'70s Class?: The Beast Must Die (1974)

 Can you guess the Monster?!?  Surprisingly, the Film famous for this gimmick- aka The Werewolf Break- is NOT a William Castle Film.  This is The Beast Must Die, a 1974 Amicus Film that is part Agathe Cristie and part Lon Chaney Jr.  The Plot involves a rich and famous Hunter bringing a group of unrelated strangers to his Estate for a weekend.  The twist- he knows that one of them is a Werewolf!  I feel like Donald Trump Jr has tried this once.  The marketing gimmick was apparently added by the Studio and the Director was not a fan of it.  Eh, it has made it famous, so win-win.  The Cast has some notable additions, including the late-great Peter Cushing, Michael Gambon and Charles Gray.  The Main Star here- Calvin Lockhart- inadvertently played a big part in Rap Culture too, as he played a Character named 'Biggie Smalls' in a Film- no joke.  I'll double-up on that random Fact by pointing out that the Author of the original Story is credited with inventing the term 'Gas Giant' to describe certain Planets.  East Coast Rap and Planetary Terminology- this Film has everything!  Can he find the Werewolf?  Can you guess who it is?  Can I ever make the third question a serious one?  To find out, read on...

A man is chased around by Hunters, must avoid Cameras and other detection devices.

What is going on?

He's a famous Trophy Hunter who spent no doubt countless thousands on the Security Systems and he was testing them.

Why?

He's brought a small cadre of strangers to his House.  The one thing they have in common- possibly being a Werewolf!

One is possibly a Serial Killer, another is a disgraced Diplomat, a third is a casual cannibal.  Peter Cushing, meanwhile, is just an Expert on Werewolves.

That feels like an obvious set-up, but it is not.

Our Hero has an obvious advantage with all of the Tech at his disposal and also because of his 'Man in the House.'

On Night 1, he tracks the Wolf- which is actually a Wolf- and it actually tricks him, attacking the 'Man in the House' and smashing his gear.

So much for 10 minutes of build-up.

Cushing is here to deliver lots of pseudo-science on how Werewolves work and why their weaknesses exist.

Do you care?  No.
Does he class things up?  Yes.

On Night 2, he ups the ante by bringing out his high-powered gun and hunting from a Helicopter like Black Power Sarah Palin!

Naturally, he doesn't kill the Beast, the Pilot is killed AND he loses the Helicopter in an explosion.

On Day 3, he's even more annoyed after all that happened.  He makes one last push leading to a Ceremony that feels like foreshadowing for the Blood Test Scene in The Thing.

Can you guess the Werewolf?!?

Is it the Red Herring, the Women who don't have enough Character, the forgettable James Bond Guy or Gambon?

To the Film's credit, they do give you a secondary, fake-out reveal (see below) that will make some of you go 'Oh, I knew it' before they show you the actual Werewolf.  Touche, Film.

The beast sure is fun to watch.  Let's be honest- this is just a Horror riff on classic Mystery fare like '10 Little Indians' or '...And Then There Were None.'  That said, is there anything wrong with that?  No.  It is a fun, Horror version of a kind of story that is proven to work.  I mean, if someone did Knives Out, but one of them was secretly a Werewolf, I'd watch that in a heartbeat!  Make that Film!  At the heart of the Film, you want to know who the beast secretly is.  They try their best- with limited success- to hide who it is.  I'm not going to say that the reveal was super-obvious.  They certainly tried to make you question everyone.  The Acting here is the obvious draw.  The less obvious draw is the Special Effects.  For whatever reason, they don't have an actual Werewolf- just a person that turns into a normal Wolf.  Yes, the Wolf is clearly a dog with extra fur matting if you can stop and look at it carefully.  They are careful to shoot the creature- no pun intended- in quick ways or in the dark.  Speaking of the dark, the Film has a very odd view of how that works.  We see that it is night time through the windows...only for the following Scenes to be in what is best described as barely dusk.  I get it- it is hard to shoot at night.  For all the good work they do setting the mood, the inconsistent timing is just kind of distracting.  Is the gimmick of the Werewolf Break good?  Objectively, no.  It feels like a William Castle thing.  That said, it feels like a William Castle thing, so I liked it.  It's a good Film and it has a good alternate Poster that seemed to inspire the one for Wolfen some 6 years later...

  

Next time, I stick with the 1970s and Horror.  Hopefully it is as sharp as the Title sounds.  Stay tuned...