Director: Vernon Sewell
Screenplay: Peter Bryan
Starring: Peter Cushing, Robert Flemyng, Wanda Ventham, Vanessa Howard, Glynn Edwards, William Wilde, Kevin Stoney, David Griffin
Country: United Kingdom
Running time: 88 mins
Year: 1968
Horror legend Peter Cushing, as well as friend and fellow star Christopher Lee, starred in films for the three production company greats of British horror – Hammer, Amicus and Tigon. He is very well served on Blu-ray with a vast array of lavish limited editions for the best of his output and now, the ever growing Tigon Collection from 88 Films has brought us another. This time it’s the Tigon feature The Blood Beast Terror, which features Cushing in the lead role and feels a lot like Hammer’s period output from the 1960s.
The Blood Beast Terror, known as The Vampire Beast Craves Blood in the US, is set in the 19th century and follows Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Quennell (Peter Cushing) and his assistant, Sergeant Allan (Glynn Edwards) who are investigating a series of grisly murders of young men in the countryside near London.
A coachman witnesses the latest murder and sparks a theory that an eagle is behind the deaths as he claims he saw a winged creature kill the man he saw die. The police investigation arrives at the door of entomologist Dr Carl Mallinger (Robert Flemyng), who taught two of the young men who have died, and his beautiful daughter Clare (Wanda Ventham).
Explorer Frederick Britewell (William Wilde), who we have been briefly introduced to in a short pre-credits sequence in Africa, soon returns to England and also arrives at Mallinger’s door. He’s returned with moth chrysalids. Here the plot thickens as we learn the truth behind the murders.
The Blood Beast Terror was a critical and commercial failure and actor Cushing described it as the worst film he ever appeared in, yet watching it now there’s plenty to enjoy, albeit it is an admittedly flawed film; scenes outstay their welcome and the horror elements aren’t played up enough.
So what is there to admire? First and foremost, he may not have been a fan of the film, but Cushing gives a typically excellent performance, which is worth the price of admission alone. Some of his verbal sparring with Flemyng is delightful and he drives the plot forward as he tries to solve the mystery. Flemyng is also on top form, as is Ventham as his character’s daughter.
The cinematography is also great. The cinematographer is exploitation filmmaker Stanley Long, who would make, amongst other films, the Adventures of… series of sex comedies that rivalled the Robin Askwith-starring Confessions of… series, the latter of which has just been released in a beautiful limited edition boxset on the Indicator label, at the time of writing. There are some striking shots involving the killer (spoiler alert, it’s a moth woman), and beautiful tranquil sequences, particularly those set alongside a lake and in the countryside.
The music by Paul Ferris, who also provided the phenomenal score for Witchfinder General, is also wonderful, playing up the horror of the murders and more playful for the numerous sequences of comedy. On the comedic front, there’s a brief but memorable role for comedian and actor Roy Hudd who appears in a couple of scenes, including one that’s played for laughs. The sequence in question involves some very dark humour and sees Hudd’s undertaker eating and drinking by the feet of a recently deceased person with the score turning jovial. Cushing’s character then turns up as part of his investigation and apparently Hudd’s dialogue was completely ad-libbed. It’s not the only sequence played for laughs, with the film at times feeling like a black comedy. Some of the comedic sequences don’t work but some do raise a smile.
There’s also a wonderful sequence involving an amateur theatre production of a Frankenstein-like tale, with a suitably wobbly set and over the top performances. The themes of the film and the amateur play – pushing the boundaries of science – complement each other well, so it’s clear why it was included. It’s a marvellous scene.
So, there’s plenty to enjoy and I found it a far better film than its reputation, but, and there’s definitely a but, for a horror film, there’s not enough horror, and very little sequences involving the killer. When we do see the moth woman, the makeup isn’t bad at all so it’s unclear why the creature and horror elements don’t feature more. Some of the scenes, as mentioned, could have also been trimmed a little bit, and some of those comedic sequences don’t work work.
The Blood Beast Terror is an atmospheric, well acted and shot yet certainly flawed slice of gothic horror from Tigon. It would have benefited from playing up the horror more, but is still very enjoyable and well worth a watch.
Film: 
The Blood Beast Terror is released on limited edition Blu-ray by 88 Films on 30 September 2024. The picture quality is excellent throughout, the colours really popping, and detail is fine. The audio is also solid, no issues here.
Special features:
Limited Edition O-ring featuring new artwork by Sean Longmore
Booklet featuring notes by Andrew Graves & John Hamilton
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation in original 1.66:1 Aspect Ratio
Original Uncompressed Mono
Optional English SDH
Audio commentary by John Hamilton and Howard Lanning
To Cut or Not to Cut – Howard Lanning on The Blood Beast Terror and Witchfinder General
Terror at Grim’s Dyke House – The Making of The Blood Beast Terror
Original Trailer
The Vampire-Beast Craves Blood Trailer
Stills Gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Sean Longmore and original poster art
The commentary features the film’s editor Howard Lanning and author John Hamilton, who wrote the book Beasts in the Cellar: The Exploitation Film Career of Tony Tenser, about the film producer who founded Tigon British Film Productions in 1966. There are some neat anecdotes, including how character actor Basil Rathbone, best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, was originally lined up for the Robert Flemyng role, but was unable to star as he was ill at the time. There are some nice segues including how Rathbone played Holmes and was set to star in the film, Cushing also played Holmes, and actress Wanda Ventham who plays Clare is the mother of Benedict Cumberbatch who, yes, played Sherlock Holmes. Tenuous segues like this may be, but it certainly makes for an interesting commentary. It’s also a pleasure to spend time with Lanning, who packs a lot of memories in to the running time.
The 24-minute To Cut or Not to Cut – Howard Lanning on The Blood Beast Terror and Witchfinder General, allows us to spend more time with the editor. It’s an excellent interview in which Lanning takes us from his school days to his early non-film jobs through to his start in the film industry. He provides interesting anecdotes about Blood Beast, including Roy Hudd’s small role, as well as some of the sequences in Witchfinder General, including a particularly fascinating recollection of the BBFC’s censorship requests for the latter Michael Reeves film.
Terror at Grim’s Dyke House – The Making of The Blood Beast Terror is a 33 minute documentary featuring a range of interviews. Interviewees include make-up artist Rosemarie McDonald-Peattie, production secretary Vivien Duret, focus puller Jim Allaway, and standby carpenter Jeff Woodbridge. We also hear from actor Glynn Edwards, who played Sergeant Allan. There are some lovely recollections of the production of the fil, and it is fabulous to hear from lesser known crew members, celebrated roles or actors than in the usual ‘making of’ fare.
The two minute British theatrical trailer gives a decent overview, and also included is the US release trailer, under its title The Vampire-Beast Craves Blood. The US trailer is a bit more salacious, showing the bloodier aspects of the film.
Closing out the on-disc package is a auto playing stills gallery which runs for just over one-minute and contains a range of production stills, posters and VHS artwork.
I wasn’t provided with the booklet, unfortunately, but 88 have upped their game for their Tigon releases so it should be an excellent read.
The Blood Beast Terror is a flawed but entertaining film, which is brought to disc with a fabulous audio/ visual presentation and supplemented by some excellent extras, which make it another fine addition to the 88 Films Tigon Collection on Blu-ray.