The Beast Must Die

1974 "One of these eight people will turn into a werewolf. Can you guess who it is when we stop the film for the WEREWOLF BREAK? See it ... solve it ... but don't tell!"
5.6| 1h33m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 01 April 1974 Released
Producted By: British Lion Films
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Wealthy big game hunter Tom Newcliffe has tracked and killed practically every type of animal in the world. But one creature still evades him, the biggest game of all - a werewolf.

Genre

Horror, Mystery

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The Beast Must Die (1974) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Paul Annett

Production Companies

British Lion Films

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The Beast Must Die Audience Reviews

Ameriatch One of the best films i have seen
Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.
tavm Continuing to review werewolf movies in chronological order, we're now at 1974 with The Beast Must Die. A rich man invites his friends over to his home on an island to determine which one of them is the werewolf. I'll stop there and just say while there are some moments that seem illogical, I was mostly entertained through and through. And that "werewolf break" in which the narrator gives us 30 seconds to guess as stills of the characters pass by and a printed clock appears on screen is pure genius though I didn't guess right. Nice performances by lead Calvin Lockhart as well as supporting ones from Charles Gray, Michael Gambon, and horror veteran Peter Cushing, among others. So on that note, The Beast Must Die is worth a look.
utgard14 Millionaire Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) invites a group of people to his rural estate. Tom is a big game hunter and is preparing to hunt the biggest game of all. He announces that he believes one of their group is a werewolf. He has had the estate wired with cameras and motion sensors and intends to hunt the werewolf as soon as the full moon rises. However, things don't go as planned for Tom and, one by one, the guests (and suspects) are killed off. The Beast Must Die is an enjoyable horror-mystery film with an intriguing premise. It's a mash-up of The Most Dangerous Game and Ten Little Indians with a healthy dose of werewolf movie thrown in. I also enjoyed the "werewolf break" gimmick, where the audience is given thirty seconds to guess who the werewolf is before their identity is revealed. That's fun and seems like something William Castle might have thought up.Despite my enjoyment of the movie, there are flaws. There's not a lot of action, for one. There's no special effects to brag about. The plot also doesn't hold up under scrutiny. One example would be the very premise of the film. Tom is certain one of the people assembled is a werewolf, yet he doesn't know which one. How can he be certain if he doesn't know who they are? The film never bothers to try a backstory that might explain his reasoning. We're just thrust into it and supposed to enjoy the ride. Then there's the criticism that it wastes a great cast. The cast is solid, to be sure and includes Peter Cushing, Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, and Michael Gambon. But most of them get very little to do, as Lockhart is the star and most of the screen time is devoted to him. To be clear, Calvin Lockhart does a fantastic job and holds the movie together with his screen presence. But it would have been nicer to see these actors, Cushing especially, get more to do. Obviously it's not a perfect movie. But it is an interesting and ultimately entertaining one. Give it a shot and judge for yourself.
Lee Eisenberg After the rather slow first ten minutes, "The Beast Must Die" turns out to have some neat stuff. 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. Instead, there's Peter Cushing as an archaeologist, Michael Gambon as a pianist, and some others. This is far from the best Amicus movie or werewolf movie, but it's still pretty entertaining. Probably worth seeing once.
azcowboysingr This is a fun little film to watch late at night with a girlfriend...It is actually a fairly good "who-done-it" British style, but not all that scary for the most part. 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.