Now normally all of our awful movie reviews (the films are awful, not the reviews. Well, we like to think so at least) go up on Moviegrenade, but I'm making an exception for this one. Mostly because it brought back a lot of fond memories and because I'm really not going to review it. So there! The Beast Must Die came out during the drug-addled, care-free 70's. 1974 to be more precise. It was filmed out of the famed Shepperton Studios in England and it was their notion of a werewolf film combined with an Agatha Christie novel combined with the blaxploitation genre. What a wonderful idea! It starred Calvin Lockhart (wasn't that the boy's name in Calvin and Hobbes?), Peter Cushing and Michael Gambon. All viciously chewed up the scenery in ways that made me think that it had to be a condition in their contracts.
The plot is right out of "The Most Dangerous Game" and "Ten Little Indians". A wealthy hunter invites an odd group of guests to his secluded estate. He then announces that "...one of you here, in this room, is a werewolf!" Horrors! Lots of bad special effects, bad acting and bad music follows, but the best part of the film is in the third act during the "Werewolf Break". What, prey/pray tell, is a Werewolf Break you ask? The producers actually stop the film and asks the audience to take some time to decide on who the werewolf is out of the group. It's fantastic! They even show a little clock on screen so you can see the passage of time. What has two thumbs and loves visual aids to assist in his boredom? This guy!
I'm only joking because I truly love this film. It's like opening a vault into the past. The clothes, the music, the hair! I recorded it over the weekend and caught bits and pieces of it at that time, but I'm going to watch it with Gia tonight. I'm hoping the groovy 70's soundtrack will put her in a naughty mood! Rowr!
Note: You gotta love the "Amicus: the studio that dripped blood" tag on the poster. Ya gotta!
