The Blood Beast Terror (1969)

Peter Cushing was really amazing. Regardless of the movie, he's an absolute joy to watch work. In The Blood Beast Terror (which I understand Cushing considered one of his worst movies if not the absolute worst), Cushing does a tremendous job given the film's ridiculous premise. I hate to use the word silly when describing a plot but that's just what the storyline in The Blood Beast Terror is – silly. Cushing plays Detective Quennell, an inspector hot on the trail of vicious killer. But this is no ordinary killer Quennell's hunting. His target is a flying creature that sucks the blood from its prey. Can Quennell catch the creature before his daughter becomes the next victim? So, what's Quennell chasing? Get ready for this – he's chasing a giant moth. That's right, a giant were-moth! That's really what we have here – a were-moth. I told you it was silly. I can't imagine the thought process that went into creating the idea of a human transforming into a moth. And how do you pitch that one to the studio? No wonder The Blood Beast Terror was made by little Tigon and not Hammer or Amicus. In addition, the special effects add nothing to already ridiculous goings on. It's obvious the filmmakers' ideas far outstripped their budget given the thankfully brief appearance of the ludicrous looking were-moth. The thing looks so . . . silly (there's that word again). Add to that a complete lack of mystery, some dodgy acting from a couple of the cast members (Vanessa Howard in particular), and misplaced music queues throughout, and you've got yourself one pretty bad movie.But as bad as it is (and trust me, it's bad), Peter Cushing is always worth watching. The man could do more in a scene by himself than a roomful of other less talented actors. He was a truly great actor and one of the best the horror genre has ever seen. Also on the plus side are the very authentic looking locations, costumes, sets, and props. The movie might not be very good, but much of it is very interesting to look at. Finally, I got a real kick out of seeing a very young David Griffin's efforts in The Blood Beast Terror. I really enjoy his later work as Emmet in the very British sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances.

Is this the worst film Peter Cushing ever made (he seemed to think so) Anything is possible, But I'd have to see the rest of what he's made to see what beats BLOOD BEAST TERROR a not so nifty movie about a giant killer moth.Yes, a giant killer moth. I can't make this stuff up...I wish I could but I wasn't old enough to be taking the drugs required to make this in 1967.I picked this up as a USED DVD, I stress USED, or barely used, since I don't know if anyone watched this more than once. Its almost that dull that hospitals will use it instead of gas. Its not entirely bad, but it is dull...The main problem, and there are many others, is that the makeup is laughable. To say this is a dumb monster is rating it too highly. Think the original Wasp Woman, only worse. Its bad. I was wondering why this wasn't better known until I saw the monster and knew, that was the reason the movie is in the forgotten pile.Even if the monster was decent there is the problem of the film plodding along at an okay rate for about two thirds of it and then getting stupider, things happen to reach an end not because they would. But what else is new as things happen at the start of a scene and then shift in mid-scene, for example the villain is performing a complicated experiment at one point and is interrupted by a knock...Peter Cushing arrives and hero and villain simply go off with all this equipment running as if nothing was being done...A mess, a real mess.

This sixties flick has all the right ingredients to be another horror treat. We've got Peter Cushing, a ridiculously silly plot line, the Hammer Horror style and even the right sort of title, which by including the words 'blood', 'beast' and 'terror', leaves you to assume that there's going to be some entertainment value within. This is not the case; as The Blood Beast Terror falls massively short of the high mark where films of this ilk are concerned; but don't fret too much, as this isn't all bad. The plot has the potential to be lots of fun, as bug-related monsters aren't seen too often; and there's a murder investigation, complete with some mutilated cadavers to add to the piece - but what it all comes down is the fact that the audience already knows who the monster is; which completely saps all mystery, and tension, out of the film. The Blood Beast Terror stars Peter Cushing in the role of a police inspector who goes undercover in the British countryside to investigate a couple who are acting strangely. There's a reason for that; she's a giant death's head moth, and he created her! You can usually count on a decent performance (at least) from Peter Cushing; but he appears to have read the script before performing in this film, as he sleepwalks through the movie. Even so, it's nice to see any film with him; but the movie could have benefited from a more interesting performance. Robert Flemyng co-stars, but is never given much chance to make an impact. The special effects are really terrible, with the transformation sequence from moth to woman being appalling; but not quite as bad as the moth itself - which is portrayed by a pathetically obvious man in a suit. This film is Tigon's answer to the Hammer success, 'The Reptile' - but The Blood Beast Terror doesn't hold a candle to the aforementioned film in any way. The Reptile had suspense, characters that are slightly more than dull and creature effects that are decent enough to believe if you stretch your imagination a little bit. I don't rate The Blood Beast Terror as a complete and utter failure. The film does have its moments, and I've got to say that I didn't get too bored watching it on the whole - but I'd only recommend this to people that absolutely love British horror movies.

Inspector Quennell of Scotland Yard is called in to solve the mystery behind the brutal killings of two young men, whose bodies were completely drained of blood. The press favor the theory that they were the victims of a giant bird of prey. Quennell (Peter Cushing) discovers that both men were students of the distinguished entomologist Dr Mallinger (Robert Flemyng), but he seems unable to help the inspector with his inquiries. Meanwhile, a young entomologist called Britewell (William Wilde) arrives at Dr Mallinger's home from Africa with some specimens. It soon transpires that Mallinger during the course of his research, turned his daughter Clare (Wanda Ventham) into a creature that can turn herself into a giant Death's Head moth, which thrives on human blood. After she seduces and kills Britewell, Quennell learns from the local police station that Britewell was a colleague of Mallinger's as the village constable gave him directions to his mansion. However, when Quennell approaches Mallinger with these facts, he denies ever meeting him. Quennell is now suspicious but Mallinger and Clare flee to another remote district of the English countryside. Quennell makes a discrete search of Mallinger's deserted house and finds the body of his butler as well as the skeletons of other victims hidden in Clare's underground lair. In the guise of a banker called Thompson, Quennell takes his daughter Meg (Vanessa Howard) to the village where Mallinger has fled having tracked him down because one of his former servants overheard where he was taking his daughter. Having successfully arrived in the village incognito, Meg befriends William (David Griffin), a young man who catches butterflies and moths to study them under his microscope. They go out on a hunt together and accidentally stumble upon Mallinger and Clare's hiding place and narrowly become victims themselves. Quennell realises that he must act quickly and apprehend Mallinger and his fearsome creation before the death toll reaches a horrifying level. In addition, Dr Mallinger is working on a mate for Clare...The Blood Beast Terror (US title: The Vampire Beast Craves Blood) was originally to have featured Peter Cushing as Inspector Quennell with Basil Rathbone playing Dr Mallinger. Unfortunately, Rathbone died just weeks before filming was due to commence at the Goldhawk studios in Shephards Bush London. Both Cushing and Rathbone had enjoyed acclaim as Sherlock Holmes as well as being cast in numerous horror films. It would of been interesting to see what sort of chemistry they would have created between them on the screen. Alas, it wasn't to be.Nevertheless, the film has many fun moments such as British comedian Roy Hudd's comedy relief role as a mortuary attendant whose always scoffing pickled onions. In addition there's an amusing sequence in which Dr Mallinger's students stage a Frankenstein like play in the former's living room complete with hammy acting and lousy home made special effects. It's practically an in joke at theatrical mishaps like when one of the students goes to pull the curtain across the stage "Oops the curtain's stuck." he cackles.As a horror film, it emerges as enjoyable on the cheesier side of British horror. For instance, it was clearly made on a shoestring (even cheaper looking than Hammer's films of the period) and Clare's transformation scenes into the creature aren't very satisfactory. Yet Peter Cushing and Robert Flemyng play their parts with a certain authority that makes the picture a lot better than you'd expect and director Vernon Sewell (a true veteran of the British film industry) keeps things moving at a good pace so the film never outstays its welcome. It is made all the more entertaining as it light heartedly sends up the genre with its in jokes about theatrical mishaps and cheesy effects. Wanda Ventham is excellent as the evil Clare portraying the character with a genuine sense of malice and evil. In summary, it is the distinguished cast and director who put this film a lot higher than it deserved. With lesser talents it would have been a complete disaster.