An action-packed slog

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

A Tigon production (as in an imitation of Hammer Films) that concerns a series of mysterious deaths in a small town. Men are being attacked but by what. An eagle? The eventual answer that emerges is a bit risible but the film directed by veteran Vernon Sewell is not bad but not that good either. The low budget shows though Stanley A. Long's cinematography is crisp and colourful. The monster make-up is ordinary.Robert Flemyng is suitably intense as Dr. Mallinger, Glynn Edwards as the police sergeant is solid as usual and Roy Hudd gives a hilarious cameo as a mortuary attendant. It also does have Peter Cushing as Inspector Quennell and as always he gives a good performance, even with such thin material to work with and it also has the beautiful Wanda Ventham as Clare, who does charming and strict both equally well. Who would not fall for her? Wanda Ventham never got enough lead roles which was a shame.There is an amateur play within the film which has a sort of Frankenstein type plot which must have amused Mr. Cushing and I'm afraid to say the play-in-the-film was just as entertaining as the film-around-the-play.

In the late 60s, Tigon British Film Productions set out to emulate the success of Hammer Studios, whose popular werewolf, vampire, mummy and Frankenstein's monster movies had helped them to corner the market in lavish Gothic horror. Rather than go up against these traditional heavyweights of the genre, Tigon's first monster movie, the intriguingly titled The Blood Beast Terror, featured an entirely original creation, but one that was destined to fail—it is, after all, rather difficult to be afraid of something quite so bloody silly as a giant killer moth!Despite the presence of seasoned Hammer performer Peter Cushing, and a decent supporting cast including Robert Flemyng, Glynn Edwards (Dave from TV's 'Minder'), comedian Roy Hudd, and babes Vanessa Howard and Wanda Ventham, the film is a total disaster, with Peter Bryan's script delivering very little in the way of surprises, the weak direction from Vernon Sewell (The Curse of the Crimson Altar) resulting in an uneven pace and zero atmosphere, and the ridiculous titular creature—furry of face, with big, red, multi-faceted eyes and feathery antennae—eliciting more laughs than screams of terror.3.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 4 for IMDb.

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.

While the concept works and Peter Cushing does his usual good job in the acting department the one thing I was really disappointed with was the fact we don't get to see much of the monster in monster form. I mean what's the point of having a monster the famous deaths head moth if you don't see his or hers back to see the skull on it. The only time you see it in monster form is in some kind of cocoon resting. Most of the movie it's in the background or in shadow. As I said before, the monster you don't see might be scarier but it's not as cool. To me, I think that phrase Hitchcock said became a lame excuse for movie makers to be cheap and lazy. You heard me, the monster you can't see might be scarier, but it's also cheap and lazier as well. The acting is wondering, the storyline works and even the fact that the monster is an overgrown butterfly works as well. But that whole monster thing is a real downer for me and for that and pretty much that alone I give it 5 STARS.