Beasts (1976 series)

Scene from the "Baby" episode of Beasts (1976 series)...

Summary

A series of six effective and concise chillers involving otherworldly intrusions on everyday life written by Nigel Kneale. The plays all had a minimal feel with the stories taking place in ordinary locations such as a farm house, a supermarket or a front room. The DVD set also includes Nigel Kneale's contribution "Murrain" to the previous year's anthology series, Against the Crowd, which is similar in content and tone to Beasts.

Details

• Release Date: 1975 ("Murrain"), 1976 (Beasts)
• Country/Language: UK, English
• Genres/Technical: Drama, Horror (including Folk Horror), Science Fiction, Anthology
• Runtime: (generally formatted for a 1-hr television slot)
• Starring: (various)
• Director: (various)
• Writer: Nigel Kneale
• Producer/Production Co: BBC, Associated Television (ATV)
• View Trailer: (link)
• IMDb: (link)
• Wikipedia: (link)

Ratings

MPAA Ratings

• Rated: (not rated) (equivalent of a TV-PG for mild, TV-friendly Violence and Adult Content?)

Tentacle Ratings

A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:

• S____ (One Tentacle: Debateably Lovecraftian; has almost no direct connection to Lovecraft's work)

Generally not "Lovecraftian" in the way that Nigel Kneale's Quatermass (1953 franchise) or The Stone Tape (1972 film) are, but should still be of interest to fans of both writers' work.

Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.

Reviews

Review Links:

• Author_andor_Location, ([URL link]) - RATING
• (review needed)

Synopses

• "Special Offer" (1976) - A shop assistant whose unrequited love for her manager prompts a paranormal revenge.
• "During Barty's Party" (1976) - A middle-class couple's life is overturned by rats.
• "Buddyboy" (1976) - A disused aquarium is haunted by the spirit of a dolphin. (Generally regarded as the weakest story of the series.)
• "Baby" (1976) - A newlywed couple's pregnancy falls foul of ancient witchcraft.
• "What Big Eyes" (1976) - An RSPCA inspector investigates a man who is trying to turn himself into a wolf.
• "The Dummy" (1976) - An actor who regularly plays a monster in horror films is psychologically affected by his role.
• "Murrain" (1975) - A young country vet begins to suspect that the local farmland is under the spell of a witch. (Actually originally the only Nigel Kneale entry for the drama anthology Against the Crowd; it's similar enough in content and tone to have been included in the DVD set for Nigel Kneale's Beasts.)
• "The Stone Tape" (1972) - A research team working on a revolutionary recording technology project encounter a ghost, and realize the experience is relevant to their research.

Notes

Associated Mythos Elements

• TO DO
• film: The Stone Tape (1972 film)