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Perfect cast and a good story

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

A rather original film, never before had the twin ideas of a whodunit mystery and a werewolf horror film combined and the producers of this film were taking quite a risk. However the risk paid off and the result is a pleasing, strangely old fashioned film with a lot of elements bringing to mind other classics in the genre. Certainly the "bullet in the mouth" sequence at the end of the film resembles the blood test scene in Carpenter's THE THING, and like that film there is a lot of atmosphere and tension as we try to figure out which of the guests the werewolf might be. Other films at the time (THEATRE OF BLOOD, THE GHOUL, THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES) were emphasising blood and guts in the wake of the horror boom in America, and while there is some gore on display here it feels much more like something you would expect from the 1940s.This werewolf film stands amongst the other British lycanthropic flicks, CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF and LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF, and the three films make for pleasing viewing as they are all so different from each other. While the two other films aimed for a more traditional story, this film takes the emphasis away from tradition and instead plunges us into a paranoid world cut off from civilisation where anybody could turn into a monster at any minute. While this kind of film isn't my favourite by any means it deserves points for trying something different. It even includes a William Castle-style gimmick, where the 'werewolf break' occurs and the viewer is asked to guess which of the guests is the werewolf. This also gives the film an old-fashioned feeling and while some people moan about how corny it is, well we know it's a bonus don't we? Lots of action is blended in with the horror, explosions fill the screen and bullets fly about everywhere. It was the '70s after all and this film seems to be trying to appeal to as many different audiences as possible. It's like they threw lots of different elements into a big pot to see what they could come up with, luckily it was a success. All of these factors blend together into a very unique film, with the usual top-notch performances from a distinguished cast.Peter Cushing is on hand to lend his usual air of dignity and automatically raises the film a few levels in my opinion. Calvin Lockhart seems a strange choice to play for the host, it almost seems like the producers were trying to cash in (they were a little late, admittedly) on the blaxploitation era of the early '70s. However, he's very good in his role as the hunter out to hunt the toughest foe of all, an idea which is similar to THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. Charles Gray and Anton Diffring also lend good solid support and with a varied cast like this there was little chance of the film going wrong in the first place. It's something a little different you might want to try if you're tired of the old, Gothic melodramatic tales so popular in the golden days of the cinema. This tale breathes new life into them.

Like all mystery movies there is a tendency from the viewer to guess 'whodunnit' (who it is) before the ending of the film. So this movie is not any different except the stopping of the film before the ending to give you one more chance to think about before it is revealed - that is the only difference. The ending of this film would have been just the same with or without the "werewolf break". 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

Paul Annett's 'The Beast Must Die' ( 1974 ) opens with the morbid voice of Valentine Dyall informing us that this is a detective story in which we - the audience - are the detectives. The mystery is not 'who is the murderer?', but 'who is the werewolf'? We are then urged to spot the clues, and wait for the 'werewolf break'. Douglas Gamley's jazzy theme kicks in, and the titles are played over shots of a palatial country estate. Big game hunter and millionaire 'Tom Sutcliffe' ( Calvin Newhart ) is testing security prior to a dinner party at which six distinguished guests have been invited, among them 'Dr.Lundgren' ( Peter Cushing ), avant-garde artist 'Paul Foote' ( Tom Chadbon ), 'Bennington' ( Charles Gray ), and concert pianist 'Jan' ( Michael Gambon ). Sutcliffe believes one of them is a werewolf, and wishes to hunt it to the death. All the rooms in the house have been electronically bugged.Produced by the Amicus team of Milton Subtotsky and Max J.Rosenberg, this is an entertaining little picture, a sort of horror version of Agatha Christie's 'Ten Little Indians'. It works better as a mystery thriller than a scare-fest though because the werewolf itself is a bit of a let-down - a real wolf was used, instead of some poor guy in heavy make-up - in long shots it looks like a big, angry dog. The film also lacks a transformation sequence ( though we see the creature reverting back to human form, its not quite the same thing ).Black actor Lockhart takes the lead. Interesting to see Michael Gambon in a movie of this kind, and Anton Diffring cast as something other than a Nazi General. Its a bit of a disappointment for Cushing fans; his character is underused throughout. Watching this again recently, I thought: wouldn't it have been great if all six guests had turned out to be werewolves? I'd like to have seen Tom cope with that!'The werewolf break' comes just before the monster's true identity is revealed. The film is paused for thirty seconds while the audience is invited to guess who it is ( before you ask, I got it wrong. I did not spot the clues because there weren't any ). This gimmick was clearly inspired by the films of William Castle.Michael Winder's script was based on a story by James Blish, entitled 'There Shall Be No Darkness'. Cushing later included in his horror anthology 'Tales Of A Monster Hunter'.The idea of a house where everyone is under constant surveillance is an interesting one. Perhaps they could make a series out of it one day, and call it 'Big Beast'!

I don't know why all the positive reviews but it's basically 70's garbage. Perhaps it's 'hip' now to try and admire 1970's films but I grew up in that era and there were some decent movies like perhaps 'Jaws' (the 1st one, not the others) but this is just garbage. I'm not going to say don't watch it but you would have much more fun watching 50's sci-fi movies than to watch this. Yes, there are some campy moments but not enough.They want me to ad more info. hmmm, I like Vincent Price movies, like Dr. Phibes was great. I wear black socks, dress in mounties clothing and hang around in bars. Is that enough yet?