Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		1.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.0

Flesh for the Beast Blu-ray Movie Review

“If you break my toys, I’ll get cross with you.”

Reviewed by Dustin Somner November 22, 2009

Anyone familiar with the work of writer/director Terry West (all two of you out there), should already know what they’re getting into with this film. When your prior filmography includes such cinematic gems as The Sexy Sixth Sense, Witchbabe: The Erotic Witch Project 3, Satan’s School for Lust, and The Lord of the G-Strings: The Femaleship of the String, there’s really no place to go but up. Unfortunately, his latest endeavor seems to be in the same vein, with scores of fully nude actresses lighting up the screen, atrocious acting that borders on satire, and outlandish gore staging that will have you chuckling every five minutes. Flesh for the Beast may not be cinematic gold, but if you set your expectations as far down in the gutter as they will go, there might actually be some entertainment value in West’s latest directorial outing.

The look of fear...

Hired to investigate a haunted mansion that was previously used as a brothel, a team of financially strapped paranormal researchers believe they’ve hit pay dirt. The mansion’s caretaker, John Stoker (Sergio Jones) hopes the team will be able to fully divulge the hidden secrets of the past, by gaining a better understanding of what took place in the mansion during the prior century. Going into the investigation, they’re given a brief history lesson on the mansion’s prior owner, who ran a successful brothel and dabbled in the black mysteries of the occult. Nobody knows what happened to Alfred Fischer (the original owner), but the mansion quickly became a haven of murder, leaving many to assume it was cursed. Not knowing the cause of the curse, the team separates throughout the house, and begins work on their individual tasks. Some of the men take video, others look for ghostly readings on various gadgets, and one researcher tracks the movements of each team member throughout the house. Meanwhile, lead psychic Erin Cooper (Jennifer Litsch) descends into the basement of the mansion with Mr. Stoker, hoping she can make a connection with the other side (I presume hell), and learn the truth behind Fischer’s disappearance or the fate of the house. Sadly, it soon becomes apparent the team is not alone in the former brothel, as a group of beautiful vixens reveal themselves (literally) to the male members of the team. Fantasies don’t always turn out well, as these gents are about to find out.

The first thing you should know about Flesh for the Beast is the film was never designed to be a fright fest. Those who are looking for chills, tension, or an effective plot, will undoubtedly come away feeling disappointed. Having said that, the film does accomplish what it sets out to do. The gore is sufficiently over-the-top, the female nudity is constant (a total of four women show full frontal nudity for several extended scenes), and the story is utterly ridiculous. As you can see from the synopsis above, we’ve seen a number of films with the same initial set-up over the years, so the idea of a haunted mansion with a group of paranormal investigators sent in doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait long for strange occurrences to happen, since we’re soon introduced to cloaked figures, wandering zombies, and oodles of naked succubi. Despite the appearance of these supernatural creatures within the house, the plot continues down a rambling path with one succubi/male encounter after another. Each scene offers director Terry West sufficient opportunity to get his perverted kicks, but the inevitable end-result of each encounter left me cringing when I should have been drooling.

Matters really take a turn for the worst as the end of the film draws near. I won’t ruin the one element of surprise by providing details, but several of the plot twists make zero sense in the context of the film. For instance, zombies show up at random times without a hint of explanation for their existence in the house. If in fact the succubi women eat every piece of their victims (as depicted in the film), how are these mutilated zombies still walking the hallways of the mansion. Second, there’s an amulet at the heart of the story that supposedly offers its bearer complete control over the demonic vixens. When a character in the film manages to obtain the amulet, it offers him zero safety from the women, making the amulet a pointless aspect to the plot. I could go on and on with the problems in the Swiss cheese storyline, but I’m sure most of you know to expect crater size holes in B-grade horror films.

Finding quality actors willing to take part in a soft-core horror feature has to be an immense undertaking. Not only are you signing a contract agreeing to full-frontal nudity, but you’re also effectively signing away the rest of your career. Fortunately, the cast in Flesh for the Beast never really had much to throw away, so they can’t be too disappointed in at least having the opportunity to tell their friends they were in a film. There’s not a single positive quality to the ensemble cast (until they’re having their intestines pulled out), and the starring duo (Jennifer Litsch and Sergio Jones) deliver every line in a stiff, calculated manner. If I could offer the producers of this film one suggestion before their next straight-to-video outing, I’d tell them to send the entire cast to a weekend seminar on how to be an actor.

Flesh for the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 23Mbps), Flesh for the Beast offers a consistently rough visual presentation. Your appreciation for the quality of the picture will likely hinge on your threshold of comfort with film grain, which shrouds every frame of the picture in layers of digital noise. I'm not usually bothered by the presence of grain, but considering the amount of damage it wreaks on other aspects of the visuals, I was more than a little disappointed. For instance, fine object detail looks awful through the majority of the film, but the primary cause of the lost clarity seems to be a lack of hard edges or texturing due to the abundance of film grain. There are still plenty of shots that appear hazy when grain isn't present, meaning I can't pin all of the blame on that one singular component of the transfer, but it's certainly a contributing factor. Equally unimpressive is the color spectrum of the film, which incorporates heavy filtering to create the murky atmosphere of the mansion corridors. If you approach the film without expectations for a natural palette, you might enjoy the visual presentation more than I did. Lastly, I was reasonably impressed with black level depth, but contrast is extremely weak, blending the darker shades of the background into large blocks of nothingness.

In the end, the film offers a pathetic visual presentation that simply doesn't benefit much from the transition to high definition.

Flesh for the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Considering this is a low-budget film from a relatively small studio, I was surprised to find a lossless audio track included on the disc. While not overly impressive, the combination of elements in the audio design ratchets up the tension where needed, and provides plenty of vicious gore effects. For instance, every time one of the lovely (fully nude) female characters transforms into a demonic monster, the music descends into a deranged heavy metal number to accompany the upcoming blood-letting. It comes across as two parts cheesy and one part gross, but I doubt anyone's actually watching this B-grade horror film for the scares. Likewise, the dialogue between characters is given adequate weight in the mix (despite the horrible delivery of the shoddy script), so even during moments when the effects or music are cranked up, we still have no problem making out the spoken lines. My only real complaint about the audio presentation is an overall lack of spatial separation in the surround channels. I never felt a creepy element to the sound design, which I blame partially on the nature of the film, and partially on the lack of immersion from carefully placed effects. In the end, the audio presentation is a competent component of the overall Flesh for the Beast experience, but won't hold a candle to the audio design of a higher budget horror film.

Flesh for the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Behind the Screams (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 29:32 min): Featuring interviews with members of the production crew and cast, this featurette borders on laughable. It cracked me up to hear everyone talk about the film in a serious light (almost as if they're not in on the joke), since the film is the furthest thing from a legitimate horror entry. Interspersed with the various interviews, we're shown clips of the director and crew working on several gruesome set-pieces.

Aldo and Caroline Interviews (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 19:43 min): Writer/director Terry West discusses the cameo appearance by Aldo Sambrell and Caroline Munro, who play Alfred Fischer and Carla the gypsy. The two actors are given a brief opportunity to discuss their characters and film careers, but most of the running time is dedicated to praise for these two relatively obscure actors.

Rounding out the extras, we have a collection of standard definition trailers (Shadow: Dead Riot, The Oracle, Flesh Eater, and Flesh for the Beast).

Flesh for the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Flesh for the Beast will only appeal to a very small segment of the population. You need to have a strong stomach, the ability to leave your brain at the door, and a twisted appreciation for gore-laced nudity. If you'd count yourself among that small segment of the viewing public, this might be a film worth adding to your collection. Otherwise, I'd recommend you avoid it like the plague, and remain in the camp of fortunate individuals who can continue to say they've never witnessed a Terry West production.