Beasts - The Complete Series [DVD]

An uneven but interesting set of stories from Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale. Different settings and characters each time, but mostly linked to beasts and/or the bestial side of human nature. If you like fast paced and special effects heavy horror, then this collection is definitely not for you. If you enjoy a slower pace then there's some good writing and acting on offer here. Ironically the bonus story from an earlier series is the pick of the bunch.

I saw this series when it first came out and if there have been any re-runs I have missed them. There are only 6 episodes, plus an extra "Murrain" from another series. The first one, 'Baby' is the one I most remember and one particular image from this episode has stayed with me ever since. A vet and his pregnant wife move into a new home in the countryside. They find an old jar and inside it a strange mummified creature. The wife hears that the area has a history of animal miscarriages and this plays on her mind,soon she starts to see the rocking chair moving and hears strange noises. The suspense builds up brilliantly until the last scene when she goes to investigate a noise downstairs and sees.....well you just have to see it.The second one is about a ghostly dolphin 'Buddyboy' and is more of a psychological horror. It stars Martin Shaw as the owner of an adult movie theatre, thus allowing a few brief breast flashes to be used."The Dummy" concerns a C list actor's descent into alcoholism over his wife, who has left him for another actor and his dependence on one role, that of a shrunken Godzilla "The Dummy" of the title. Is he pushed over the edge by his depression or is there something more sinister?"Special Offer" is based in a supermarket where strange things are occurring. Could it be their mascot "Briteway Billy" is really alive or are the poltergeist like disturbances more do with the plain check-out girl's infatuation with her boss. A great character performance by Pauline Quirke."What Big Eyes" has a man who tries to become a werewolf by extracting blood from wolves and experimenting on himself. An RSPCA inspector checking on the wolves disappearances is on his trail."During Barty's Party" is a claustrophobic tale of an elderly couple whose home comes under attack from what they believe to be a horde of rats, once again nothing is seen. Their only hope appears to be contact via a radio phone-in show.There is no closing music which neatly sets off the fact that the stories tend to end with a suggestion of the terror to come rather than complete disclosure, some may regard this as a weakness but at the time I remember it being very effective and creepy.You also get a booklet on the making of the series and several PDF files of the scripts you can look at on your PC. Well done Network for getting this ATV gem on release, let's hope some more see the light of day soon.

Beasts is an interesting DVD set of all of the episodes that made up this British TV series from 1976. The Set also includes another bonus story that had appeared in another series the year before by the same writer and with a similar style.I had forgotten about this series. In fact I remembered the series Thriller from the mid 1970s very well and was convinced that one story in that series was about a mummified creature being found hidden in a wall of an old house. I bought the DVD set of Thriller and after watching every episode realised that that episode did not belong to that series. After a little research I found that it was in fact an episode from this series called Beasts.I have now watched the entire series and although I had forgotten the existence of this series, I realised I did remember some of the other episodes as well.The best thing about this series is the writing by Nigel Kneale. There are some excellent ideas here. I did feel that this series probably seemed better back in 1976. I found this series sadly dated in terms of the way the excellent stories were interpreted through limited sets and direction by Nicholas Palmer. All of which is the result of a poor budget.Disc one begins with The Baby,(the story I had been looking for,) "The Baby" was by far the best story anyway. This still felt creepy today. However there a couple of other stories that were quite good.In the second story the basic plot seems like an interesting idea. There is an old broken down pool that is being haunted by a Dolphin. Sadly I didn't care for this second story at all. In fact I found it quite boring. But the series is dated and this episode proved this point with limited sets and endless dialogue. The plot moved slowly and even the acting skills of Martin Shaw couldn't make up for the poor dialogue and gloomy set.Episode three seems to have been popular with some reviewers. I felt that this story about an actor who becomes possessed by the character he is playing as he goes through a breakdown had some very good drama in the script. But again the poor direction in terms of camera angles, sets and effects let the story down a little, However I liked the way there was a deliberate mockery of the sort of Hammer Horror stories with the guy in the monster suit, even if it was embarrassingly silly.Disc two was not so bad. The first story stars Pauline Quirke in a story where a poltergeist haunts a small supermarket. This story had a limited set two, but since a lot of supermarkets really were that small in 1976 and all the action takes place in it, the story still works. Then the second story about a scientist who tries to turn himself into a wolf was good in terms of concept but I felt its production was dated again. I also would have liked a more developed ending. The final story where a couple are trapped in the house by a horde of rats did work well despite the fact we never see the rats.The extra story called Murrain was actually quite good too.Generally if you view this series as if you were living in 1976 it is very good indeed. However you may find it hard not to notice how dated the production is. But the whole series is worth watching at least once.There are some strong ideas and good writing. It is also interesting to look at the series as an example of the sort of things that was around in the mid 1970s. There are some famous faces and there is a lot of light entertainment here.