''The Blood Beast Terror'' is a 1968 British horror film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Peter Cushing, Robert Flemyng and Wanda Ventham, released by Tigon in February 1968.John Hamilton, ''Beasts in the Cellar: The Exploitation Film Career of Tony Tenser'', Fab Press, 2005 p 115-116 In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

it was released by Pacemaker Pictures on a double-bill with '' Slaughter of the Vampires'' under the title ''The Vampire Beast Craves Blood''. The film is also known as ''Blood Beast From Hell'' and ''Deathshead Vampire''. The budget was circa £40,000 and this was the first film to be made under the Tigon British Film Productions banner. The Sorcerers (1967), made by the company under the corporate name of Tony Tenser Films Ltd was latter rebranded Tigon.

Story

In 19th century Britain, a series of grisly murders are taking place in the countryside near London. The victims are good-looking young men, between the ages of twenty and thirty, and all have had their throats torn open and their blood drained. The witness of the latest murder, a coachman named Joe Trigger, is driven insane when he catches a glimpse of the mysterious killer. Investigating the deaths are Detective Inspector Quennell of Scotland Yard and his assistant, Sergeant Allan. Because Joe keeps ranting about a horrible winged creature with huge eyes, Quennell hatches a theory that perhaps a homicidal

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

is on the loose. At the scene of the latest killing, several shiny scales are discovered. The two latest victims were students of the renowned

entomology Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

professor Dr. Carl Mallinger, who lives nearby with his beautiful daughter Clare, and their scar-faced butler, Granger. When Quennell brings the scales to Mallinger for identification, Mallinger behaves suspiciously and tries to take all of them. Quennell describes his theory about a killer eagle, but Mallinger dismisses it outright. Quennell is unaware that the entomologist has a pet eagle, which the sadistic Granger torments. Explorer and naturalist Frederick Britewell returns from Africa with some

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

chrysalids for Dr. Mallinger and the handsome young adventurer soon becomes a victim of Clare, who is the real murderer; Clare is a " were-moth" and transforms at night to drink the blood of young men. Britewell becomes her latest victim after watching her in an amateur horror play performed by some of her father's students (which seems to be a spoof of the Hammer ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific exp ...

'' genre) but lives long enough to exclaim, "Death's head!" to Quennell before he dies. Both Mallinger and Clare claim not to have known Britewell when questioned by Quennell. Quennell's superior suggests he takes a holiday and delegate the case to Sgt. Allan, but the Detective Inspector refuses. He reveals his intention to send his daughter Meg to stay with some relatives in Sussex until the investigation is over. As they leave for the railway station, Allan informs Quennell that Dr. Mallinger did in fact know Frederick Britewell, prompting Quennell to perform an immediate search of Mallinger's home. He finds that the scientist and his daughter have left for Upper Higham. He also discovers a cellar filled with human bones and Granger's corpse. Quennell informs his superior he will be taking leave after all: he and Meg go to Upper Highham incognito as a vacationing banker named Thompson and his daughter. There they meet a young bug collector who shows him the proudest exhibit in his collection, a Deathshead moth, and Quennell discovers that Mallinger is also incognito as a "Dr. Miles" staying at a nearby estate. Can he stop Mallinger, who is attempting to create a male were-moth to be a mate for his increasingly bloodthirsty daughter?

Cast

* Peter Cushing as Inspector Quennell * Robert Flemyng as Dr. Carl Mallinger * Wanda Ventham as Clare Mallinger / Were-moth * Vanessa Howard as Meg Quennell * Glynn Edwards as Sgt. Allan * William Wilde as Frederick Britewell * Kevin Stoney as Granger * David Griffin as William Warrender *

John Paul John Paul or ''variant'' may refer to: People ;Given name "John Paul": * John Paul (given name), lists bearers of the name, and equivalent names in other languages * Known as "John Paul" without surname: ** Pope John Paul I (1912–1978) ** Pope J ...

as Mr. Warrender * Leslie Anderson as Joe Trigger * Simon Cain as Clem Withers * Norman Pitt as Police Doctor * Roy Hudd as Smiler * Russell Napier as Landlord * Robert Cawdron as Chief Constable *

Kenneth Colley Kenneth Colley (born 7 December 1937) is an English film and television actor whose career spans over 60 years. He came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in the ''Star Wars'' films '' The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and '' ...

as James * Beryl Cooke as Housekeeper

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blood Beast Terror, The 1968 horror films 1968 films 1960s historical horror films 1960s monster movies British historical horror films British monster movies Films set in the 19th century 1960s science fiction horror films Films directed by Vernon Sewell Mad scientist films Films set in London British exploitation films British science fiction horror films British vampire films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films