‘The Beast Must Die’ (1974) (B-Movie Review) — Part Two
Yes, folks! It’s now time for Part Two of this awesome B-movie review!
So, get ready, because here it comes! Like something wicked this way comes, I guess. :)
And don’t miss Part One!
A good deal of time is spent playing weird party games like Pass the Silver Candlestick and Suck on My Silver Bullet. We also get to watch the guests by way of CCTV cameras, which are all over the estate, in a kind of hunt country version of London. Interestingly, Tom’s assistant/friend/surveillance expert, Pavel, is played by Anton Diffring, who you may recognize as a Nazi from Where Eagles Dare. I kept waiting for them to break out the scopolamine!
Various people are attacked and/or killed by what appears to be a wolf or very large, angry dog. And even though Tom thinks the artist, Paul Foote, is probably the wolfman, because of his alleged cannibalism (which I forgot to mention … yeah, that’s just … gross), it turns out he’s wrong about that.
And in a show-stopper (thankfully) of a grand finale, during her turn at Suck the Silver Bullet, Tom’s poor wife Caroline transforms into a hairy beast of a werewolf. But it’s determined that she picked up the affliction by administering treatment to a dog injured by the actual/original/first werewolf they’re looking for.
At that point, Tom gets really pissed off. Because, so far, he’s lost quite a few friends, associates, and guests throughout the movie, including his wife. That’s got to smart a bit. So he chases after the beastie and finds Foote dead! Surprise! It isn’t the cannibal.
But he does eventually track down the offending animal/creature/horror movie icon, shoots the thing, and … behold … it turns out to have been Michael Gambon the Singing Detective, who plays the piano player.
Unfortunately, Tom did not manage to do all this without being injured by the werewolf. Thus, having little to live for (other than moonless nights and restless days), Tom shoots himself with a silver bullet.
And, on that note, the World’s Worst Weekend Get-Together comes to a shuddering halt.
You could even say it’s the opposite of Clue!
