The She Beast (1966) by Michael Reeves

Director: Michael Reeves

Year: 1966

Country: United Kingdom/Italy/Yugoslavia

Alternate Titles: Revenge of the Blood Beast; Etruscan Ruins

Genre: Witchcraft

Plot:

Going on a honeymoon with her husband, a woman in her car accidentally crashes into a lake by a small town that's home to a reported witch killed centuries earlier, and finds herself possessed by her spirit to carry on a mission of revenge against those who killed her, forcing him to try to stop her.

Review:

This was a rather troublesome, if still somewhat entertaining, effort. When this one works nicely is due to the rather strong interest found here that connects her to the folklore in the area. Starting off with the revelation about the initial execution in the past that shows the villagers heading out to the lake to put her through the various tortures and rituals of confession that ultimately result in the execution at the lake, the localized legends that emerge here are quite fun. In conjunction with the knowledge of the occult expert in the area, looking into the matter further and being able to relate to the experiences he has, this one offers the kind of fine starting point for the eventual antics to come.

Those features are generally reserved for the second half of this one, when it focuses on the rampage that results once the witch gets the wife's body under her control. With the resurrection coming about due to the experts' inadvertent testing with the body after recovering it and subsequently getting free, this one starts off with a fantastic opening sequence that allows for the rampage to come through the village to be decent enough. The finale, offering a series of occult rituals that attempt to transform her back to her normal self, a frantic car chase to get to the spot, and a great twist at the end, has a lot to like as well, and features some nice work here. These are what hold the film up overall.

This one doesn't have a ton of issues, but those are quite detrimental. The biggest factor against this one is the dragging pace that takes way too long to get to the central accident that sets everything in motion. The beginning here, with the two on their trip and going through the various tourist traps in the area, meeting with the locals, and enjoying their honeymoon together, takes up way too much of the running time, especially with it being short as it is, to generate a lot of enthusiasm at the start. These scenes usually go on way longer, with far too much of the scenes featuring pointless banter or uninteresting anecdotes about the history of the location or their relationship, which makes for a slog to get through.

The other detrimental factor here is the rather curious and unexplained means through which the process is supposed to be carried out, with the unnatural reversal process never being fully explained. The whole process is a series of badly mumbled jargon involving time-displacement and ritualized connections that are supposed to align the spirit of the witch with her body, which involves recreating the original killing method and the same instruments, yet the way it comes off is merely informed sayings rather than anything concrete on their part. As well, there's also the hilariously out-of-place comedy that emerges from the police during the final chase, which isn't funny, has no precedent, and comes off as awkward in the middle of a series of a chase scene. Overall, these are what hold it down the most.

Overview: **.5/5

Mildly disappointing but still watchable enough for this style, this one comes off nicely enough overall and is watchable for what it is, even though there are some really damaging flaws within this one. Those with an appreciation for this kind of genre fare or who are curious about it will have the most to like here, while others out there should heed caution.