THE SHE BEAST Was Michael Reeves First Film Effort

As an aficionado of silent films, it’s amazing the impact that a restored print can have on the viewing experience. The same is true of regular movies as well, including a low budget drive-in special like this one. Throw in the fact that this was the debut feature of the tragically short lived British filmmaker Michael Reeves (who would go on to make the legendary WITCHFINDER GENERAL with Vincent Price and like Heath Ledger would die of an accidental prescription drug overdose in his 20s) and you have something really special.

Shot in Italy on a budget of around $40,000 and released in 1966, THE SHE BEAST (REVENGE OF THE BLOOD BEAST in England) clearly prefigures WITCHFINDER GENERAL in some of its scenes and even in some of its camera shots. Compared to the old beat up 16mm prints that were available up to now, this 35mm transfer is a revelation and shows that Reeves had an extraordinary cinematic eye for composing the look of his films. Very few directors could have gotten so much out of so little as he does here.

Barbara Steele was available for one day and is little more than a guest star but she helped to sell the picture. Ian Ogilvy in his first film is all he needs to be while John Karlsen and Mel Welles add necessary spice to the proceedings. Watching this reminded me again of what was lost when the drive-ins disappeared. Today there is no low budget training ground for young directors where their works can be seen by a large number of people. A movie like this would now go straight to DVD and into rental and bargain bin oblivion.

This Dark Sky DVD release is everything a cult film lover could wish for. Not only is the print quality absolutely gorgeous but the guest commentary by Ogilvy, Steele and producer Paul Maslansky is both informative and quite amusing. It helps to explain why the film wildly veers between being an outright horror film, a political satire, and a Keystone style slapstick comedy. Taken as a whole it isn’t very good but it does have its moments and is very enjoyable. THE SHE BEAST deserves to be seen by anyone interested in low-budget filmmaking and as a look at the beginning of a short but remarkable career.