Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- sensual
- disturbing
- surreal
- cult film night
- late night horror viewing
What critics said
Critics and commentators recognize the film as a visually memorable, highly controversial work of erotic monster horror whose transgressive sexuality often overwhelms its dramatic and narrative elements.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film's sensual visions and controversial sexual encounters make erotic intensity inseparable from its horror register.
Lucy arrives at the crumbling de l'Esperance estate, where nobility, family rumors, and the Beast's legend converge.
The Beast's lust and Lucy's sensually charged visions center the film's exploration of attraction across the human-monster boundary.
The legend of the Beast of Gévaudan is reworked into a provocative fantasy about lust, virginal vulnerability, and sexual morality.
Films like The Beast, and why
Possession
shares transgressive erotic horror, monstrous sexuality, and psychologically destabilizing relationship dynamics
The Untamed
shares surreal erotic fantasy, taboo human-monster desire, and unsettling body-centered imagery
The Company of Wolves
shares gothic atmosphere, aristocratic decay, supernatural menace, and sexually charged horror
In the Realm of the Senses
shares provocative erotic horror, dreamlike imagery, and confrontational treatment of sexuality
Movie Details
- Director
- Walerian Borowczyk
- Release Date
- 1975-08-20
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Rating
- 5.4 / 10 (192)
Cast
- Sirpa Lane
- Lisbeth Hummel
- Elisabeth Kaza
- Pierre Benedetti
- Guy Tréjan
- Roland Armontel
- Marcel Dalio
- Robert Capia
- Pascale Rivault
- Hassane Fall
Common questions
- What is The Beast about?
- A young heiress enters a decaying French estate where aristocratic secrets, folkloric menace, and monstrous desire blur into provocative nightmare.
- What is The Beast like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Beast as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Beast violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Beast as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Beast?
- Critics and commentators recognize the film as a visually memorable, highly controversial work of erotic monster horror whose transgressive sexuality often overwhelms its dramatic and narrative elements.
- Which films are like The Beast?
- Films with a similar feel include Possession, The Untamed, The Company of Wolves, and In the Realm of the Senses.
- How long is The Beast?
- The Beast runs 98 minutes.
