A prosperous English businessman, Calvin Lockhart, invites five people to his isolated estate for a peculiar gathering alongside his wife and their security detail: one among them is a werewolf, and he intends to discover who it is and eliminate the threat. Peter Cushing appears as a guest with an interest in lycanthropy, though his part feels underdeveloped. "The Beast Must Die" (1974) takes inspiration from "And Then There Were None," incorporating a brief intermission labeled “Werewolf Break.” The werewolf itself isn’t a traditional wolf-man but an ordinary wolf—a German Shepherd dressed up to look menacing. It shares elements with films like "The Devil’s Nightmare” (1971), “Frogs" (1972), and Jack Palance's “Dracula” (1974). The storyline was later adapted in “Howling V: The Rebirth” (1989), which relocated the events to a Hungarian castle. Despite being the weakest of these films, it does have some enjoyable aspects: Lockhart is an engaging lead character, and the final sequence offers a creative and genuinely exciting resolution; I found myself unable to predict the werewolf’s identity, and there are a couple of surprising developments along the way. The soundtrack from the early 1970s feels out of place but may appeal to some viewers. Lockhart was brought in as the lead actor relatively late in production, a move by producers hoping to capitalize on the blaxploitation trend; Robert Quarry had initially been considered for the role. Lockhart also suggested Marlene Clark for the part of his wife. However, much of the movie fails to hold your attention, similar to “Frogs,” though not quite as disappointing. The characters aren’t developed enough, making them feel bland, even if one is associated with the band Styx (just kidding!). The female roles, played by Ciaran Madden and Marlene Clark, are largely insignificant. This was a production from Amicus Films, which resembles Hammer Films but operates on a smaller scale. Both studios were known for their horror movies, having each produced only a single werewolf film; Hammer’s contribution was “The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961). The movie has a running time of 1 hour and 33 minutes and was filmed at Shepperton Studios, located just southwest of London. There are also some exterior shots that resemble the Scottish Highlands. GRADE: C+

Source on TMDB