THE BEAST MUST DIE
Nick Setchfield
Rated 4 out of 5 stars EXTRAS Rated 4 out of 5 stars
RELEASED OUT NOW!
1974| 15| Blu-ray
Director Paul Annett
Cast Calvin Lockhart, Peter Cushing, Marlene Clark, Michael Gambon
BLU-RAY DEBUTEven before its notorious, story-pausing “Werewolf Break” - a chance for viewers to guess the identity of a lycanthropic killer at large on a country estate - this last-gasp horror from Amicus Productions is a gimmicky affair. The set-up is pure Agatha Christie parlour game, but it’s cross-bred with a combat-ready action movie vibe that mixes helicopters and machine guns with croquet and murder. And with its pseudo-funky score and leather-clad lead - a rather stagey Calvin Lockhart, cool to the point of permafrost - the film’s clearly chasing the Shaft dollar, too. Such unlikely genre-mashing keeps it entertaining, but the whodunnit element feels as undercooked as the scares.