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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"In this world you're either the hunter or the hunted.", August 3, 2006
From Dark Sky Films comes the DVD release of The Beast Must Die (1974), part of their `The Amicus Collection' DVD series (two other films, so far, include 1973's And Now the Screaming Starts and 1972's Asylum), which I was very excited to see for two reasons, the first being I don't think Amicus has really gotten its due over the years (overshadowed by their competitor Hammer Studios), and the second being my past experiences with Dark Sky Films have been good ones as they seem to put forth an exceptional effort in their DVD releases. Directed by Paul Annett ("Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected"), the film stars Calvin Lockhart (Uptown Saturday Night, Predator 2) and Peter Cushing (Twins of Evil, The Creeping Flesh, Star Wars), who frequently appeared in both Amicus and Hammer film releases. Also appearing is Marlene Clark (Beware! The Blob), Charles Gray (Diamonds Are Forever, The Rocky Horror Picture Show), Ciaran Madden (Swing Kids), Tom Chadbon (Tess), Michael Gambon (Toys, Layer Cake), and Anton Diffring (Circus of Horrors, Fahrenheit 451).
Lockhart plays Tom Newcliffe, an obsessive, wealthy big game hunter who invites a small group of individuals under false pretenses to his isolated country estate as he's out for the biggest game of them all, a real live werewolf...you see, Tom believes one of his guests is, in fact, a werewolf, and he's scheduled their stay during time when he knew there'd be a full moon in the hopes that the individual afflicted would transform allowing Tom the hunt of a lifetime. As the story begins we see some of the precautions Tom's taken in fortifying his estate with security measures including a helicopter, armed guards, hidden cameras and microphones, underground sensors, and so on, all installed and maintained by his security specialist Pavel (Diffring). After revealing his true intent to his guests (most all, including his wife Caroline, played by Clark, think Tom is a bit nutty) and ensuring none can leave, the fun begins as the full moon rises...sure enough, one of Tom's guests is a werewolf, as evident by a large dog draped in a chintzy fur begins prowling the estate. Despite Tom's technological edge, he's unable to pin down the beast (or discern which one of the guests has a penchant for howling at the moon), and things get tense as various individuals meet their untimely demise (Pavel makes a new friend). As the guest list dwindles, Tom gets closer to discerning the real identity of the lycanthrope, but this is definitely one of those occasions where one must be careful what they wish for as the beast seems not only intent on protecting its identity, but its need to consume human flesh seems to be growing to the point where no one is safe...
While I did enjoy this film, some elements didn't work out all that well for me, the main one being the mystery portion of the story. At the beginning of the film a narrator announces this is a detective story and that we, the audience, are responsible for discerning the identity of the beast (near the end there's what's called a `werewolf break', in that the story stops, a clock appears and the audience is instructed to pick whom they believe the beast before it's actually revealed). The problem was I don't believe there were any actual clues (plenty of misleads, though) that pointed towards one individual over another, so it seemed sort of pointless to expend energy on trying to figure out who the killer was, and better to just let things run their course (which I did). I wouldn't have commented on this but the film made such a big deal about it up front. Another element that bothered me slightly was the character of Tom. He was depicted as being a hunter extraordinaire, yet he seemed to have little issue using all kinds of technological hardware to track the beast, which felt like cheating to me...seems to me a certain amount of pride would be involved, and I would think a real hunter would eschew such a huge edge (Tom had the entire estate, including the surround grounds, rigged for sight and sound), instead relying on his own, extensively honed abilities, but given the beast was of the supernatural kind I guess one could make the argument perhaps he viewed using technology as a means to even the playing field (keep in mind I'm not a hunter, so this is speculation on my part). I guess, in the end, it didn't really matter as all his gadgetry didn't really assist him all that much. I did learn quite a lot from this film, including the following...
1. Hunters seem a tightly wound lot.
2. Given a chance a werewolf will eat your eyeball.
3. Drinking and archery don't mix.
4. You can simulate a werewolf by strapping a chintzy fur on a large dog.
5. Paul can't climb a tree for spit.
6. For an expert hunter, Tom is an extremely rotten shot.
7. Dogs and werewolves (or, at least, dogs wearing fur coats pretending to be werewolves) don't get along.
8. Caroline was sure attached to that dog.
9. If you need to pad out the running time in your film, an extensive and relatively pointless car chase sequence will certainly help.
10. I like hearing Peter Cushing using the word `Transmogrification' in a sentence.
11. Tom may have nearly his entire home rigged with video cameras, but he's no voyeur.
12. If you ever get invited for a weekend getaway by someone named Tom Newcliffe, it's probably for the best you decline the invitation.
As far as the things I liked about the movie, well, the inclusion of Peter Cushing seemed a good idea. His part may have not been all that much, but I do enjoy seeing him whenever I get a chance. As far as the rest of the performers, most did well enough although Lockhart seemed a bit overly dramatic at times, even given his character's obvious obsession. At least he was interesting to watch. There is no real werewolf, in terms of a beast creature running around on two legs with fangs and claws coming out the wahzoo, but only a dog dressed up to look like a really hairy dog. I didn't mind this much as the story kept me engaged as once it gets going, it's pretty tight. There was a little bit of violence and a small amount of blood. My favorite bit in the film comes after Tom, frustrated with his inability to bag the beast, returns to the house and fires off a round in the main hall, apparently in an effort to draw the attention of his guest, one of whom he's certain is the killer. As the guest emerge from their rooms, one of them, a somewhat effeminate, snidely artist type named Paul (Chadbon) makes the following off the cuff comment..."It's like living in a shooting gallery." All in all a fun film with a few flaws, but if you're an Amicus fan (like me), this is worth getting.
The picture on this Dark Sky Films DVD release, presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1), looks very clean and the Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio comes across well. Special features include liner notes by Christopher Gullo, a commentary track by director Paul Annett, a still gallery, extensive cast and crew biographies, a thirteen-minute featurette titled `Directing The Beast!', and a trailer for this film along with two others, one for And Now the Screaming Starts (1973), and another for Asylum (1972).
Cookieman108
Just a note, this film was previously released onto DVD by Image Entertainment, but the version I reviewed was released by Dark Sky Films and features Peter Cushing on the cover.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"One of you is a werewolf !", September 4, 2006
I am a huge fan of werewolves, so THE BEAST MUST DIE DVD was a mandatory purchase for me. Let me assure you THE BEAST is one of the most unusual movies starring a furry predator in the history of film.
The movie's hero is a rich big game hunter, who invites several guests to his remote English mansion. Now rich big game hunters are not unusual in movies, although I bet you rarely have seen a black one, and while he looks like a refugee from one of the SHAFT movies, he has an odd British accent (movie director Paul ANNETT comments in an interview in the extra features section that the character was an effort to cash in on the then popular blaxploitation genre and reveals that actor Calvin LOCKHART was unhappy with the role and felt it unfitting for a black person).
His guests are an odd bunch too, consisting of a lycanthropy scholar (the late great Peter CUSHING, one of Britain`s finest actors), a former diplomat (Peter GRAY, who played 007's nemesis BLOFELD in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER), a hippie painter and a neurotic concert pianist and his girlfriend. All of them have some skeletons in the closet, and our big game hunter suspects one of them to be a lycanthrope - "One of you is a werewolf!" he announces to his guests and tells them, he will find out who and kill him.
Despite our hero being aided by high tech video and microphone surveillance of the mansion and the surrounding area, a helicopter, and a whole silver bullet firing arsenal, the bodycount soon starts to rise once the full moon shines from the dark nocturnal sky and tensions mount among the survivors. Everybody is suspicous. Can you guess who the werewolf is? And who will survive his rampage?
Now, admittedly THE BEAST MUST DIE is not very scary, but it is charmingly oldfashioned and unusual enough to keep you interested. Yes, the "werewolf" is clearly a German shepherd dog with a big attached fur (specifically evident in a scene were the "werewolf" fights our hero's dog), but personally I did not find it unintentionally funny. Wisely the "werewolf" is seldom shown and mostly relegated to the shadows. Don`t expect a horror film, think of it as a kind of Agatha CHRISTIE like murder mystery with a werewolf. There are lots of red herrings, wrong clues and some quite good unexpected plot twists toward the end (don't worry, I will not spoil them). And of course there is the well-known gimmick of this film, the "werewolf break" - it is so well known that I don't regard it as spoiler to mention it (towards the end the picture freezeframes and to the sight of a superimposed ticking clock you got 30 seconds to figure out who of the remaining suspects is the werewolf). A great idea!
The cast is great, particularly Peter CUSHING as werewolf expert and Anton DIFFRING as surveillance guy Pavel. Overall it is an entertaining fun film that will appeal to fans of murder mysteries and werewolves alike!
I also enjoyed the extra features, which include the film's excellent trailer as well as trailers for ASYLUM and LET THE SCREAMING START. There is also a good picture gallery, consisting of about 20 or so movie stills, posters and lobby cards. Another interesting extra feature is an interview with director Paul ANNETT, where he fondly remembers working with CUSHING, expands on the "werewolf" scenes, expresses interest in a remake, and loathes the "werewolf break" gimmick. There are also excellent liner notes.
Great cover artwork too! I give kudos to Dark Sky Films for this excellent DVD release!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining with just the right cheese factor, July 27, 2006
Amicus produced a whole bunch of horror films of varying quality during the 70's. When the quality of Hammer films fell Amicus pitched in with "Asylum", "The House That Dripped Blood" and "The Beast Must Die". Even the least of these is entertaining even when the cheese factor (such as in "Madhouse") is higher than the chill factor.
Based on a novel by science fiction writer James Blish "The Beast Must Die" mixes the plots from "Ten Little Indians" and "The Most Dangerous Game". Throw in a bit of 70's camp and you've got this minor gem. The plot has been pretty well described previously but I'll briefly recap it again. A wealthy man gathers together a group of people to his house. He believs that one of them is a werewolf and plans on killing the creature. The acting ranges from very good (Anton Diffring, Michael Gambon, Charles Gray) to the seriously bad (Calvin Lockhart)and inbetween (Peter Cushing does a fine job despite an overactive accent).
Unlike some of the other releases from Dark Sky this one doesn't look all that great. It's acceptable but the image is grainy and has a slightly greenish tint to it at times. What makes this edition shine are the extras. "Directing the Beast" features director Paul Annett discussing the making of the film. Annett also provides a fascinating commentary track moderated by Jonathan Sothcott. We also get a solid photo gallery which includes lobby cards and stills. Finally we get trailers for two other concurrent Dark Sky releases "And Now The Screaming Starts" and ambitious "Rebecca"-like effort directed by Roy Ward Baker ("Quatermass and the Pit", "A Night to Remember", "Asylum")that seems more like a Hammer effort with its lush production design and period setting and Baker's "Asylum". There's also a rememberance of actor Peter Cushing a talented actor who was often better than the material he appeared in.
"The Beast Must Die" is more interesting for its unusual mishmash of different storylines and mix of genres. While it isn't complete successful it's an enjoyable film highlighted by some time notch actors. A pity that the werewolf wasn't more convincing as if a bit more effort had been put into the film it might have been far more successful than it is.
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