With Leigh Whannellof Werewolf Man is about to roar into theaters, werewolves are hoping to become the next monster du jour after all Nosferatu closed the year with such a high vampire. Get in the mood by watching one of the weirdest werewolf movies ever, which says something for a genre with some deeply strange entries: 1974’s The Beast Must Die.

Based on a 1950 short story with the equally catchy title “There Shall Be No Darkness,” The Beast Must Die has an Agatha Christie-type set-up, where a group of people are invited to a remote country manor under false pretenses, and discover that they are on a sinister escape that complete with body count. Calvin Lockhart stars as Tom, a flamboyant millionaire whose obsession with hunting inspires him to pursue the ultimate game: a werewolf.

Whether or not werewolves exist is little questioned in the context of the movie; Tom was so enamored with the idea that he invested tons of money in an elaborate werewolf capture system. The grounds around his mansion are equipped with a high-tech (for 1974) surveillance system, which we see on display in an opening sequence where he tests its capabilities—and the audience. -aw believed in Tom as some kind of fugitive tracked by a man muttering orders from a control room to gun-toting security forces.

But even before Tom terrorizes his guests by storming out of the forest with a small army chasing him, we know. The Beast Must Die no ordinary country caper. That’s because the movie opens with some very specific exposition: “This movie is a detective story – where you’re the detective.”

Okay, cool. Participatory element, interesting. But then: “The question is not ‘who is the killer?’—but ‘who is the werewolf?'” Who is WHAT now? “After all the clues are shown, you will have one chance to give your answer… watch the werewolf rest.”

With the prospect of a “werewolf break” now creeping into the viewer’s mind, The Beast Must Die proceeds like an Agatha Christie tale, albeit with a groovy, vaguely disco-flavored soundtrack. Tom explains in great detail to Pavel (Anton Diffring)—the skeptical but kind security expert hired by Tom to manage all that fancy equipment—his motivation behind this strange gathering, in a speech that included the phrases “I follow what I want. ,” “I was born a hunter,” and “it helps me hunt the biggest game of all.”

His “guests” for this adventure, which is not coincidentally set on a full moon, include an array of disgraced eccentrics (a painter who admits to a flirtation with cannibalism; a former delegate of the UN whose colleagues continue to mysteriously disappear), and, as Thunder Tom informs them, “One of you sitting in this room is a werewolf,” followed by a dramatic music Cue. One of you, in other words, is the animal that dies.

Horror legend and future Star Wars The baddie Peter Cushing is second only to be invited as an archaeologist who is invited because he is a werewolf expert. Cushing plays it very seriously as he lectures the other guests about the wonders of wolfsbane pollen, which Lockhart agrees with above as he orders the increasingly uncomfortable group to take turns taking the silverware throughout the movie. The tense build-up precedes the blood test scene in John Carpenter’s The Thing but brings similar results.

We know we’ll find out the identity of the werewolf eventually – unfortunately, that weird CCTV system ends up not being very helpful when Pavel is the first victim – but while you’re swept away with the fun of the various accusations (hmm, that one guy sure has hairy hands!), you might accidentally miss the promised “werewolf break.”

Fear not, though: The Beast Must Diea title taken directly from one of Tom’s declarations, you will not be let down. With about 15 minutes left, and some suspects removed from the line-up because they’ve been devoured, the narrator returns to tell you “It’s the werewolf’s break,” as a ticking clock appears on the screen. and you will see. pictures of all the “suspects.” You have 30 seconds to think about who the culprit is—perhaps, you discuss your theory with whoever is watching the movie with you? Or shout your best guess into the void?—then The Beast Must Die came back and gave you a wrong solution before the actually the gnawing cause of all the trouble was revealed.

We won’t spoil it, obviously, but the end of The Beast Must Die amazing and satisfying. Yes, it relies on a gimmick to get you to the finish line, but what other movie dares to stop everything to express a werewolf break?

You can stream The Beast Must Die free of charge Pipes and some other FAST channels; you can also rent it through Prime Video or watch with subscriptions to Shout! Factory TV and Fandor. Severin movies a Blu-ray was also released with special features, including a commentary by director Paul Annett.

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