The Beast is one of the most controversial foreign films to come out of the seventies, and now the people at Arrow have given us a chance to view it in all of its shocking glory.

Walerian Borowczyk made a name for himself in the seventies by making artistically and technically accomplished erotic films, beginning with an sexually driven anthology film entitled, Immoral Tales.

The film, The Beast, is an expansion of one of the aforementioned “tales” that was cut from Immoral Tales. 

It deals with a young woman who has recently been engaged to a man that she barely knows. He is an oafish, disgusting loser. She is a rare beauty. The two are completely mismatched. However, this young woman has a fantasy life that rivals anything that her newfound finance could ever imagine.

The Beast explores forbidden sexuality on a level that few films will dare to go. It opens with explicit footage of two horses copulating, and by doing so, sets the tone for the rest of the film. In fact, there is an extended fantasy sequence involving a woman and the “beast” of the title. It is one of the most outrageous and jaw-dropping things that this reviewer has ever seen. But then again, the point of this film was to shock and to titillate. It’s not for everyone, but if you take the plunge, I can’t say that you will ever be bored. When something this gleefully offensive and perverse crosses your path, you can’t help but sit back and watch it. You may want to turn away at times, but you won’t be able to.

Only for the brave!