Bloodtype Online

    This is another Amicus produced genre movie.  In this film a world famous hunter invites a group of people over to his estate for what they believe is a weekend holiday.  He actually has another plan in mind.  He believes that one of them is a werewolf and he intends to hunt that most dangerous prey.  But before he can hunt the werewolf he must determine who is the beast.  As the weekend begins to pass the houseguests and staff begin to die as the creature stalks the grounds of his estate.  Who will die next, and more importantly who is the werewolf?  You will just have to watch to find out! 

    This is a great cast for a horror film.  You have the always-excellent Peter Cushing in the role of werewolf expert Dr. Lundgren.  Also in the cast are standouts Michael Gambon and Tom Chadbon.  I found the story line to be an extremely interesting twist on a bored hunter tracking human beings ala the short story “The Most Dangerous Game”.  The film is shot with a certain seventies sensibility which works very nicely with the overall experience.  Whether it is the soundtrack, clothes, or set dressing, everything seems perfect.  Watch for the werewolf break that gives the viewer a chance to guess who the werewolf is.  Sounds cheesy, but it is fun.  If I had any complaints they would revolve mostly around how they handled the werewolf creature in this movie.  They use a large black dog to stand in for the werewolf, which I suppose, is an interesting way to handle werewolves on a budget.  But even then it is pretty clear, even without the director’s commentary, that the dog really is quite gentle.  The “action” scenes involving the dog are at time laughable.  Also we aren’t given any transformation sequences, which was disappointing.  Other than that The Beast must Die is a great piece of 70s cinema.  This movie may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I really enjoyed it.   

Rating - ***

-John "El Juan" Shatzer