a chance to stop and thing things over before the identity of the werewolf. William Castle would be proud of the Werewolf Break. Sure, it's gimmicky, but it's a fun, interesting touch. There are a few things I would have liked to see done differently. I've never been much of a fan of werewolves that are more wolf than man. The werewolf in The Beast Must Die has no human characteristics. It's a wolf (okay, it's really a dog, but you get the idea). Also, I wasn't overly impressed with the lead actor Calvin Lockhart. He's just a little too over-the-top and outrageous to be effective.

You might think that if you've seen one werewolf movie, you've seen them all. Well, that may be largely true, but "The Beast Must Die" differs from most entries in the genre. For starters it is not centred around the person who is the werewolf, and so dispenses with the usual associated plot lines such as the angst a person goes through knowing that they'll turn into a killer come the next full moon. No, this film, as it proudly boasts via an opening narration is a whodunit, or (I quote) "a detective story... in which YOU are the detective". In short you have to guess which of the small ensemble team of characters is the werewolf. The characters are the somewhat unwilling guests of millionaire playboy Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart). Newcliffe's favourite hobby is hunting animals and as he knows one of his guests is a werewolf, he thinks it will be fun to hunt and kill the animal. But which of them is it? Although this film doesn't have a great reputation, it's actually quite good. The cast is small but strong, containing such notable names as Charles Gray, Michael Gambon and that assured veteran of British horror films of this era, Peter Cushing. The werewolf itself is well-handled, coming across as a genuine threat, especially as it is portrayed as a real (and rather large) wolf rather than by an actor in several layers of facial fur. It's fast, it's clever and it even breaks into the house to kill people. I won't spoilt them here, but there are some nice plot twists towards the end, leading to a conclusion which really enforces the fact that the beast MUST die... The story is well-paced and full of incident. However, I find there are places where it occasionally lacks sufficient depth. How does Newcliffe know for certain that one of his guests is a werewolf? Using his logic, that they have all been present in cities where mysterious killings have taken place, they could ALL be werewolves! Also, why were the guests all so willing to turn up at his house? A little more expansion on them would have helped, particularly as we, the audience, is supposed to be playing detective. Towards the end of the film we get a 30-second "Werewolf Break" when it's time to guess who the werewolf is. A novel idea, but unfortunately "guess" is the operative word here as there are really no proper clues given within the narrative that single one of the suspects out ahead of all the others. Naturally, being a whodunit, they are all made to look suspicious. In its fashions and music, the film is very much of its time. The direction is slick for the most part, though there's a lengthy car chase early on when Michael Gambon's character tries to escape, and this looks rather undramatic as action sequences go. But overall this film has lots to commend it. The negative points can easily be overlooked, leaving you with an imaginative, entertaining romp that's probably different to most other horror films you've seen.

The film concerns on Tom Newcliff (Calvin Lockhart) , a wealthy businessman , great hunter and sportsman living with his wife (M.Clark) and his foreman (Anton Driffing) at a luxurious mansion . He has pursued and hunted all kind species with exception a werewolf . Thus , he invites a group of six men (Peter Cushing , Charles Gray , Michael Gambon..) and women related with weird killings about the eating of human flesh and nobody can leave the location . One of the occupants turns into werewolf at the full moon and stricken a rare pollen flower . Then , he undergoes a dental and hirsute transformation at night and going on a murderous rampage every time the moon is full . Tom investigates the guest who converts in night beast and trying to chase him , increasing his enormous collection at his isolated lodge . The movie is a detective story in which you are the detective . The question is not ¨who is the murder¨? but ¨Who is the werewolf¨? . After all the clues have been shown we will get a chance to give your answer . The picture is a crossover of Blaxexploitation's protagonists , Agatha Christie whodunit (Ten little Indians) , horror mythic about werewolves and even gimmicks -William Castle type- on its intervening period when give to public some seconds for resolving the strange enigma . The transformation of man into werewolf is simple without special effects . Calvin Lockhart as obstinate and relentless hunter is top-notch ; besides , being surrounded by a highly capable secondary cast . Special mention for Peter Cushing ,as always he is excellent as specialist of knowledge on Lycanthropy . The screenwriter provided a very serviceable and well-knit screenplay with suspense and tension , giving full rein to director Paul Annett's natural talent .

Amicus was a neat little production company that specialized itself in creating extremely enjoyable omnibus horror films. Especially in the early seventies, they satisfied a large thrill-seeking audience with terror-anthologies like `Asylum', `The Vault of Horror', From Beyond the Grave' and even the original `Tales from the Crypt' Also, you have to admit that they constantly tried to be imaginative and innovating…and The Beast Must Die is the perfect example to state this. It presents a rather original and new format that involves the viewer. At the beginning and near the end, this film specifically requests the public to join a search. Pretty clever, since this is only a simple method but it does demand the viewer's immediate attention! The particular search is a werewolf-hunt! Six persons – four males and two females – spend the weekend at a huge ranch. The moon is full, all the necessary scenery is present and at the end of the weekend, the werewolf has to be exposed! Personally, I rather enjoyed this formula…it's a nice change and very entertaining nonetheless. Unfortunately, The Beast Must Die lacks a bit of professionalism to be listed among the better horror titles. It's all pretty cheap and especially the make-up and creature effects disappoint. The werewolf isn't the least bit impressive and there are too few shock-sequences to make the film memorable. Actually, aside from the werewolf theme and the presence of horror-regular Cushing, The Beast Must Die has very little to do with horror! It merely is action/adventure with just a tint of mystery and horror. Regarding the cast, it is veteran Peter Cushing who impresses the most as the specialist-professor in the field of ‘Lycanthropes'. The rest of the cast is rather unknown with the exception of Anton Diffring, here in a delightful little role. If you like classic horror and you're not familiar with Anton Diffring, I advise you to run out to the nearest videostore and rent `Circus of Horrors'.