The Beast Must Die (1974)

Director: Paul Annett

Writers: Michael Winder, James Bish

Composer: Douglas Gamley

Starring: Calvin Lockhart, Peter Cushing, Marlene Clark, Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, Ciaran Madden, Tom Chadbon, Michael Gambon, Sam Mansary, Andrew Lodge, Carl Bohen, Eric Carte, Valentine Dyall, Annie Ross

More info: IMDb

Tagline: One of these eight people will turn into a werewolf. Can you guess who it is when we stop the film for the WEREWOLF BREAK? See it ... solve it ... but don't tell!

Plot: Eight people have been invited to an island estate for the weekend. One of them is a werewolf. Can you guess which one?

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

The film begins with narration and title cards telling you that you, the viewer, are to act as a detective to figure out who the werewolf is and that you will be giving a chance to think about it when the obvious and appropriate time comes.  Not too long before the end the film stops and an animated stopwatch counts down 30 seconds as you look at the survivors to make your final guess at which point the film continues and the truth is unveiled but not in a way you would expect.  It's gimmicky but unnecessary.  The film would've played out better without that needless interruption.  Is it worth your time?  Absolutely it is.  Just look at the cast!  Are you kidding me?  Fun fact...Lockhart was the first black actor in the Royal Shakespeare Company to have lead roles.  He's great in this picture even if he tends to over do it sometimes.  Everyone else is great, too.  I dug the opening sequence and its turn of events.  I was trying to solve the mystery early on but my pick was the first one to snuff it.  I'm not very good at these things apparently.  The picture plays out nicely despite being a little slow in the second act but thing pick up quickly in the final twenty minutes.  And the ending?  Nice!  The modern score didn't do anything for me (as little as there was of any music).  Having a James Bernard soundtrack would've done a better job of creating atmosphere and making this feel more dark, deadly and horrific.  But still, it's a neat take on the murder mystery film that had been done to death for the previous forty years and it was enjoyable all the way until the end.