A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

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.

Some films need a strong performance to lift them above the mediocrity of their concept and execution. And this films saving grace is in its lead, Mr Lockheart, who gives a great swaggering and charismatic performance pitched at just the right operatic intensity to match the essential absurdity of the premises. Very much a product of its time and place, when traditional horrors were attempting to recast themselves in more modern clothes with elements of then modern culture, car chase scenes, hi-tech and a dash of blaxploitation.Definitely a late night fun movie to enjoy purely on its own merits. Marred mostly by terrible 'Day for Night' effects (a curse of British productions throughout that period) and the cheapest, saddest werewolf ever put on film (it looks like a cuddly family pet) it's otherwise a fun and well acted romp of Hammy Hammer proportions.Just to clear up what seems a plot absurdity; how does Tom know one of his guests is a werewolf?Simply, this film takes place in a world where they exist (the characters seem to accept the basic premise with neither protest nor disbelief) so Tom simply uses both his intelligence and hunters instinct (something repeated and emphasised several times) to round up the most likely candidates knowing that by casting a wide net he will bag his target.Well, that and the script says so.

The format of the "The Beast Must Die" is intriguing allowing the audience to be the detective. I also enjoyed the stopwatch; to make up our minds on who we thought the werewolf was, making us feel very much a part of the story and allowing for a deeper understanding to each character. I wasn't too impressed with the werewolf ,and was hoping for something more mutated than the image of a dog/wolf. On the other hand I did like the unique change from wolf to human, when the identity is revealed as it added to suspense as the image of the wolf disappeared. I liked the way it followed the murder mystery format, and thought it added a historical and chilling twist to the film. Although at times the dark scenes with the wolf were difficult to make out in it only added to the shadiness of the creature further more the mystery of the plot. I would recommend the beast must die to anyone who loves murder mysteries with twists and turns ,and who also has a taste for the human flesh loving Werewolf's.

The Beast Must Die is an unusual film in more ways than one. The studio who made it - Amicus - were well known almost solely for their portmanteau movies, i.e. films with a selection of short horror stories connected by a spooky framing narrative. The Beast Must Die is not one of those types of films, instead it's story encompasses a full length feature. But it's hardly a typical horror film. Instead it really works as an Agatha Christie style murder-mystery that happens to have a werewolf angle. There was a cycle of successful Agatha Christie adaptations back in the early to mid 70's such as Murder on the Orient Express and it's certainly possible that Amicus thought combining this idea with their horror speciality was a sure-fire winner. Add to the mix a character very similar to the then popular blaxploitation icon John Shaft and Amicus had covered quite a lot of contemporary cinematic bases from the time. It would be wrong to say that they fully succeeded here but, while the result is mixed, it's different for sure and it is entertaining.The central premise has a wealthy hunter invite a selection of people to stay at his remote mansion. The idea of it is that he knows one of them is a werewolf and he intends to find out and kill them - the ultimate hunter's trophy.Like all Amicus productions this one has another stellar cast - Peter Cushing, Michael Gambon, Charles Grey and Anton Diffring in particular. While Calvin Lockhart looks pretty cool in his leather outfit roaming around the grounds of his estate looking for the werewolf. He is complemented too with a funky 70's score, which of course adds to the period feel. The setting is pretty cool too with the modern mansion complete with surveillance cameras and detectors. The movie also adds the famed 'Werewolf Break' where the action freezes and a timer ticks down and we are asked to guess who we think the werewolf is. It's a fun gimmick and gives the film a bizarre angle that ensures that it's memorable. Unfortunately, the werewolf itself is extremely unthreatening, seeing as it seems to be a dog sprayed grey - this is a shame and the film has to lose marks for this. But other than this, The Beast Must Die is a fun and somewhat unusual, horror-mystery.