The She-Beast DVD Review
The She-Beast DVD Review
She is indeed beastly!
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Even though genre icon of yore Barbara Steele probably made hundreds of movies — many still seen, some lost in the mists of time — I have only caught a handful of them. The ones I'm familiar with are her baroque horror period pieces, which is why it was a pleasant surprise for me to see the beautiful actress in mod-60s clothing, cool through quite garish Cleopatra-lined eyes, and flat-ironed, middle-parted hair. Seeing Steele in (then) modern times was a real treat for me.
Filmic legend had it that Steele worked for only three days on this cult classic, but as is the case with legend, that time has dwindled down to one 18-hour day (or maybe 22 hours), for which she was paid the (then) astronomical sum of 1,000 pounds. That was more than anyone else on the movie got for their 17-day shoot… at least, that's what they say on the rather lively and affectionate commentary track (it's Steele, her costar Ian Ogilvy, and producer Paul Maslansky, moderated by film historian David Gregory and recorded in 2007). She-Beast has been around, but now Dark Sky has released the DVD in a handsome anamorphic widescreen presentation, complete with the nostalgic commentary and a few other nice little extras.
The movie itself is just okay. It has its moments and is full of delightfully quirky characters — a lecherous Romanian inn-keeper (Mel Welles), a bookish descendant of Professor Van Helsing (John Karlsen), and a drunken truck driver (Richard Watson) who refuses to take the blame for anything — but the overall pace is slow and the story is lacking suspense.
In it, a honeymooning, cynical and quippy British couple (Steele as Veronica and Ogilvy as Philip) find themselves stranded in a remote, sleepy Romanian village which was cursed in Medieval times by a hideous hag witch named Vardella just before she was drowned in the local lake. As these things happen, Veronica and Philip are in a car accident which sends their auto sailing off the road and straight down to the bottom of the lake. …The very lake where Vardella has been waiting for a female body take her place so that she can be free.
So, the title She-Beast in the picture is mostly a hulking stuntman layered with monster makeup. Sexy Steele is in the movie for less than 20 minutes, but we ladies do have fit and fine Ogilvy to ogle. Horror fans in general might be a bit disappointed though, regardless of any perv factor. The attempts at comedy are just that, and there is absolutely nothing spooky, scary or atmospheric about the beast's badness.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson