The Beast Must Die Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Beast Must Die Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 12, 2020

Paul Annett's "The Beast Must Die" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include archival audio commentary by the director and author Jonathan Sothcott; archival audio interview with producer Max J. Rosenberg; archival audio interview with cinematographer Jack Hildyard; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

It is one of them. We wait -- and then we catch him!

Here are a couple of changes that would have made Paul Annett’s The Beast Must Die a much more effective film. First, Annett should have considered a different title, like The Gathering, or The Hunt. While I am not one of those cranky people that routinely discover inexcusable ‘spoilers’, especially when older films are discussed, I do believe that the current title is way too revealing. Why? Because Annett’s film produces so many curve balls that it would have been far more effective if seen without the knowledge that it is about a ‘beast’. Once the title is changed, for obvious reasons the prologue must go too. Now the film becomes a trivia game, which believe it or not is exactly how it was conceived. Here’s the proof: the entire opening sequence where Calvin Lockhart’s character, Tom Newcliffe, is hunted by the armed men looks like it was pulled right out of Joseph Losey’s Figures in a Landscape. If you turn off the music, it has the exact same ambience as Robert Shaw and Malcolm McDowell’s surreal getaway. If you turn on the music again, however, the whole sequence changes, and the film suddenly enters blaxploitation territory. Now Newcliffe looks like a distant relative of Fred Williamson who has ticked off the wrong bunch of goons and is looking for a way out. But he fails and his run ends on a beautiful green lawn in front of a posh British estate where the film changes its mind and chooses yet another direction, one that Agatha Christie’s work typically follows. Can you tell now how the film wants to play with your expectations and test your knowledge of other genre films? This game would have been much more interesting if the existence of the ‘beast’ was kept secret for as long as possible.

What happens next? Newcliffe, who has miraculously recovered, announces that one of the guests that have gathered at his estate is a werewolf and he is going to force the creature to reveal itself. When it does, he is going to kill it. He has the whole place wired with cameras so as soon as the transformation is initiated, he would know and be able to get the job done. But identifying the beast turns out to be a very, very tricky business.

The premise may suggest an intense horror film with a seemingly endless array of Gothic overtones, but this happens to be yet another curve ball. Remember, the film is a trivia game that wants to play with your expectations, so once you realize that it is so you will see that it has a pretty good sense of humor. It is just very, very British, so a lot of the digs that produce the humor can be a bit elusive.

The deeper you dig into Michael Winder’s screenplay, however, the more you will realize that there are just as many fumbles as well. They are of the illogical kind that quickly cheapen the entire production, which is unfortunate because the potential for something truly special was there. I think that it is pointless to identify them, but think of scenes that exist only because they allow Annett to get a fancy shot or have an action moment that makes the film appear bigger than it was.

Amicus, which produced the film, apparently considered a much more impressive cast that included the likes of Donald Pleasence, Peter Vaughn, Patrick Magee, and Harry Andrews. The current cast looks good on paper, but the contributions of genre icons like Peter Cushing are instantly forgettable.

The Beast Must Die Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Beast Must Die arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from a recent restored master which I found incredibly frustrating. Here's why:

It is immediately obvious that the master has wonderful density levels and is very healthy, so I was mentally prepared for a wonderful viewing experience. However, by the time the hunt of Calvin Lockhart's character, Tom Newcliffe, ended, I could already tell that the grading job was questionable. I did not have a problem with the color values, rather I thought that the grading of the darker footage was so aggressive that most of the time it was simply impossible to tell what was happening there. Going forward, things only got worse. Indeed, there is footage that reveals such heavy black crush that there are literally blocks of black that pop up on the screen and wipe out just about all native nuances. You can see examples in screencaptures #21 and 22. During indoor footage, where often the background(s) must reveal different ranges of details, depth becomes very problematic as well, and whenever there are different layers of shadows the crushing basically produces a whole lot of digital flatness. Needless to say, instead of having rich and nicely detailed visuals, this master produces very dark and flat visuals that do not look filmic at all. Everything else from image stability to fluidity is great, but the flawed grading completely offsets the benefits that should have made the current presentation special. A missed opportunity, indeed. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Beast Must Die Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is excellent. The audio is very clean, sharp, and nicely balanced. The upper register, where older films typically reveal signs of aging, is very healthy as well. I even thought that dynamic intensity was very nice, though the low-budget nature of the production certainly does not offer any legitimate opportunities to impress.

The Beast Must Die Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for The Beast Must Die. In English. (1 min).

• Trailer Commentary - critics Kim Newman and David Flint comment on the original trailer for The Beast Must Die. the piece was recorded in 2017. In English. (1 min).

• Super 8 Version - presented here is an original studio Super 8 version of The Beast Must Die. In English, with optional English subtitles. (19 min).

• Paul Annett: Directing the Beast - in this archival interview, director Paul Annett remembers what it was like to shoot The Beast Must Die and work the different actors that were hired to do it. There are also some very interesting comments about the producer of the film, Milton Subotsky, who apparently hated it. In English. (13 min).

• Introduction by Stephen Laws - in this new program, horror novelist Stephen Laws discusses the style and tone of The Beast Must Die. In English. (4 min).

• The BEHP Interview with Peter Tanner - Part Two (1939-1987) - presented here is an excerpt from an audio interview conducted by filmmakers Roy Fowler and Taffy Haines on August 6, 1987. The bulk of the comments address the evolution of Mr. Tanner's film editing career. In English. (81 min).

• The BEHP Interview with Jack Hildyard - presented here is an excerpt from an audio interview conducted by filmmaker Alan Lawson on January 7, 1988. Mr. Hildyard discusses his work as a cinematographer and some of the directors he met and worked with over the years. In English. (91 min).

• Interview with Max J. Rosenberg - in this archival audio interview, producer Max J. Rosenberg discusses the conception and production of The Beast Must Die. The interview was conducted by author Jonathan Sothcott in 2000. In English. (48 min).

• Audio Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by director Paul Annett and Jonathan Sothcott in 2003.

• Image Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials for The Beast Must Die.

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art for The Beast Must Die.

• Booklet - 40-page booklet with a new essay by Neil Young, an archival article on Amicus Productions, a look at the James Blish short story which inspired the film's screenplay, an extract from the pressbook profiling actor Calvin Lockhart, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and technical credits.

The Beast Must Die Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I don't think that The Beast Must Die is the failure its producer was apparently convinced it was. I actually quite like how it blends elements from various genres and then dispatches all kinds of different curve balls, especially early on while it is still unclear who the main suspects are. But the screenplay must have been very inconsistent because in the second half the stars are not provided with any legit opportunities to impress, which is why the end result is B-grade entertainment that does not leave a lasting impression. This recent release is sourced from a pretty frustrating restored master, so if you wish to add it to your library, find a way to test it first.