Huievest
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Anoushka Slater
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Payno
I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
manchester_england2004
THE BEAST MUST DIE is based on a short story called "There Shall Be No Darkness", written by James Blish.The plot is as follows - a big game hunter who owns a massive country estate invites a group of people to his house for the weekend. He believes that one of them is a werewolf but doesn't know which. They all have skeletons in their closets that fascinate the guy a lot. The hunter has had a state-of-the-art security system recently installed, with cameras and microphones all over the place, plus tracking devices. He's confident the werewolf won't be able to escape as he intends to hunt it down as his "biggest game of all".This film has everything going for it - interesting characters, great acting, an air of mystery, a fast pace, chase scenes, suspense, tension, memorable lines of dialogue... you name it. And the producers don't mess it up either.The casting of Calvin Lockhart may have been intended as a gimmick to try cashing in on the "Blaxploitation" craze sweeping across America in the early 1970s. But the truth is that Lockhart makes the role of the hunter his own. He is very believable in the part and compelling to watch. I know that Robert Quarry was originally intended for the role and, good as Quarry might have been (probably playing the role with a more sinister edge to fit his style), Lockhart was the better choice. What makes the film work is that you root for Lockhart to succeed even though the character isn't exactly the nicest man in the world. And at the same time, you're never sure whether he will or not. The film keeps you guessing. It owes a lot to a great script.Peter Cushing plays a familiar yet different character in the shape of Christopher Lundgren, a German doctor. His German accent is pretty good in my opinion and he never ceases to hold our attention. Cushing is the man who could read a phone book and keep you listening, as someone else on IMDb mentioned previously.It's great to see Michael Gambon in an early role and the rest of the cast do a great job too. I particularly like Ciaran Madden as Davina. I don't know why; I just do. Something about her makes her interesting to watch. Charles Gray isn't given enough to do in the film, though, and that's really the only minor gripe I have with it.The chase scenes are exciting and not drawn out or boring as some suggest. They move along fast and the camera-work is excellent.The film is brimming with atmosphere in all scenes set at night. You're never sure what may spring out at any moment. It's a film that really keeps you guessing as previously mentioned. There are some great moments of suspense and tension, particularly in a key sequence about halfway through the film. I won't say anything about it because it would give too much away. But you'll know what I mean when you see it.And finally, while some may not like the infamous "werewolf break", I love it!For me, THE BEAST MUST DIE is probably the best werewolf film of all time. It's certainly the best one I've seen to date. Very different in style to films such as THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF or the Paul Naschy films for example, it has a style all of its own, with a very 1970s vibe to it. And it's by far and away the best non-anthology film Amicus produced.
Jeremy Boyd
Not Cushing's best work by any means, but still a fairly entertaining film. I do wonder how much he was paid for this job; he seems to spend a lot of time in the background. Good storyline that doesn't make blacks look inferior like so many films; Calvin Lockhart plays a rich man with power and money lording it over the whites, quite a change. The story is a nice variation from your standard guests-invited-to-a-mansion-and-being-killed-off-one-by-one. You'll have an interesting time figuring out whodunit, and the ending provides quite a shock. It is a pity movie-makers don't make films like this anymore; the plot was simple, yet entertaining and interesting to watch.
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.
Sean Kaye
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?
