The Beast was a bust.
Well, The Beast did end up sucking after all! Trust Borowczyk to leave a bad taste in your mouth. There were a lot of plot holes — why did Marthurin die, why did the beast die, where was all the blood after the old man’s throat was slashed, and why did the aunt realize Marthurin’s deformity? There actually seemed to be two beast costumes — one that looked more like a weasel, and the other than looked more like a bear. They could have inluded fewer “money-shots” too. I think everybody would have appreciated that. The whole sudden appearance of the Cardinal (who was supposedly in Africa) and his dumb speech about beastiality were silly too. The movie should have ended when the two women ran out of the house, and the Cardinal and his aide went in. What I saw was the director’s cut, so Borowczyk can’t blame anybody but himself for its crappiness.
And remember, kids … don’t have sex with animals!