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Film: The Beast Must Die
Year: 1974
Director: Paul Annett
Writer: Michael Winder
Starring: Calvin Lockheart, Peter Cushing and Marlene Clark
Review:
This was a film that I found due to it being in the Horror Movie Encyclopedia. I watched it years ago and thought it was solid. Something that struck with me was that this is a murder mystery where the werewolf is doing the killing. I remember that the main character was trying to figure out who it was before it was too late. This feels like an ‘Agatha Christie – And Then There Were None’ take. I also remember that it featured one of my favorite actors in Peter Cushing. There is also Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, Marelene Clark and a young Michael Gambon.
Synopsis: eight people are invited to an island estate for the weekend. One of them is a werewolf. Can you guess which one?
This begins with letting us know that someone in this film is a werewolf. This is a detective film where the viewer is taking on that role. Evidence is presented and then there will be something called a ‘werewolf break’ to allow you to decide who the killer is.
It then shifts to a man running through a field and into the woods. His name is Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockheart). He is followed by a helicopter that is piloted by Andrew Lodge. There is a man watching a map and tracking Tom. He is Pavel (Diffring). We see that there are cameras mounted in the trees and microphones set up on the ground as well. Tom is caught by a couple of hunters. He got out of the forest, made it to the lawn of a manor and held at gunpoint. They fire at him and we learn they’re loaded with blanks. It is here that the group that was watching comes over and that this is staged.
We then learn that Tom invited all these people here. We have Dr. Christopher Lundgren (Cushing) who is an anthropologist that is an expert on werewolves. Lockheart’s wife is there, Caroline (Clark). There is Jan (Gambon) who is a concert pianist and his love interest is Davina (Ciaran Madden). We also have Bennington (Gray) and the eccentric Paul Foote (Tom Chadbon).
It turns out that Tom has reason to believe that everyone here could be a werewolf. There is evidence of these individuals being in different places where attacks happened. He doesn’t know who for sure, but he will have everyone stay here during the three nights of the full moon. Also, Dr. Lundgren has never seen a werewolf in person.
The people we saw earlier are helping Tom track the potential beast. There is a perimeter for cameras and microphones. A pressure plate also surrounds a set area to help as well. Pavel is there to look at the maps as well as the screens and to have the helicopter with its pilot on standby. The guests don’t believe, but when violent attacks start, they start to change their mind. Like the synopsis said, who is the werewolf?
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start with an Amicus production. They tried to do something a bit different here. The gialli film would already be popular in Italy. Plus, murder mysteries were popular since the beginning of cinema. The United Kingdom would know how to do them well by this point. The detective film would also have been something that had been done for decades. Werewolf films would have been out as well, just not as often. I like the combination here since it is something a bit different.
Let’s delve deeper into what we’re getting here. First, let’s start with Tom. It is interesting that he’s black. He is rich and that fortune was self-made. He has important friends as we see. There’s an intriguing dynamic here for the fact that from the beginning, Tom seems insane. He’s convinced that one of his friends are a werewolf. There are facts that he uses. It seems like vicious attacks follow these people. Whether it is a coincide or they are the ones conducting the attacks, there isn’t evidence. Tom hopes to prove that he’s right. He is also a hunter so he wants to bag a creature that no one else in the world has. I like that the more we learn and as events unfold, he might not be as crazy as he comes off. Lockhart works so well in this role. He drives this film for sure.
Then going from there, I like how the rest of the group comes off as red herrings. I’ll go ahead and discuss the acting since that helps bring the characters to life. Bennington thinks the tests are childish. He partakes only to alleviate the tension. Madden comes off as scared of Tom, for good reason. This makes her seem guilty to me. Plus, she can’t always be accounted for at Jan’s performances. Gambon works in his role. Wild to see him as young as he is here. One of the better performances is Chadbon. He loves to push Tom’s buttons. It isn’t smart, but enjoyable for what we’re getting. Cushing is great as well. He’s an expert on these monsters so that could allow him to hide in plain sight. Clark is also good in a more subdued role. I saw this before Ganja and Hess, so I like seeing her range.
I think I’ll then go into the rest of the cast. Diffring works as this guy who is running the security system. There’s confidence there that gets him into trouble later. I also thought that Lodge works as the pilot who takes Tom around. The cast here is solid across the board, including those that I’ve already brought up.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that this was well made. I love the isolated location. It makes it hard to get away. It doesn’t help as we see that Tom will hunt those down that try. That adds to the tension here. The cinematography and framing were good to capture this place so credit there. If I have a gripe, it is with the effects. I don’t love that they’re using a big black dog to be the werewolf. That confused me a bit. I did like going with the feral version though. We do get a de-transformation scene though, so that worked. Other than that, I thought that the soundtrack fit what was needed. The design of the wolf calls was good.
In conclusion, I’m glad that I gave this a rewatch. What I’ll say is that I didn’t remember who the werewolf was so that felt like a first-time watch. I didn’t guess who the monster was either time. We have a solid cast here, being led by Lockhart. Cushing, Clark, Gray, Diffring, Chadbon and Gambon working in support. I love the setting and how that is captured with cinematography. My only gripe is with the werewolf not looking more menacing. This is an interesting concept film though. I’d recommend it on that alone. Being that this is from Amicus, which is another perk for me so if you’re a fan, check this out.
My Rating: 7 out of 10