On 25 July, Dark Sky Films will release a trio of Amicus titles as part of their 'Amicus Collection' and one of those films will be; The Beast Must Die. This 1974 effort from Amicus is directed by Paul Annett and stars; Calvin Lockhart (Tom Newcliffe), Peter Cushing (Dr. Lundgren), Charles Gray (Arthur Bennington), Marlene Clark (Caroline Newcliffe), Anton Diffring (Pavel), Ciaran Madden (Davina Gilmore), Tom Chadbon (Paul Foote) and Michael Gambon (Jam Jarmokowski).
Tom Newcliffe (Lockhart) is a wealthy man....a man who enjoys the thrill of tracking and killing big game and he's done quite well in this hobby of his, but one beast has eluded him and he now plans on making that one final kill to complete his collection and that beast would be a werewolf! Newcliffe and his wife have invited five guests to join them at their estate, five people that Newcliffe knows have been involved or around unusual deaths and he plans on exposing one of those guests as his trophy werewolf. Newcliffe's wife, Caroline (Clark) isn't convinced that the guests or one guest joining them is indeed the trophy her husband is looking for, but she loves him and goes along with his little game. Newcliffe has made his estate quite difficult to escape from with various security measures that include a very impressive control room filled with security monitors that show virtually all areas of the estate and the control room is presided over by Pavel (Diffring). The guests include, Dr. Lundgren (Cushing), Arthur Benningtom (Gray), Davina Gilmore (Madden), Paul Foote (Chadbon) and Jam Jarmokowski (Gambon). All are made quite comfortable before they are told the reason they have been invited to the estate. Naturally, the guests are quite put off that they are even being considered as possible game for Newcliffe's hunting plans, but soon, it's made very apparent that indeed, one among them is a werewolf and not only must they all contend with the horror that one guest may make a meal of each of them, but they must also worry that Newcliffe may at any time shoot one of them down and add them to his wall of trophies!
The Beast Must Die is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1:78.1) and once again, Dark Sky Films has offered a very solid print for fans to enjoy. Colors appear solid with flesh tones looking very natural. A small bit of grain is visible, but in no way interferes with enjoyment of this film. In comparing the original Region 1 release from Image, I;d say this is a big improvement, as that release had a much softer look to the picture and the video quality appears to be on the same level as the Anchor Bay UK Region 2 release which was part of their Amicus Collection. Audio options include an English only language track (Dolby Digital Mono) with English only subtitles offered, as well. Only an instance or two where the audio is quite low, but overall, the film sounds quite good. A nice selection of bonus features are added to this disc and include:
-Commentary Track with Director Paul Annett
-Directing the Beast (Documentary)--Annett Discusses Directing the Film, How the Film Came to Be and the Casting of the Film
-Photo Gallery
-Original Theatrical Trailers--The Beast Must Die, And Now the Screaming Starts, Asylum
-Bios--Paul Annett, Peter Cushing, Anton Diffring, Charles Gray, Calvin Lockhart, Max Rosenberg, Milton Subotsky
*****Please Note--The commentary track with director Paul Annett and the documentary, 'Directing the Beast' are the same used for the Region 2/Anchor Bay UK DVD release.
How can you not enjoy a film that begins with narration that goes like this.....' This film is a detective story---in which you are the detective. The question is not, "Who is the murderer?"---But "Who is the werewolf?". After all the clues have been shown---You will get a chance to give your answer. Watch for the werewolf break!. Sure enough, near the end of the film, the narrator again pops up with a list of possible werewolf suspects and advices you have thirty seconds in which to make your choice as a 30-second clock ticks away! The Beast Must Die may not be one of Amicus' best productions, but it certainly is a fun film to watch. A wonderful cast, a decent enough story and a small twist or two certainly add to the charm of this film. I've heard some people complain about the 'Werewolf Break', feeling it ruins the pacing of the film and is far too gimmicky, but I find it to be kind of fun and something you obviously don't see in films of this decade, these gimmicks were more along the William Castle vein of the 50s. Being a huge fan of Amicus films and never feeling that the titles from Amicus never get the love and respect that they deserve, I'm thrilled with this disc and think any fan of this film will be pleased with the effort. Again, tough to recommend this film as a blind purchase for anyone not familiar with the it, but certainly any fans of the film that have the original release from Region 1, will definitely want to consider upgrading to this disc and those not familiar with the film should give this a rent, just to see what all the fun is about.
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