The Blood Beast Terror

The Blood Beast Terror
British original poster
Directed by	Vernon Sewell
Produced by	Arnold L. Miller Tony Tenser
Written by	Peter Bryan
Starring	Peter Cushing Robert Flemyng Wanda Ventham Vanessa Howard
Distributed by	Tigon British Film Productions
Release date	February 1968
Running time	88 m
Language	English

The Blood Beast Terror is a 1967 British horror film released by Tigon in February 1968. In the United States it was released by Pacemaker Pictures on a double-bill with Slaughter of the Vampires as The Vampire-Beast Craves Blood.

In 19th century England, 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 (Leslie Anderson), is driven insane when he catches a glimpse of the mysterious killer.

Investigating the deaths are Detective Inspector Quennell (Peter Cushing) of Scotland Yard and his assistant, Sergeant Allan (Glynn Edwards). Because Joe keeps ranting about a horrible winged creature with huge eyes, Quennell hatches a theory that perhaps a homicidal eagle 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 professor Dr. Carl Mallinger (Robert Flemying), who lives nearby with his daughter Clare (Wanda Ventham), and their butler, Granger (Kevin Stoney). 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 is tormented by sadistic Granger.

Explorer and naturalist Frederick Britewell (William Wilde) returns from Africa with some moth 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 accompanying her to see a play performed by some of her father's students (which seems to be a spoof of the Hammer Frankenstein 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.