INDICATOR RELEASES THE BEAST IN THE UK! AMICUS FILMS 'THE BEAST MUST DIE' ROARS ONTO ON BLU RAY!

NEWS: SOME GREAT NEWS FOR PETER CUSHING AND AMICUS FILMS FANS FOR JUNE 2020!!The last of Amicus’ famed horror productions, 'The Beast Must Die' (1974) makes it's UK PREMIERE on BLU RAY in the UK on JUNE 29th 2020!

#INDICATOR / #POWERHOUSE HAS STARTED to really build itself a sterling and quite trusted reliable reputation for BLU RAY and BOX SETS of considerable quality and content! SEVERAL of their HAMMER FILM collections have treated fans and collectors alike with very interesting titles supported with quite a stash of surprising extras (The recent Indicator Hammer Box Set 'FACES OF FEAR' VOLUME FOUR'  included an impressive 4k remastering of 'The Revenge of Frankenstein' with the inclusion of some very rarely seen 'On Set' and Behind the scenes trims and footage of the Bray studio floor during shooting with Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Eunice Gayson and Oscar Quitak) As, hoped, the 'THE BEAST MUST DIE' blu ray also comes with its own bank of extras and goodies! JUST SEE BELOW 😃

'THE BEAST MUST DIE' INDICATOR BLU RAY High Definition REMASTER:  Calvin Lockhart (A Dandy in Aspic) and Marlene Clark (Ganja & Hess) have invited a disparate group of guests, including Peter Cushing (Corruption), Michael Gambon (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover) and Charles Gray (The Legacy), to their mansion in the English countryside. He believes one of them is a werewolf… and, before the weekend is out, he’ll find out who it is! The last of Amicus’ famed horror productions, 'The Beast Must Die' combines the country-house whodunnit with the werewolf shocker and adds a dash of blaxploitation for good measure.

• Audio commentary with director Paul Annett with writer Jonathan Sothcott (2003)
• Interview with Max J Rosenberg (2000): archival audio recording of the famed producer in conversation with Sothcott
• The BEHP Interview with Jack Hildyard (1988): an archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the Oscar-winning cinematography in conversation with Alan Lawson
• The BEHP Interview with Peter Tanner – Part Two, 1939–1987 (1987): an archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the acclaimed editor in conversation with Roy Fowler and Taffy Haines
• Introduction by Stephen Laws (2020): appreciation by the acclaimed horror author
• Directing the Beast (2003): archival interview with Annett
• Super 8 version: cut-down home cinema presentation
• Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
• Original theatrical trailer
• Kim Newman and David Flint trailer commentary (2017): short critical appreciation
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive 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 press-book profiling actor Calvin Lockhart, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies
• BBFC cert: 15
  REGION B

INDICATOR'S 'THE BEAST MUST DIE' is a LIMITED EDITION and is now available for PRE-ORDER RIGHT NOW from POWERHOUSE RIGHT HERE! 

ABOVE: The Dogs Dinner! The make job on actor Anton Diffring by make artist, Paul Rabiger in #TheBeastMustDie on blu ray for the first time in the UK in June AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW from INDICATOR / POWERHOUSE FILMS! 

 

FIND OUT MORE about the story and history of Amicus films, 'THE BEAST MUST DIE' at the PCASUK FEATURE written by TROY HOWARTH complete with STILLS GALLERY RIGHT HERE!

FROM WEREWOLVES AND GIBLETS TO SOFT TOY AND PIGLET!

PETER CUSHING takes a break on set from playing Dr Christopher Lungren in Amicus films 'The Beast Must Die' (1974) An alternate version of the film was released under the 'interesting' title of, 'Black Werewolf'. For some weird reason this cut, edits and omits the wonderful "werewolf break" near the climax! now where is the fun in that????

HERE IS THE PCAS feature and gallery on Peter Cushing and Amicus films, 'THE BEAST MUST DIE' LOTS of interesting and rare pics! Have fun! 

FROM WEREWOLVES, TO PIGS! . On the LEFT is a soft toy and comfort to Peter Cushing from a very early age. He loved it all his life and throughout his entire life, it was always near his bed. On the RIGHT, Peter Cushing on the beach, in his woolen swim suit aged seven. He loved swimming all his life...and as an adult, would take daily early morning dips in the sea, which was virtually outside his front door at Seasalter, Whitstable.

AT THE FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE, many have asked WHERE IS PIGLET NOW? When Peter died, all of his personal things, his vast collections of books, model theatre's, war game figures, stamps, postcards...so many things, became part of the estate that became the property of Joyce and Bernard Broughton... the people who looked after Peter in the last ten years of his life...and the people who gave permission for the CGI Rogue One Tarkin, to become a reality. Joyce had been Peter's personal secretary, assistant and friend, since 1957. Most of Peter's belongings and collections were auctioned, not only for fans to own a special piece of something, but also to meet the demand of a huge 'death tax' demand. However, somethings Joyce kept or passed onto the display at the Whitstable Museum... and that is where 'Piglet' now lives! In a glass case, along with other personal Cushing items

THE 'WHO-DONE-IT WITH-BITE! : CALLUM MCKELVIE TRIES TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF THE 43 YEAR OLD THRILLER

SOON TO BE RELEASED IN A REMASTERED BLU RAY COLLECTION, CALLUM, TRIES TO SOLVE THE ALLURE OF THE DOG THAT WONT LIE DOWN . . .

DESPITE HAVING TACKLED  classic monsters such as Frankenstein and Dracula, it wouldn’t be until the mid-1970’s when Peter Cushing appeared in a Werewolf film. Indeed two in as many years, 1974’s The Beast Must Die! And 1975’s Legend of the Werewolf. The latter of these was a much more traditional werewolf tale, whilst the former was something of an innovative attempt to twist the tale with a murder mystery drama and Blaxploitation elements popular at the time. After all, it was only a mere three years since the release of Shaft and Blaxploitation horror films were not unusual with Blacula in 1972, its sequel Scream Blacula Scream! In 1973 and others such as Sugar Hill following later. Add to this a ‘funky’ soundtrack and a unique gimmick, the ‘Werewolf Break’, which stopped the film just before the third act to give the audience the chance to guess who the werewolf might be.

BASED ON JOHN BLISHE'S 1950 story; There Shall Be No Darkness, the script by Michael Winder sticks particularly close to the material on which it’s based, updating the period and sensibilities appropriately. Cushing play Professor Lundgren, one of several individuals invited by Calvin Lockhart’s Tom Newcliffe, to his home. Newclifffe is a millionaire who is convinced one of his guests is a werewolf and is determined to hunt them. Like the varying versions of And Then There Were None, from which the film borrows a great deal, it’s the cast that immediately draws attention. Alongside Cushing and Lockhart are a young Michael Gambon, Charles Gray, Ciaran Madden, Marlene Clark and Tom Chadbon. One of the main joys of the film is the interactions between these various characters, particular those scenes between Charles Gray’s pompous diplomat and Tom Chadborn’s psychotic artist. Anton Differing appears for a welcome few scenes as a security technician who meets a grisly end at the hands (or perhaps paws) of the beast.

IT'S A SIMPLE ENOUGH premise but one that provides an entertaining spin on the usual werewolf tales of reluctant monsters and is therefore all the more interesting for it. There are several missed opportunities in the script however, it drags a little in the middle and lacks debate on Lockhart’s desire to kill a beast that is a human being who cannot help the horrific changes that occur. Considering the sluggish scenes in the middle where Lockhart chases an unknown suspect through the woods or some of the admittedly endless scenes of conversation between the various guests in which they demonstrate the same levels of paranoia again and again, subtext such as this would of helped enliven these duller portions.

THE FILM RELIES a lot on its action and suspense, which is handled very well by director Paul Annett, who has apparently fond memories of the production. He states that due to the sorry state of the werewolf, he decided to concentrate on the small cast, an approach which works wonders.  The beast itself is admittedly somewhat lacklustre when compared to the creature that would appear a year later in Legend of the Werewolf. Here a large dog in a rather shaggy fur coat is used instead of any prosthetics. In a few scenes with dim lighting, where only glimpses of the beast are shown, it proves to be somewhat effective. However in other scenes, for example the death of Anton Differing’s character, his terrified expression as he stares at what is clearly a rather docile animal, wagging it’s tongue, are laughable If the film was remade in the 1980’s let’s say, with similar effects to John Landis’s An American Werewolf in London then doubtless a more animalistic looking werewolf would have been successful. Honestly though, they should have gone for prosthetics on an actor.

THAT'S NOT to lambast the film however. On the whole The Beast Must Die is incredibly entertaining. A wonderful cast and generally fun atmosphere on the skeleton a thriller film work immensely successfully. It would prove to be the last horror production by Amicus and whilst certainly not up to the standard of other films such as From Beyond the Grave or my own personal favourite The Skull, allowed them to bow out of the genre with dignity.

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