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Product Description
All six stand alone episodes of the supernatural series from acclaimed 'Quatermass' writer Nigel Kneale. In 'Special Offer', Noreen (Pauline Quirk) is a clumsy shopgirl who becomes convinced that there is something sinister living behind the walls of the shop where she works. When she is fired after the manager believes she is responsible for all the damages that have been taking place, Noreen returns to the shop looking for revenge...only to discover the real source of the disturbances. In 'During Barty's Party', a couple are alone in an isolated cottage with only a radio for company, until a legion of intelligent rats start to invade their home. In 'Buddyboy', Hubbard (Wolfe Morris) wants to sell his dolphinarium after his prize dolphin dies, and thinks he has found a buyer in Dave (Martin Shaw). But what is the real reason behind Hubbard's eagerness to sell? In 'Baby', a young couple expecting their first child move into a converted farmhouse, where they discover an urn hidden in a wall cavity that contains the body of a strange mutant creature. Before long, they become convinced something is lurking in the woods outside, and the wife is woken by the sound of a baby crying. In 'What Big Eyes', a man experiments with a theory that he believes explains an evolutionary link between man and wolf. Finally, in 'The Dummy', a horror film actor famous for playing a monstrous character known as 'The Dummy' is about to play the role for the seventh time. But this time, something seems different about him, and who exactly is killing off members of the crew?
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Booklet, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, SYNOPSIS: First broadcast on ITV in 1976, Beasts is a series of chillers scripted by Nigel (Quatermass) Kneale. Episode titles: Special Offer, During Barty's Party, Buddyboy, Baby, What Big Eyes, The Dummy. ...Beasts - Complete Series - 2-DVD Set ( The Wild Beasts )
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
74 of 76 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.... Read more ›
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.... Read more ›
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By T. Bobley
Format:DVD
Anyone who enjoyed the Quatermass series and the Stone Tape will appreciate these seven gems. Nigel Kneale was brimming over with original ideas and had an enormous talent for generating a tense atmosphere. In particular "Baby" where a young couple find a huge jar containing unrecognisable mummified remains in the wall of their new home; "During Barty's Party" where an older couple are besieged by unseen rodents scratching and chewing beneath the floor; "Murrain" where a young vet finds himself involved in a witch hunt in a remote rural village - are very taut and disturbing stories. These three are my favourites but I enjoyed all seven. The actors are excellent and some of the acting (of at least one actor in each film) is nicely over-the-top - adding to the feeling of people coming unhinged and losing control. In each case, the focus of the terror - the thing most feared - is suggested rather than shown. This generates a sense of unease that I find so much more real and intense than the computer generated horrors of recent films, that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. Kneale understood that the human imagination is far more powerful than any film-maker's clever visual tricks. Films like these provide a chance for viewers to give their imagination a bit of a work out in a way that's quite rare with most modern films - and the imagination does need to be exercised from time to time, otherwise it can just atrophy.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
1976 anthology series Beasts isn't one of the great Nigel Kneale's finest achievements despite some typically strong dialogue ("Misunderstanding can be so much more dangerous than ignorance," "One's offspring are a distorting mirror: they mock one with themselves, I have to remember I am not THAT"), but it does show there were more strings to his bow than just sci-fi.
There's certainly a variable success rate: The Baby feels a little unsatisfying and not as fully developed as it could be (and the fact it inspired Russell Tedious Davies to write is certainly a black mark against it). Buddy Boy is perhaps the strangest, drawing parallels between the exploitation of animals and the exploitation of women as Martin Shaw's crude porn baron with delusions of taste negotiates to turn a disused dolphinarium into a porn cinema, playing on the fact its owner is being haunted by (stay with me here) a dolphin he killed.
During Barty's Party starts as a middle-class drama - we think it's just another successful businessman with a wife who may drink too much and imagine too much - before subverting expectations as it turns out there really IS something very nasty and unseen under the floorboards: a migration of thousands of rats that have not only developed a resistance to poison but with it lost their fear of man and evolved an aggressive tendency. There's an even more impressive unseen predatory menace stalking the supermarket aisles of Special Offer thanks to some surprisingly excellent low-key special effects, but again the focus is on character, indifference and casual cruelty, here centred around Pauline Quirke's abused checkout girl.... Read more ›
There's certainly a variable success rate: The Baby feels a little unsatisfying and not as fully developed as it could be (and the fact it inspired Russell Tedious Davies to write is certainly a black mark against it). Buddy Boy is perhaps the strangest, drawing parallels between the exploitation of animals and the exploitation of women as Martin Shaw's crude porn baron with delusions of taste negotiates to turn a disused dolphinarium into a porn cinema, playing on the fact its owner is being haunted by (stay with me here) a dolphin he killed.
During Barty's Party starts as a middle-class drama - we think it's just another successful businessman with a wife who may drink too much and imagine too much - before subverting expectations as it turns out there really IS something very nasty and unseen under the floorboards: a migration of thousands of rats that have not only developed a resistance to poison but with it lost their fear of man and evolved an aggressive tendency. There's an even more impressive unseen predatory menace stalking the supermarket aisles of Special Offer thanks to some surprisingly excellent low-key special effects, but again the focus is on character, indifference and casual cruelty, here centred around Pauline Quirke's abused checkout girl.... Read more ›
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I can remember watching this extremely creepy series as an 11 year old when it was first transmitted in the mid-70's, and the memories of it have stayed with me. I love the idea of animals suddenly deciding that they can do without man,also the theme of another classic, the also very creepy 'Long Weekend',If the idea of scary supernatural tales involving malevolent animals is your bag then buy this dvd.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beasts
I was so excited to find this series, on Dvd, and fo sale on Amazon! Iwas at school, when it was shown, on tv, The episode, that stuck in my mind, was Baby! Read more
Published 13 days ago by Mrs. A. Rhodes
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great christmas present
Bought this for my Step Dad as a christmas present and he loved it. Great for someone who loves a bit of really bad classic horror. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Anna
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth it just for "Baby" and "Murrain"
This is a series of six plays by the Manx writer Nigel Kneale, who is perhaps best known as the author of Quatermass and The Pit. Read more
Published 11 months ago by W. I. C. Mitchell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Completely ahine!
Like nearly all Nigel Kneale productions, this series is essential viewing. That's not so much because it's perfect in its execution (it would be pushing things to say that it... Read more
Published 15 months ago by feline1
4.0 out of 5 stars
One-third fantastic TV
This series of six episodes (plus a bonus feature) is a mixed bag from the pen of the mighty Nigel Kneale. Of the six, two episodes are superb and justify the purchase. Read more
Published 16 months ago by downkiddie
3.0 out of 5 stars
Light chiller dramas
Beasts is an interesting DVD set of all of the episodes that made up this British TV series from 1976. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Miss M. Potter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beastly goings on from Nigel Kneale
Nigel Kneale is one of the true greats of Televison and this set shows just how good his writing was when tackling different subjects. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Stephen
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not too many beasts in evidence
Hubby bought this because he has a nostalgia for old TV shows and apparently had seen this as a kid and been scared. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Sylvesterthekat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow, great horror UK TV
Great stuff, as the title says, also has an extra ep by Nigel Kneale from a different show(which escapes me as I write). Great DVD.
Published on 16 Sep 2010 by Terence Tan Co
5.0 out of 5 stars
A neglected classic!!!!!
Just a brief note to congratulate network DVD on releasing this astonishingly excellent series in a truly superb set!!! Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2010 by the santa cat
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