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With Leigh Whannell‘s The wolf man about to howl their way into theaters, werewolves hope to become the next monster of the day to come Nosferatu closed the year with such vampiric heights. Get in the mood by watching one of the weirdest werewolf movies ever, which is saying something for a genre that has some very strange entries: 1974 The beast must die.
Based on a 1950 short story with the equally seductive title “There Will Be No Darkness.” The beast must die has an Agatha Christie-type setup, in which a group of people are invited to an isolated country house under false pretenses, and realize they’re on a sinister escape complete with body count. Calvin Lockhart plays Tom, a flamboyant millionaire whose obsession with hunting has inspired him to pursue the ultimate game: a werewolf.
Whether or not werewolves actually exist is only slightly questioned in the context of the film; Tom is so obsessed with the idea that he has invested tons of money into an elaborate system of catching werewolves. The grounds around his mansion are equipped with a high-tech surveillance system (for 1974), which we see demonstrated in an opening sequence in which he tests his abilities – and the audience is led to believe that Tom is a type of fugitive tracked by a man barking orders from a control room to armed security forces.
But even before Tom terrifies his guests by storming out of the forest with a small army chasing after him, we know The beast must die he is no ordinary country leader. That’s because the film opens with a very specific exposition: “This film is a detective story – in which you are the detective.”
Okay, cool. Participatory, intriguing element. But then: “The question is not ‘who is the killer?’, but ‘who is the werewolf?’ what you do now? “After all the clues have been shown, you will have a chance to give your answer…look at the werewolf’s pause.”
With the prospect of a “werewolf breakout” now percolating in the viewer’s mind, The beast must die it goes on very much like an Agatha Christie story, albeit with a groovy, vaguely disco-flavored soundtrack. Tom explains in great detail to Pavel (Anton Diffring) – the skeptical but good-natured expert Tom hires to oversee all that fancy equipment – his motivation behind this strange meeting, in a speech that includes the sentences “I go after what I want. ,” “I was born a hunter” and “this will help me hunt the biggest game of all.”
His “guests” for this adventure, which is not coincidental under the full moon, include a series of unfortunate eccentrics (a painter who admits to a flirtation with cannibalism; a former UN delegate whose associates have kept disappearing mysteriously), and Tom thunderously informs them, “One of you sitting here in this room is a werewolf,” followed by dramatic music. cue. One of you, in other words, is the beast that will die.
Legend of horror and future Star Wars Villain Peter Cushing is called in as a guest archaeologist because he is an expert on werewolves. Cushing plays it very seriously as he lectures the other guests about the oddities of wolf pollen, which Lockhart pleasantly tops as he orders the increasingly uncomfortable group to go back and pick up silverware throughout the film. The tense build-up precedes the blood test scene in John Carpenter’s The Thing but it brings a similar result.
We know we’re going to learn the identity of the werewolf eventually – unfortunately, this wonderful CCTV system ends up not helping much when Pavel is the first victim – but as you swept away with the fun of the various accusations (hmm , that guy. He sure has terribly hairy hands!), you might accidentally forget the “werewolf break” promise.
Fear not, though: The beast must diea title taken directly from one of Tom’s statements, he won’t let you down. With about 15 minutes to go, and a few suspects removed from the line-up for having already been devoured, the narrator returns to tell you “This is the werewolf’s break”, as a ticking clock appears on the screen and you will see. images of all the “suspects”. You have 30 seconds to ponder who the culprit might be – presumably, you have to discuss your theory with whoever is watching the movie with you? Or shout your best guess into the void? – at first The beast must die comes back and gives you a false solution before the current snarling cause of all problems is revealed.
We do not delete, obviously, but the end of The beast must die it is both surprising and satisfying. Yes, it relies on a trick to get to the finish line, but what other movie dares to put everything on a screeching halt to declare a werewolf break?
You can stream The beast must die free on Pee and a few other FAST channels; You can also rent it through Prime Video or watch it with subscriptions to Shout! Factory TV and Fandor. Severin Films also released a Blu-ray with special features, including commentary from director Paul Annett.
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