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The She Beast

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The She-Beast
U.S. film poster,
showcasing a double feature with The Embalmer
Directed byMike Reeves
Screenplay byMichael Byron[a]
Produced byPaul M. Maslansky[2]
Starring
CinematographyGioacchino Gengarell[2]
Edited byNira Omri[2]
Music byRalph Ferraro[2]
Color processEastmancolor
Production
company
Leith Productions[3]
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 2 May 1966 (1966-05-02) (Atlanta)
  • 1966 (1966) (London)
  • July 1967 (1967-07) (Italy)
[2][3]
Running time
74 minutes[2]
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Italy
LanguageEnglish
Budget£17,000[4]

The She Beast (Italian: Il lago di Satana), also known as Revenge of the Blood Beast, is a 1966 horror film written and directed by Michael Reeves in his directorial debut. The film stars Barbara Steele, John Karlsen and Ian Ogilvy.[5]

Plot

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In present-day Vaubrac, Transylvania, Count Von Helsing reads a historical narrative from two hundred years before about the execution of Vardella, a woman accused of witchcraft. As she dies she swears vengeance for her murder.

Shifting to present day, a young, newly married British couple, Philip and Veronica, are traveling on their honeymoon and book a room in a hotel owned by alcoholic and voyeur Ladislav Groper.

While Groper carries their bags to the room, the couple has tea outdoors at a picnic table, and soon is approached by Von Helsing, who seems anxious to befriend them and to relate the history of the Draculas to them. In the process, he recounts the story and curse of Vardella but the listeners find none of this interesting. He invites himself back the next day and Veronica tells him to come at noon, knowing they plan to be on their way at dawn.

In their room, Philip discovers Groper is peeping on them through the window. After beating up Groper and drawing blood, Philip wants to leave immediately but Veronica prefers to stay the night as planned.

The next day on the road, Philip loses steering control of the car, causing him to drive into a lake; a passing truck driver assists in retrieving what should have been Veronica but to his horror, is a monstrous corpse that looks a lot like the aforementioned Vardella, which he quickly wraps up.

To his great relief, Von Helsing reassures Philip that he can help him get his wife back. Having little choice Philip begins to believe in Von Helsing and what he says.

Meanwhile Vardella comes alive and goes on a killing spree against the descendants of the people who killed her two hundred years before, at which point Von Helsing comes upon the scene and uses a syringe to drug her. After hiding her in the hotel, the Count and Philip go to pick up some ritual tools to exorcise Vardella, the one way that she can be changed back into Veronica.

After being jailed, the truck driver who found Vardella makes a deal to tell police where the body is in exchange for his freedom. He leads the police back to the hotel, where they find the now-alive, drugged body appearing dead. The police intend to have it autopsied, which would ruin any chances of getting Veronica back.

Philip and the Count manage to retrieve the body and steal the police van which it is in. Vardella awakens from her drugged state and Von Helsing drugs her again, as well as the police officers which have now caught the van.

In the nick of time, two hundred years to the minute since, and in the same place as, the murder of Vardella, Philip and the Count perform the exorcism ritual at the lake. It is unclear if they succeed in bringing back Veronica.

Cast

[edit]
  • Barbara Steele as Veronica
  • John Karlsen as Count Von Helsing
  • Ian Ogilvy as Philip
  • Mel Welles as Ladislav Groper
  • Joe "Flash" Riley as Vardella, the She-Beast
  • Richard Watson as Comrade Police Lieutenant
  • Edward B. Randolph as Man on Scooter
  • Peter Grippe as Policeman
  • Lucretia Love as Groper's Niece
  • Ennio Antonelli as the Truck Driver
  • Kevin Welles as Boy in Flashback
  • Woody Welles as Boy at Cockfight

Production

[edit]

The entire film was shot in 21 days. Many members of the crew appeared in the film as minor roles. Barbara Steele accepted a salary of $1,000 for working one single day. She was forced to work that day for 18 hours.[6]

Sources conflict in crediting the production country of the film.[3]

Release

[edit]

The film was purchased for release by Miracle Films as Revenge of the Blood Beast and released in Kilburn, London in late 1966.[7] It was released in Rome, Italy in July 1967, where it was distributed by Cineriz.[2][8][3] The film was also released in 1966 in the United States by Europix Consolidated Corporation as The She-Beast.[7][3] The film played as early as 2 May 1966 in Atlanta in the United States.[3]

Reception

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A contemporary review in the Monthly Film Bulletin referred to the film as "An engaging horror film [...] the beginning is a trifle comatose with its self-consciously stylish slow tracks and compositions [...] it gradually gathers momentum while developing a nice line in comic grotesquerie with its furtively lecherous innkeeper"[9] The review commented on Barbara Steele in the film noting that she "gets little chance to display the grand manner in her comparatively brief role, but the acting in general is sound (enormously helped by the fact that the leading players would appear to have dubbed their own dialogue)."[9]

In June 2010, Nick Coccellato of Eccentric Cinema gave the film a rating of five out of ten, writing "The She-Beast, A.K.A. Revenge of the Blood Beast, is one of those movies that wouldn't be out of place on Mystery Science Theater 3000 back in the show's '90s heyday. The film is bad but not uninteresting, and there is a lot of the fun to be had in simply watching it unfurl with its lousy acting and overwrought direction [...]"[10]

Home media

[edit]

On 28 April 2009, Dark Sky Films released a DVD version of the film in an anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer with a Dolby 2.0 mono soundtrack. Special features include an image gallery and an audio commentary by producer Paul Maslansky and actors Ian Ogilvy and Barbara Steele.[10][11]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Michael Byron" is a collective pen name for Michael Reeves, Charles B. Griffith, F. Amos Powell and Mel Welles.[1]

References

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  1. ^ Lyons, Kevin (2024). She Beasts, Slapstick and Siegel Shots: Michael Reeves and the Revenge of the Blood Beast (booklet). Radiance Films. p. 9. RARO0011BDLE.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Halligan 2003, p. 230.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "The She Beast". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2 April 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  4. ^ Paul Maslansky. Revenge of the Blood Beast (Blu-ray). Radiance Films. Event occurs at 02:35.
  5. ^ "The She Beast". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  6. ^ Hughes, p.88
  7. ^ a b Halligan 2003, p. 49.
  8. ^ Curti 2015, p. 157.
  9. ^ a b "Sorella di Satana, La (The Revenge of the Blood Beast), Italy, 1965". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 33, no. 390. British Film Institute. July 1966. p. 111.
  10. ^ a b Coccellato, Nick (5 June 2010). Lindsey, Brian (ed.). "THE SHE-BEAST". Eccentric Cinema. Archived from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  11. ^ "The She Beast". Amazon. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2012.

Sources

[edit]
  • Curti, Roberto (2015). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476619897.
  • Halligan, Benjamin (2003). Michael Reeves. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719063515.
  • Hughes, Howard (2011). Cinema Italiano - The Complete Guide From Classics To Cult. London - New York: I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84885-608-0.
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