The Beast Must Die (1974)

Continuing to review werewolf movies in chronological order, we're now at 1974 with The Beast Must Die. A rich man invites his friends over to his home on an island to determine which one of them is the werewolf. I'll stop there and just say while there are some moments that seem illogical, I was mostly entertained through and through. And that "werewolf break" in which the narrator gives us 30 seconds to guess as stills of the characters pass by and a printed clock appears on screen is pure genius though I didn't guess right. Nice performances by lead Calvin Lockhart as well as supporting ones from Charles Gray, Michael Gambon, and horror veteran Peter Cushing, among others. So on that note, The Beast Must Die is worth a look.

THE BEAST MUST DIE is based on a short story called "There Shall Be No Darkness", written by James Blish.The plot is as follows - a big game hunter who owns a massive country estate invites a group of people to his house for the weekend. He believes that one of them is a werewolf but doesn't know which. They all have skeletons in their closets that fascinate the guy a lot. The hunter has had a state-of-the-art security system recently installed, with cameras and microphones all over the place, plus tracking devices. He's confident the werewolf won't be able to escape as he intends to hunt it down as his "biggest game of all".This film has everything going for it - interesting characters, great acting, an air of mystery, a fast pace, chase scenes, suspense, tension, memorable lines of dialogue... you name it. And the producers don't mess it up either.The casting of Calvin Lockhart may have been intended as a gimmick to try cashing in on the "Blaxploitation" craze sweeping across America in the early 1970s. But the truth is that Lockhart makes the role of the hunter his own. He is very believable in the part and compelling to watch. I know that Robert Quarry was originally intended for the role and, good as Quarry might have been (probably playing the role with a more sinister edge to fit his style), Lockhart was the better choice. What makes the film work is that you root for Lockhart to succeed even though the character isn't exactly the nicest man in the world. And at the same time, you're never sure whether he will or not. The film keeps you guessing. It owes a lot to a great script.Peter Cushing plays a familiar yet different character in the shape of Christopher Lundgren, a German doctor. His German accent is pretty good in my opinion and he never ceases to hold our attention. Cushing is the man who could read a phone book and keep you listening, as someone else on IMDb mentioned previously.It's great to see Michael Gambon in an early role and the rest of the cast do a great job too. I particularly like Ciaran Madden as Davina. I don't know why; I just do. Something about her makes her interesting to watch. Charles Gray isn't given enough to do in the film, though, and that's really the only minor gripe I have with it.The chase scenes are exciting and not drawn out or boring as some suggest. They move along fast and the camera-work is excellent.The film is brimming with atmosphere in all scenes set at night. You're never sure what may spring out at any moment. It's a film that really keeps you guessing as previously mentioned. There are some great moments of suspense and tension, particularly in a key sequence about halfway through the film. I won't say anything about it because it would give too much away. But you'll know what I mean when you see it.And finally, while some may not like the infamous "werewolf break", I love it!For me, THE BEAST MUST DIE is probably the best werewolf film of all time. It's certainly the best one I've seen to date. Very different in style to films such as THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF or the Paul Naschy films for example, it has a style all of its own, with a very 1970s vibe to it. And it's by far and away the best non-anthology film Amicus produced.

Totally unique in that the viewer gets a 30second interlude to put forward their ideas on the identity of the werewolf during the 'werewolf break' and all players, we are informed, are strong suspects.Star turns from Michael Gambon, Peter Cushing, Marlene Clark, Tom Chadbon, Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, and of course Calvin Lockhart, the characters accept the kind invitation from wealthy businessman Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) and his glamorous wife Caroline (Marlene Clark) to spend a summer weekend at their sumptuous and beautiful country pile. All seems innocent enough, but on the first day Tom reveals his true motives for bringing them all together - to find out which one of them is the werewolf who has been wreaking havoc in the outside world - and Tom is hellbent on adding a werewolf to his collection of big game for which he has an infamous reputation of hunting down.Tom has invested in the latest technological gadgetry available and has had his house and extensive grounds electronically bugged to help zero him in on his ferocious, four legged target and the silver bullets that have been specially made for him will, he believes weigh the odds down in his favour to help him bullseye the beast.Risking everything including his marriage Tom digs out his trusty game rifle and gives the domestic staff the weekend off. Thankfully, later on he sees sense and breaks out the automatic - also loaded with solid silver projectiles.For a film made in the 1970s it really is worth a look. Other films of this era were still using fake fur fixed to the actors, whereas here they had the idea of sticking additional fur to an ordinary dog to give a renewed representation on how a werewolf might look.Car buffs will enjoy glimpses of classics such as a rare Citroen GS, Mercedes and Landrover LWB safari and then a car chase in which full use of the Landrover's off road capability is used. Tame by today's standards of special effects, but believable intensity from Lockhart in his role and other great performances from Marlene Clark and especially Tom Chadbon more than make up for this.Dust off your flairs and kipper tie and sit yourself down to a truly enjoyable 1970s classic. Oh, and a simple precaution: lock your door!

The Beast Must Die is out of Amicus Productions, directed by Paul Annett and written by Michael Winder from a short story by James Blish. It stars Calvin Lockhart, Charles Gray, Peter Cushing, Michael Gambon, Tom Chadbon and Marlene Clark. Music is by Douglas Gamley and photography by Jack Hildyard. Plot has Lockhart as eccentric millionaire Tom Newcliffe, who invites a group of people to his stately mansion, where he reveals that one of them is a werewolf. He intends to flush the werewolf out with a series of tests. Death, suspicion and shifty shenanigans will follow…..They really should have stuck to doing creepy anthologies. Amicus that is. For if this turgid, thrill less hack job is anything to go by, it clearly was a stretch too far doing a one premise narrative. Led by the woeful Lockhart, who thinks he's doing blaxploitation, film plays out like a poor imitation of Ten Little Indians and The Most Dangerous Game as the guests are picked off by an Alsatian Dog, and that really is all there is to it. Only it doesn't have Agatha Christie's nous behind it. It's never scary, Cushing is wasted and the introduction of a Werewolf Break gimmick (we the audience have 30 seconds to guess who the werewolf is before the reveal) just comes off like a cheap knock off of something William Castle did years previously: only it doesn't have the glint in the eye that Castle had. Even the Technicolor photography is lifeless.3/10 for Gambon's efforts.