12 Classic British Horror Films You Need To See

It’s a spin on 10 Little Indians that Agatha Christie never thought of – 5 suspects, one of which is a werewolf, are lured to an eccentric millionaire’s electronically bugged estate so that the culprit can be apprehended. “After all the clues have been shown,” announces the film’s narrator, “the viewer gets a chance to name the villain during the ‘werewolf break’.”

Combining elements of horror, whodunit and Blaxploitation, The Beast Must Die is loads of gimmicky fun, the kind of camp oddity that could only have been made during the 1970s. It’s so fast-paced and endearing, in fact, that most viewers will be willing to forget the fact that that the ‘werewolves’ are actually German shepherds.

No matter how bizarre the movie becomes – how many films give the audience 60 seconds to guess the werewolf’s identity? – the cast (which includes Peter Cushing, Charles Gray and Anton Diffring) maintain a straight face throughout, which Cushing a standout as a mannered German doctor. Anyone who doubts the movie’s entertainment value is invited to watch the Kevin Williamson-scripted Cursed instead.