Director – Walerian Borowczyk (Emmanuelle 5, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne)
Starring – Sirpa Lane (Nazi Love Camp 27, Beast in Space), Lisbeth Hummel (Immoral Tales, The Eagle and the Dove), and Elisabeth Kaza (Iron Warrior, Castle Freak)
Release Date – 1975
Rating – 2/5
Blu Release – 3/5
A lot of these boutique labels has brought some seriously underrated films to my attention. These movies have went unnoticed by the masses for years, even decades in some instance, and if it wasn’t for these companies they would continue to gather dust. Several years ago Cult Epics released the 1975 erotic comedy The Beast on DVD. La Bete made some rounds in different horror groups for how strange it was but it wasn’t a popular release like most of the other releases from Cult Epics.
Since then the film has been released on blu by Arrow Video and most recently by Umbrella Entertainment. I had never seen the film but was really intrigued by the fact that several companies had their hands on the film. I reached out to Umbrella Entertainment and they were kind enough to send over a review copy of The Beast which was part of their Beyond Genres line. Thanks again, guys!
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a young woman who is forced to marry a wealthy man in order to inherit her father’s estate after his death. With excitement and uncertainty, she visits the family to begin her new life when she uncovers strange things happening around the family mansion. Soon she uncovers a dark secret they are hiding. **Spoiler Alert**
My recent love for sexploitation flicks had me very interested in this one especially once I learned that Umbrella was doing a release for it. I had heard some weird things about it which only fueled my desire to see how. However, the movie just didn’t do it for me. It was all very underwhelming. The horror, eroticism, and fantasy doesn’t work well together here.
The acting in this one is pretty funny at times. The cast looks as if they are having a good time in front of the camera which translates very well for the film. Most of the humor comes in the form of the characters and their interactions with one another and the cast does a decent job at making their interactions feel natural yet comical.
The story for this one is way too long for the type of film it is. Most of the film is awkward dialogue that takes up too much of the scene. It destroys the atmosphere the film has and turns the viewer off. I found myself losing interest countless times during the run time of this film because the dialogue was rubbish. When you edit out about 80 percent of the dialogue of the film you will find an erotic comedy that is not as erotic as it claims to be. It’s an interesting idea but poor execution.
Finally, the film is not a bloody or gory mess. We have a costume that is so fucking funny to look at but that’s about the extent of the film. You may see some light blood but that’s about it. Overall, The Beast has some things I liked but it wasn’t enough to actually save the film. It was extremely dull which is disappointing when you consider how it’s a horror, fantasy, and erotic comedy. The possibilities was endless but the film failed to pull it all together.
Special Features:
THE MAKING OF THE BEAST
INTRODUCTION BY FILM CRITIC PETER BRADSHAW
THE FRENZY OF ECSTASY FEATURETTE
INTERVIEW WITH WALERIAN BOROWCZYK
WALERIAN BOROWCZYK BIOGRAPHY
STILLS GALLERY
TRAILER
