The Beast Must Die

"The Beast Must Die" (1974) starring Calvin Lockhart, Peter Cushing, Marlene Clark, Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, Ciaran Madden, Tom Chadbon and Michael Gambon is a fun horror movie from Amicus Studios where the viewer gets to decide who the werewolf is.

Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockhart) is a rich businessman / hunter who wants to hunt the biggest and rarest game there is - a werewolf.  He has done the research and narrowed it down to the following guests who he has invited to his remote mansion and estate and accuses one of them of being the werewolf:

• Arthur Bennington (Charles Gray) - the diplomat
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• Jan Jarmokowski (Michael Gambon) - world renowned pianist
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• Davina Gilmore (Ciaran Madden) - student & wife of Jan and old friend of Tom's wife
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• Caroline Newcliffe (Marlene Clark) - Tom's wife
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• Paul Foote (Tom Chadbon) - an artist who had been in prison
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• Prof. Lundgren (Peter Cushing) - an archaeologist and a werewolf expert
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Tom has brought his guests together on the night of the full moon and has rigged his entire estate with cameras, microphones and other surveillance systems to help him hunt the werewolf.  

Things don't go as smoothly for him as planned and the werewolf gets the upper hand even with all the precautions.  One by one, the guests and Tom's associates are getting killed off.  Will Tom accomplish his deadly task?

This is a very enjoyable werewolf movie from the 70s.  Everything about it screams the 70s, including the clothing, decor and the fantastically funky music!  The cheesy "Werewolf Break" which comes after all the clues have been given and allows the audience to choose which person they think is the werewolf.  "The Beast Must Die" is a must see for fans of old horror movies!

Who is the Werewolf?

Death Moon

                          

"Death Moon" (1978) is a made for TV movie starring Robert Foxworth, Joe Penny and Barbara Trentham  about a werewolf that stalks and kills guests at a resort on Kauai, Hawaii.

                        

Jason Palmer (Foxworth) is an over achieving and over stressed businessman who according to his doctor, needs a vacation.  He decides to go to Hawaii where he is descended from missionaries.  He flies to a resort in Kauai where he tries to relax and forget about work.

                               

Something from his family's past is going to catch up with him here in Hawaii.  The ancient Hawaiians put a curse on his great grandfather and all his male descendants because he imposed his religion on them and made them stop practicing their "Pagan" religions. A mysterious Hawaiian woman is keeping track of Jason. Guests at the resort are being killed in the night by some savage creature.

                                

Jason meets Diane May (Trentham), a businesswoman there for a convention, who he falls for.  They do the tourist things and have an affair but she soon learns that Jason is not who he seems.

                              

Part horror movie, part police procedural, this movie is a fun made for TV movie.  The special effects are laughable but it is a 70s TV movie.  And come on - a horror movie filmed in beautiful Hawaii - you don't see many of those!

The Howling

"The Howling" (1981) starring Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Belinda Balaski, and Dennis Dugan  is a classic werewolf movie from the 80's.

Karen White (Wallace) is a TV news reporter who goes undercover to try to interview a serial killer who has agreed to meet with her.  After the encounter turns disastrous, Karen is traumatized by the experience and a self-help guru, Dr. Waggner (Macnee) sends her to his community called the Colony on the California coast.  She goes with her husband Bill and on the drive there hopes the people there aren't too weird.  Little does she know how weird they really are!

The residents of the Colony are not what they first appear and Karen will soon find this out.  Her friend from work, Terry Fisher (Balaski) is researching the serial killer and she is soon called up to the Colony by Karen to join in the mayhem.

"The Howling" is a fun 80's horror movie that has a bit of blood but is not overdone.  The werewolf transformations are extremely unique to this film and they also don't play by all the same rules that have been established in other werewolf movies.  The movie is filled with spooky atmosphere including lots of foggy forest shots and wolves howling in the night.  The musical score is also unique in that it uses an organ which really fit with the film's feel. There is also just enough humor to offset the horrorific situation the characters are going through.  I really enjoyed finding this gem of a film!

Moon of the Wolf

"Moon of the Wolf" is a made for TV movie that aired as an ABC Movie of the Week in 1972, starring: David Janssen, Barbara Rush, Bradford Dillman.  A werewolf is wreaking havoc on the citizens of the rural town of Marsh Island in Louisiana.

A local woman is found dead and chewed up on the large Rodanthe estate and the locals think its a pack of feral dogs that got her.  The Rodanthe's are the founding family of the island and town and live in a large southern plantation style mansion.  The Andrew runs the Rodanthe estate and sister Louise has just returned to town after being away in the big city.

Sheriff Aaron Whitaker is investigating the death and he soon discovers it was no accident - something sinister is loose in the community and the killings soon escalate. In the sheriff's investigation, he soon discovers all kinds of secrets about the people he thought he knew.  He also finds out more about the Rodanthe's as he befriends Louise who he went to school with.

A dying man who lives near the swamps says it's a werewolf who killed his daughter.  The sheriff starts to believe that and has to put aside his disbelief in the supernatural to find the killer.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.  I had been putting off watching it but finally did and I loved it.  The rural Southern Louisiana setting is lush and beautiful and at the same time mysterious and somewhat sinister with its swamps and its somewhat peculiar denizens.  The music adds to the mood and atmosphere and all together it creates an atmosphere filled with suspense.