THE BEAST MUST DIE, despite its rather generic horror film title, is really a rather clever 1970s reworking of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. Big game hunter Tom Newcliffe has hunted every type of game there is. For the ultimate sport (and an untried thrill), he invites a number of people to his large English country estate to hunt down one of them. Why? Because one of them is a werewolf! Included among the guests are a former diplomat (Charles Gray of ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW fame), a reclusive pianist (a young Michael Gambon), and the always reliable Peter Cushing (complete with foreign accent) as a werewolf expert. There’s even the also reliable Anton Diffring (CIRCUS OF HORRORS) as a surveillance expert. Top that off with the fact that this is an Amicus production and you have a surprisingly effective old style thriller/mystery/horror film that is more enjoyable than it has any right to be.
Amicus had long been Hammer’s chief competitor in the British horror field during the 1960s usually specializing in multi-story films like DR. TERROR’S HOUSE OF HORRORS and TALES FROM THE CRYPT. They did occasionally make single story features like I, MONSTER, AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS, and this film. Having just revisited it after a lengthy period of time, I was struck and delighted by how well crafted the film is. The editing is crisp, the photography is atmospheric when it needs to be and the performances are in line with the material. The music is effective for the most part except when it shifts into urban contemporary mode because the lead role of the hunter is played by the Bahamian born African-American actor Calvin Lockhart (COTTON COMES TO HARLEM). SHAFT in England it certainly isn’t but that didn’t stop the producers from trying to reach out to a younger, more diverse audience.
THE BEAST MUST DIE is essentially a gimmick film much like the 1966 CHAMBER OF HORRORS. But instead of a “Horror Horn” break, there is a “Werewolf Break” where the film stops for a moment to give you the opportunity of guessing the werewolf before it is revealed. This actually didn’t bother me as much as it should have because I was having such a good time. Is TBMD a good movie? Depends on how you look at it. There are far worse films even amongst those in the Amicus catalogue (THE MONSTER CLUB or VAULT OF HORROR anyone?). This film works because everyone seems so committed to it and that kind of commitment combined with its old school approach makes BEAST a winner in my book. In fact I’d gladly sit through it again rather than endure most of what passes for horror today. On top of everthing else, the film works as a mystery. A good friend of mine who is quite knowledgeable about horror films failed to correctly guess the identity of the werewolf. Can you?
The Capsule Critic 