Review of The Beast Must Die (1974) by Stuart K — 02 Sep 2011
From the underrated Amicus studios, (like Hammer, only just that little bit cheaper), comes one of their best horror films, except it's not really a horror, it's more of a mystery thriller with added blood.
But it's a good film with a gimmick that William Castle would have been proud of. Set on a vast country estate somewhere in the English countryside, millionaire Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) invites a group of people to his mansion for a few days, in the company and his wife Caroline (Marlene Clark).
The guests include Prof. Lundgren (Peter Cushing, with a comedy South African accent), couple Jan and Davina Gilmore (Michael Gambon and Ciaran Madden), artist Paul Foote (Tom Chadbon) and diplomat Arthur Bennington (Charles Gray).
The reason Newcliffe has invited them is that one of them is a werewolf, and for the few days they'll be staying at the mansion, there'll be 3 nights with a full moon. The grounds are rigged with cameras and microphones, all supervised by Newcliffe's security chief Pavel (Anton Diffring).
Then, people start dying, but who could the werewolf be?? Plus, they all have something to hide. It's an enjoyable piece of nonsense, it has a good cast, but it has an absolutely brilliant score by Douglas Gamley, with Blaxploitation themes.
The film's "Werewolf break" adds to the cheesiness, but it gives it a charm.
This review of The Beast Must Die (1974) was written by Stuart K on 02 Sep 2011.
The Beast Must Die has generally received mixed reviews.
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