The Beast Must Die

Plot synopsis:
Millionaire Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) invites a group of people to spend some time in his rural English mansion, along with his wife Caroline (Marlene Clark) where he reveals that one of them is a werewolf, and therefore must be killed. The group is composed of:Arthur Bennington (Charles Gray); a diplomat.Jan and Davina Gilmore (Michael Gambon and Ciaran Madden); a pianist and his ex-student, now wife.Paul Foote (Tom Chadbon); an artist recently released from prison.Prof. Lundgren (Peter Cushing); an archaeologist and a lycanthropy enthusiast.They all stay in the mansion where they are submitted to various tests to force them to transform into a werewolf. The entire house is under surveillance by CCTV cameras as well as motion sensors in the grounds around the mansion set up and overseen by Tom's associate Pavel (Anton Diffring), who doesn't believe in werewolves.The only way to determine the identity of the werewolf is submitting the one to the three nights of the full moon while the wolfsbane is mixed in the air. Tom makes them grab silver objects to provoke allergic reactions, but this proves unsuccessful.One night, while Tom makes a patrol around the mansion that picks up something moving, Pavel is killed by the werewolf, which makes Tom more and more obsessive in finding the werewolf, driving his wife crazy. Tom focuses his suspicions under Paul Foote, who reportedly was arrested because he has eaten human flesh. Foote denies he is the werewolf.The following night, Tom rents a helicopter and does an aerial patrol where he finds the four-legged werewolf running through the woods and he opens fire on it, but misses. Forcing the helicopter to land, the werewolf then attacks kills the helicopter's pilot. It then attacks and kills Caroline's dog, before making its way back to the mansion where it kills Arthur Bennington in his bed.(Note: The viewer is invited to unfold the mystery along with the characters. Near the ending, just before the final scenes, there's a 30 second break called "The Werewolf Break", where the audience is asked to guess who's the werewolf, based around the events of the movie.)Tom submits the remaining group to one final test: put a silver bullet in the mouth. He, however, is forced to take the test first to prove to to the rest of the group that he is not the werewolf. As Caroline puts the silver in her mouth, her hairy, clawed hand is shown and she immediately transforms into the werewolf. She (fully transformed) attacks Tom and he kills her by shooting her with a silver bullet, making him very distraught because Caroline was alongside him when the werewolf killed her dog. Prof. Lundgren deduces that she contracted the werewolf disease while taking care of her dog's wounds. Tom gets angry and promptly thinks Foote is the werewolf, but Foote is also found dead minutes later by the werewolf. To avenge his wife, he enters the woods surrounding the mansion to hunt the werewolf. He finds the beast and finally shoots and kills it. Once dead, the werewolf returns to it's human form and it is revealed to be Jan, the pianist.Tom returns to Prof. Lundgren and Davina, and he soon realizes he was bitten by the werewolf during the scuffle, thus making him the next victim. Not wanting to be another creature, Tom locks himself in the mansion where he goes to his study and shoots himself in the head with a silver bullet.

Tags: mystery

Review:
This low-budget horror film had an innovative concept, mixing rather successfully a traditional Agatha Christie-type murder mystery with a "gory" werewolf flick; the result does hold your attention but is marred by wooden acting (except for the excellent Peter Cushing) and a few overextended chase scenes.
Over a period of three terrifying nights, he narrows down the list of suspects to discover who the beast is ...The movie opens with Calvin Lockhart running through his estate, being pursued by commandos and monitored by the new high-tech security system which he is testing.
We have pretty much an all-star cast in this movie, so if you're a fan of Peter Cushing, Sir Michael Gambon (currently playing Dumbledore), Charles Gray or 'blaxploitation' actors Calvin Lockhart and Marlene Clark, then you'll probably want to see this.
Calvin Lockhart is the main character and for a change he's a wealthy black big game hunter who wants to catch his biggest prize to date, a werewolf.
The great Peter Cushing guest stars and brings some British Horror credibility to the film.From those lovable people at Amicus.
Calvin Lockhart is perfect as the wealthy ranch owner, but the ensemble cast, the inimitable Peter Cushing, Charles Gray, Anton Diffring,and even Tom Chadbon and Michael Gambon chip in nicely, the ladies are appealing too!
So I set forth on my task on finding a copy just to make sure I didn't dream up the whole thing, checking at a lot of second hand stores looking thru videos for any werewolf movie and reading the synopsis on the back trying to figure out the name to this movie I looked and looked and finally while going thru some video's at a video store came across the title The Beast Must Die. Thinking that's probably not it either till I read the back of the box, look out for the werewolf break.
Peter Cushing is great in just about everything he's ever done and because of this little gem I just love some of the horror movies from the company that made this, Amicus is there name and there responsible for a lot of the horror anthologies that came out in the early 70's TALES FROM THE CRYPT, THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD, ASYLUM.
The film concerns on Tom Newcliff (Calvin Lockhart) , a wealthy businessman , great hunter and sportsman living with his wife (M.Clark) and his foreman (Anton Driffing) at a luxurious mansion .
Well, that may be largely true, but "The Beast Must Die" differs from most entries in the genre.For starters it is not centred around the person who is the werewolf, and so dispenses with the usual associated plot lines such as the angst a person goes through knowing that they'll turn into a killer come the next full moon.No, this film, as it proudly boasts via an opening narration is a whodunit, or (I quote) "a detective story...
A little more expansion on them would have helped, particularly as we, the audience, is supposed to be playing detective.Towards the end of the film we get a 30-second "Werewolf Break" when it's time to guess who the werewolf is.
A sort of variation on Agatha Christie's novel 'Ten Little Indians', the film deserves extra credit for not only presenting an intriguing mystery, but also bringing some fascinating werewolf horror theories into the light.
Headed by Peter Cushing (who dons a very silly accent), The Beast Must Die benefits from a stellar English cast including Anton Diffring, Michael Gambon and Calvin Lockhart (who's actually from the Bahamas) in the lead role.
The mystery isn't exactly brilliant either, but by the end - it really could have been anyone, making the 'guess the werewolf' game fun; but a bit pointless, as the rest of the film hasn't narrowed it down.
Check it out: Peter Cushing (too many horror films to list), Calvin Lockhart ("Predator 2"), Anton Diffring ("Circus of Horrors"), Charles Gray ("Rocky Horror Picture Show"), Michael Gambon ("The Omen", "Harry Potter", "Sleepy Hollow").
Peter Cushing alone makes the film worth a viewing, as he plays a werewolf expert -- not unlike his recurring role as VanHelsing, the vampire hunter in the Hammer Horror films with Christopher Lee.One of my favorite parts is the car chase scene.
And sure enough, on the audio commentary the director even states his case: we shouldn't know enough about the characters at this point in the film to care about them, but everyone loves a good chase scene.The film's most memorable scene is the "Werewolf Break".
The horror is a little thin on the ground for much of the film and I think Amicus were better at anthologies than single plot movies.
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'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...
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.
Good storyline that doesn't make blacks look inferior like so many films; Calvin Lockhart plays a rich man with power and money lording it over the whites, quite a change.
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.
Plot has Lockhart as eccentric millionaire Tom Newcliffe, who invites a group of people to his stately mansion, where he reveals that one of them is a werewolf.
Led by the woeful Lockhart, who thinks he's doing blaxploitation, film plays out like a poor imitation of Ten Little Indians and The Most Dangerous Game as the guests are picked off by an Alsatian Dog, and that really is all there is to it.
Thanks to the inclusion of a silly but rather fun gimmick—the Werewolf Break: a thirty second countdown towards the end of the film during which the audience are asked to guess which of the film's characters they think is the monster—Amicus's The Beast Must Die is transformed from an otherwise unremarkable werewolf tale into a slightly more memorable piece of audience participation.Viewers must choose from the group of people who have been gathered together at a mansion owned by millionaire hunter Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart), who has reason to believe that one of his guests is a lycanthrope.
Tom hopes to flush the creature out and bag himself a wolf before the full moon wanes, and has set up a complex surveillance system around his property (installed by security expert Pavel, played by Anton Diffring) to keep a close eye on everyone.The story plays out rather like an Agatha Christie 'whodunnit', with background information on each character being revealed as the film progresses and, of course, red herrings aplenty.
Unfortunately, whilst the whole 'monster/mystery' idea is certainly unique, not nearly enough real clues are given during the course of the movie to allow for genuine detective work, meaning that correctly selecting the human identity of the werewolf is a case of pure pot luck.Still, the cast are great—Peter Cushing and Charles Gray put in finely-tuned performances—and the film does offer some additional camp fun in the form of some laughable 70s attire (Lockhart's shiny black hunting outfit is quite atrocious), a funky 'wakka-wakka' score, and the hilarious high-tech surveillance equipment that takes up a whole room (so many flashing lights!).5.5 rounded up to 6 for IMDb..
So if one guessed wrong then they would have guessed wrong anyway, again, with or without the "werewolf break" - it still ended the same.Reading the wiki, there is an alternative to this film called "Black Werewolf" - and it says the ONLY difference is the "werewolf break" is omitted.It's worth watching if you like trying to solve a movie mystery and werewolves.7/10.
Before the three days are over, the Newcliffe's guest list will be quite a bit shorter...This is a fine and fun little werewolf film, with some great performances.
This movies has tons of things wrong with it--there's a long unnecessary car chase at the beginning; Lockhart overacts to an embarrassing degree; there's plenty of painfully obvious day for night shooting; with a few exceptions all the characters are obnoxious; dinner sequences go on forever; Peter Cushing has a laughable accent and the "werewolf" itself is just a big dog with extra fur stuck on!
What saves this from being totally unwatchable is some good acting by Cushing, Charles Gray and Marlene Clark and a "Werewolf Break" towards the end of the film.
The Beast Must Die (1974) ** (out of 4) Calvin Lockhart plays a big game hunter who hosts a group of people to his country estate.
Werewolf expert Dr. Lundgren (Peter Cushing) is on hand as the two men try to determine which of the guests is the killer.THE BEAST MUST DIE is a British horror film that's pretty much a take off on the Ten Little Indians theme, although here there are werewolves at play.
Then, at the very end of the picture, the movie stops for a werewolf break and you have to guess who you think the werewolf is.The film is a mildly entertaining one but there's just no way of denying that there are some pretty boring stretches and some really dumb moments.
This movie seems like a decent made for TV flick but apparently it wasn't made for TV.Which makes it a below average regular movie.The first thing I noticed is that it's impossible to figure out what country they are in.The cars have the steering wheels on the right side and a few people seem to have British accents so maybe it's England?But they are deep in a forest and the lead guy(who has an accent I can't figure out) keeps saying it's miles to "the village" so then I think it's not England.Oh well.Anyway, it's a very slow moving story and you know from the start that you are supposed to figure out who the werewolf is.All this movie succeeded at was making me even more confused about werewolves.I was going to give it two stars but the narrator from The Rocky Horror Picture Show is in it so I gave it an extra star..
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..
Played by Calvin Lockhart Tom is black his pursuers are white and being a 1970s film that can mean only one thing - a modern day lynching but don't jump to conclusions because Tom is a multimillionaire playboy big game hunter type and he's invited a group of people who he believes one is a werewolf .
When a millionaire (Calvin Lockhart of "Cotton Comes to Harlem" and "Myra Breckinridge") invites several people to his mansion, the audience is told to guess which of these individuals the werewolf is.The opening sequence made me think that a bunch of rednecks were chasing the main character, but the movie contains no redneck characters.
Cocky wealthy big game hunter Tom Newcliffe (a deliciously ripe slice of fat'n'juicy ham by Calvin Lockhart) invites five folks to his posh island retreat: urbane werewolf expert Dr. Christopher Lundgren (the always terrific Peter Cushing), jolly rake Paul Foote (robust Tom Chadbon), pompous Bennington (smooth Charles Gray; Blofield in "Diamonds Are Forever"), classy pianist Jan Jarmokowski (solid Michael Gambon) and Jan's luscious girlfriend Davina (lovely Ciaron Madden).
His guests, played by, amongst others, Peter Cushing, Charles Gray Michael Gambon and a Rick Wakeman look-alike who was obviously chosen for the part because he resembles a Werewolf, treat it as a joke at first; but when the werewolf turns up to spoil the party, they fail to see the funny side.This is a watchable, very curious film indeed.
With some fine plot twists, and the infamous "werewolf break" added at the end, I enjoyed it a lot...The main things that ruin this movie are...1- the horrible 1970's Techno-funk music...(Now THAT is really horrible!!!), and...2- the idea that a black guy in England would have that many honky friends to invite or that he would have that much money without being a deposed African dictator...All in all, an enjoyable romp with excellent acting from most of the cast...but don't expect too much from it, just sit back and let 'er roll..
The cast is actually really good making this b-movie werewolf film actually not that bad, Peter Cushing, Tom Chadbon, Sir Michael Gambon and Lockhart all have a bit of experience and class about then.
It was released with gimmick of murder-minute for the audience to guess killer.This had already been used by George Pollock in his remake of "and then there were none" (Agatha Christie's "ten little Indians" 1965).This is the only originality of a movie which hesitates between a pure whodunit with clues (which are not particularly obvious except maybe Caroline's bleeding hand) and a watered-down version of "the most dangerous game" (Schoedsack,1932).The characters are not interesting enough to sustain suspense and we do not really care who the werewolf is..
"The Beast Must Die" is a great example of a missed opportunity with a great idea.**SPOILERS**Tom Newcliffe, (Calvin Lockhart) invites his wife Caroline's (Marlene Clark) best friend Davina Gilmore, (Ciaran Madden) a socialite, Arthur Bennington, (Charles Grey) a television personality, Jan Jarmokowski, (Michael Gambon) a concert pianist, Paul Foote, (Tom Chadbon) and Dr. Christopher Lundgren, (Peter Cushing) to his mansion to play a hunting game with each other.
Stumbling onto AMC late night movies I found Peter Cushing in a shameful but amusing werewolf mystery movie thing.Calvin Lockhart has the best (poorly delivered) lines in this film, with Cushing giving his 'matter of fact' knowledge of werewolves.
**SPOILERS** Somethink like "The Most Dangerous Game" the British horror/suspense movie "The Beast Must Die" has to do with a man's obsession in his ability to prove himself superior over what he considers the most dangerous and cunning adversary on the face of the earth; The legendary Werewolf.Inviting a number of guests to his country estate including werewolf expert Dr. Christopher Lundgren, Peter Cushing, and his wife Caroline, Malene Clark, big game hunter and all around adventurer Tom Newcliffe, Calvin Lockhert, is determine to prove that one of his invitees is in fact a werewolf!
The Beast Must Die is a 70's horror movie that has you guessing who's the werewolf, the film has a classic 70's soundtrack and an interesting plot that keeps you on your seat wondering who it is.
The acting is good especially from horror legend Peter Cushing who does a great job in all of his films.The film's plot sees a rich hunter Tom Newcliffe inviting a few guests to his mansion in England, but there's a reason why he's got them here.
The Beast Must Die is set in England where rich hunter Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart)has invited six guest's to his isolated country mansion, Tom announces that one of his assembled guest's is a Werewolf & that he plans to find out who it is, hunt them & kill them as the ultimate prey.
The script was based on a short story by James Blish called 'There Shall Be No Darkness' & is a bit of a mess really, it mixes all sorts genres from an Agatha Christie style whodunit with the audience trying to work out who the Werewolf is to The Most Dangerous Game (1932) to straight action to attempts at horror The Beast Must Die is a strange film that has lots of influences.
Thinking about it since Newcliffe didn't actually know who were Werewolves it's possible none of them were.The first thing that happens is some voice tells us about the 'Werewolf break' that will happen once all the clues have been presented, I have never quite seen anything like it & The Beast Must Die is surely the only film to feature a 'Werewolf break'!
The horror aspect isn't much better with the actual Werewolf when seen looking like a large Dog, a couple of people are seen with bites to their throat but otherwise there's little blood or gore either.The Beast Must Die screams 70's with a really annoying & inappropriate score, some skin tight leather clothes worn by the black man & bad special effects.
There's a good cast that is wasted here, from Peter Cushing with a silly accent to Anton Diffring, Charles Gray & soon to be famous Michael Gambon.The Beast Must Die is a camp 70's curio, it doesn't quite know what it wants to be & ends up being nothing in particular, a bit more depth & a better final monster would have made a difference but it's still quite fun & often amusing if not for the right reasons.