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6
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8 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Guest
Review by Rod
Barnett |
For
years everything I heard about this film was negative without
being specific. Snide comments about 'the gimmick' were trotted
out as if that were the only memorable thing on offer, with
no mention of the movie's other qualities. Heeding these poor
reviews I didn't go out of my way to track down The
Beast Must Die but last year I was able to finally see
it as part of an adventure into other Region DVDs. Imagine my
surprise to discover a damned good little movie! Far from being
a gimmicky mess (as I'd heard it once described) I found it
to be a smart variation on The Most Dangerous Game in
which the idea of hunting a man has been one-upped. And now
with its release on Region 1 DVD, more people can discover this
hybrid of horror and thriller. Its well worth the time invested.
Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) is a wealthy
man with one major hobby —
big game hunting. Having bagged every dangerous predator the
world has to offer, he has set his sights on something exceedingly
rare. Convinced that lycanthropes actually exist, he's determined
to provide himself with the opportunity to hunt and kill the
most vicious animal in existence.
Having identified several possible victims
of the disease and invited them to his isolated country estate,
Newcliffe makes the conditions right for the beast to appear.
His plan is to keep his guests under watch for the three nights
of the full moon and wait for a transformation. To this end
he has installed a high-tech tracking and monitoring system
covering the grounds of the entire estate. Hired both to set
up and control the impressive audio/video surveillance equipment
is Pavel (Anton Diffring, Faceless).
When Tom explains the object of his hunt, Pavel is skeptical
but as the pay is good he's willing to go along.
At dinner on the first evening Tom reveals
to his guests his knowledge of their pasts, laying out his case
for each person's possible guilt. He has only circumstantial
evidence for his suspicions but is convinced that one of his
guests is a werewolf. Is it the artist Paul (Tom Chadbon), whose
subjects always seem to end up murdered? Or musician Jan (Michael
Gambon), whose concert tour leaves a trail of half-eaten bodies
around the world? Has the elderly lycanthrope expert Dr. Lundgren
(Peter Cushing) gotten too close to his subject? Or perhaps
the beast is Davina (Ciaran Madden), the young woman whose presence
at dinner parties presages death by throat-ripping? It could
be that disgraced British diplomat Bennington (Diamonds
Are Forever's Charles Gray) is hiding the facts about why
so many of his aides have disappeared...
Setting the scene carefully to make the mythical
beast appear, Tom has rare beef served at dinner and even brings
a pollinating wolfbane plant into the house. But after an antagonistic
parlor game of 'pass the silver candlestick' gets no reaction,
he makes it known that he has no intention of letting his quarry
escape. Mr. Newcliffe wants his hunt and he's willing to go
to any lengths to get it!
On the first night the surveillance grid
shows an animal on the grounds and Tom, clad in shiny black
and carrying a submachine gun, gives chase. He only gets a quick
glimpse of the animal and misses his shot. But showing a high
level of intelligence the beast beats him back to the house
to kill Pavel and wreck the monitoring system! Tom realizes
that he's underestimated his adversary but refuses to give up.
Hiding Pavel's body to keep his death a secret, he continues
on to the second night —
upping the provocation in hopes of another chance.
Of
course, I kept wondering what would happen if more than
one of the suspects were lycanthropes! After hearing Tom's list
of evidence against them it seemed possible that two or more
might be shapechanging monsters; maybe they'd join forces to
off the sucker dumb enough to get too close. But that's not
the way the story goes. We're told at the beginning of the film
that there is one werewolf and that the audience will
be given the chance to guess the identity of the creature. And
this is The
Beast Must Die's gimmick:
the "Werewolf Break". At a point just before the killer
is revealed there is a brief pause in the film, complete with
a countdown clock so that viewers can demonstrate their deductive
powers. It's a bit silly I admit, but I like it as it gives
viewers the chance to talk about the suspects without missing
anything. Maybe in the days of Pause buttons this is pointless
but I think theatrically it would have been fun. The best thing
about it is that the film immediately pulls a switch leading
to a nice double-clutch surprise.
The
film sports a very strong cast with veteran Cushing leading
the way. Doing a nice Norwegian accent, he is easily the least
likely suspect but adds enough arched eyebrow mystery to cause
some doubt. Charles Gray and Michael Chambon are familiar character
actors who bring a high level of performance to the table; Marlene
Clark, playing Newcliff's wife Caroline, is very good as well.
The real casting surprise is Calvin Lockhart. Casting a black
man in a role originally slated to be played by Robert Quarry
might have seemed a bit crazed to some but it pays off brilliantly.
Lockhart is fantastic in the role, perfectly balancing the slightly
mad determination to hunt his prey with the smooth genteel manners
of the worldly man of wealth that he has made himself. It's
a great performance that holds the movie together well.
Another surprising
but effective decision of the filmmakers was in their presentation
of the beast itself. Eschewing the standard man-in-a-hairy-outfit,
they instead went with a large animal on all fours, loping across
the darkened estate and attacking like a mad wolf. I was happy
with this choice as well, as it emphasizes the beastly aspect
of the creature and is a break with convention. And even if
the animal is all too obviously a big dog with extra hairy padding
stuck to it, the film does a good job of keeping him in shadow
and therefore pretty menacing. The few clear shots of it against
a moonlit sky are quite nice with its attack on Pavel being
especially well done.
I can understand the
criticisms leveled against this film over the years even as
I don't agree with them all. Yes, the creature could have looked
better, the Werewolf Break is cheesy and the film could stand
to be about 10 minutes shorter. Strangely, the one element I
was most annoyed by is one that I've never heard complaints
about — the score. Although I think the music written for the
film by Douglas Gamley is a nice slab of '70s
semi-funky cheese, it often seems at odds with the seriousness
of the film. But this is still a solid monster movie that deserves
more attention than it has received. The unique Ten Little
Indians/Most Dangerous Game set-up is fascinating
and I'm surprised it hasn't been tried since. Indeed, if ever
a film was ripe for a remake this is it! As the film is based
on a James Blish story, perhaps some enterprising young producer
can option that sucker and bring the Werewolf Break into the
21st century!
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Dark
Sky Films has brought The
Beast Must Die
to Region 1 DVD in a very nice package that ports over all the
extras from the Region 2 disc while doing it one better. The Anchor
Bay U.K. DVD had a nice transfer but the film was given a disappointing
full frame presentation. This release corrects that mistake by
properly matting the image to 1.78:1 and enhancing it for 16X9
TVs. The sound is a simple 2.0 Mono mix that serves the film well,
but it should be noted that the Region 2 version had an optional
5.1 mix for the those so inclined. The excellent extras include
the short documentary Directing the Beast, which focuses
on an interview with first-time feature film director Paul Annett.
Annett also contributes a good commentary track to the disc that's
worth a listen for fans of the film. His tales about the cast
alone are rewarding for the curious.
Topping
the extras are a photo gallery, theatrical trailers for other
Amicus films and more extensive cast & crew biographies than the
U.K. disc. Another nice addition to the package is an insert with
liner notes written by Christopher Gullo and an essay by Annett
entitled Memories of Peter Cushing.
A very good DVD of an unfortunately maligned movie. 8/21/06 |
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