‘The Beast Must Die’ Is A Fun Werewolf Whodunnit [Run It Back Review]
The Beast Must Die is another Black-led horror gem we don’t talk about nearly enough. Based on James Blish’s book There Shall Be No Darkness, it’s a fun and severely underrated entry into the werewolf subgenre. I discovered this 1974 chaotic film when I was a guest on My Horror Confessional a few years ago. As someone always hunting for decent werewolf films and movies where Black people are not relegated to tired tropes, I was shocked I had not heard of this British movie sooner. I saw it has 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, thanks to the title only having eight reviews. That’s when I knew it was time to be very loud about it. Clearly, this film needs more eyes on it so it can find a wider audience who will appreciate its charms. Allow me to put you onto this delightful little title.
The Beast Must Die takes place during a weekend at a secluded estate. Tom (Calvin Lockhart) has invited a small group of acquaintances to his English mansion under the pretense of a quiet holiday. However, once everyone arrives, he tells them there is a werewolf among them and that he plans to kill the beast. However, Tom is not the only person investigating the suspects.
The movie opens by telling us that this is a detective story, and the audience must also figure out who the werewolf is. This opening and the werewolf break that comes right before the werewolf is discovered seem gimmicky now. It is still pretty endearing. It is also one of the precursors to the interactive TV shows we enjoy today. R.I.P. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
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Lockhart is a captivating leading man. He’s also a Black male lead who gets to be eccentric and catty. His Tom takes charge of the situation (albeit he created it) and will not stop until he gets his beast. This is especially interesting because aside from his wife, Caroline (Marlene Clark), he’s surrounded by white characters. Seeing as Tom orchestrated this weekend of suspicious white people he believes could be monsters, there seems to be something more to this experiment.
With all the money Tom and Caroline have, they find themselves the only Black people in their immediate circle. Tom also clearly does not trust their circle if he has been digging into their whereabouts and feels one of them is eating people under the light of the full moon. Is the film subtly tackling unconscious biases? Is it scratching at the danger of assuming people are allies because they are nice to our faces? Maybe it is examining our disbelief that our acquaintances will not bite us when we are not looking?
Whatever the case may be, it is interesting to revisit The Beast Must Die on this side of another election, where white supremacy was the foundation for a winning platform. Many people thought everyone they forgave after the 2016 election would get it right this time. However, they watched more alleged allies prove that they do not care enough to vote for their friends and family to have basic human rights.
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This PG-rated horror moment has no business being this engaging or thought-provoking. However, Paul Annett’s direction makes Michael Winder’s script fly. This film moves fast, even when it attempts to slow down for a moment that deserves a little weight. It leaves the audience members (who dig it) wanting more from these personalities, and a little sad when certain characters die at the end. The Beast Must Die gives us a handful of questionable characters and gives all of them enough to do to keep them suspicious.
Rounding out the seats at the dinner table is a supporting cast filled with distrustful and equally affluent people. Jan Jarmokowski (Michael Gambon) is a piano player who brought his wife to this affair. Davina (Ciaran Madden) is Jan’s wife, who happens to be Caroline’s friend. Paul Foote (Tom Chadbon) is an artist who seems to get off by making himself the prime suspect. Professor Christopher Lundgren (Peter Cushing) is a werewolf expert who approaches these shenanigans from a scientific angle. Arthur Bennington (Charles Gray) is a diplomat because (of course) one friend has to be a politician. Tom cannot be too careful, so he keeps his wife, Caroline, on his suspect list.
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Alongside the suspects who think Tom has lost his mind is his right-hand man, Pavel (Anton Diffring). Pavel does not believe in werewolves but follows his boss’ orders. He is also above suspicion because he is the one person Tom can trust in this furry matter. He keeps Pavel separated from the suspects and tasks him with keeping everyone under surveillance. The Beast Must Die makes it very clear a few times that the staff works for Tom. They put their lives on the line for him, run his silly drills, and respect him even when they do not believe what he is saying.
Are they the standard stock characters you would expect in this kind of film? Yes. Is it fun watching them catch strays from Tom as he interrogates and tests them? Certainly. The Beast Must Die knows that half of the fun of these deadly dinner party movies is the colorful cast of characters. The shiftier the motives, the better, because a whodunnit demands a certain level of theatricality from everyone on screen. If movies like Clue and Werewolves Within have taught us anything, it’s that the ensemble needs personality for days.
This ensemble does not quite reach the memorable status of the other films I would pair it with. However, we do get some fun bits and some deliciously suspicious characters. So, when the thirty-second werewolf break interrupts the action to let the audience make their final guess, you have almost forgotten it was coming.
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We love to see a wealthy Black man with this position and power in a movie from the 1970s. We’re still not getting enough Black-led horror in 2025. Actors who deserve better are still being handed tired sidekick tropes in major releases as if it is still the 1960s. So, this is another reason this film deserves to be reexamined and reviewed by people who long for better representation in film.
If you love a tight whodunnit, The Beast Must Die is captivating enough. Even if you figure out who the werewolf is among the red herrings, there is much to love about this 1970s horror mystery. It is the right amount of fun, audacity, and danger. The body count is also surprisingly high when looking at it next to other titles you will have to fight the urge to compare it to. More importantly, this film is not nearly as bad as some recent werewolf movies we have endured. While it’s not great, it is fun and stands out for some pretty cool reasons. So, if you’re looking for more 1970s cinema or Black-led horror films from that era, give it a whirl. Especially for those looking for a bonkers whodunnit with a few tense moments.
The Beast Must Die is streaming on AMC+, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and Tubi.
Are you also late to discovering this gem? Then find me on Bluesky where I’ll be trying to make people watch it all summer.
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The Beast Must Die
Summary
It is the right amount of fun, audacity, and danger. The body count is also surprisingly high when looking at it next to other titles you will have to fight the urge to compare it to.
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