This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I was interested in "The She Beast" because it was Michael Reeves first solo effort as director/writer, released in 1966. Most people reading this know that he went on to work with Vincent Price on 1968's "Witchfinder General" (aka "Conqueror Worm") before he died of an accidental overdose in early '69 at the too-young age of 25."The She Beast" is about a hideous witch in modern Transylvania who is resurrected via the drowning of man's wife (Barbara Steele). The husband teams up with a ghoul-slayer to destroy the witch and, if possible, resurrect his wife.This is a decent spooky mid-60s flick for the Fall season -- nothing great or even really good, but decent. What particularly works is the hideousness of the witch. On the downside there's an attempt at slapstick comedy with the police chase that doesn't fit. Regardless the film is worthwhile for Reeves' fans.GRADE: C+

Michael Reeve's first and youthful foray into genre film-making, while admittedly hamstrung by the obvious constraints of a penurious budget and inexperience, still yields up considerable entertainment. 'The She Beast' is a zesty, vengeful yarn of bedeviled witchery that goes beyond it being merely the tentative opening salvo from the talented auteur of the soon- to-be-legendary 'Witchfinder General'. Unlike many creaky horrors from the mid-sixties 'The She Beast' merits a re-visit not only for the other- worldly beauty of, Barbara Steele, but the almost pubescent, Reeves still manages to construct some luridly effective shock moments and generates a palpable Gothic sensibility which remains timeless. Yes, one can easily to point out the obvious faults; but it's far more amusing to kick back and enjoy all the frantic retributions of our lunatic, musili-faced witch. I will always have a soft spot for 'The She Beast' and it's edifying to notice that it has generated a considerable cult of personality all of its own.

Modest Italian horror flick starring Barbara Steele as a new bride honeymooning in Romania and who unfortunately ends up possessed by the spirit of one of the ugliest witches ever committed to film. The homicidal witch is executed by the townsfolk in the 1700s and has been waiting patiently to return. Once she is back in the flesh, she goes on a new murderous rampage in our time. The movie is intermittently creepy but largely boring, with a very small cast and not much going on beyond the witch (all too obviously played by a man) wreaking havoc. The bride's young husband (Ian Ogilvy) and a descendant of Dr. Von Helsing do their best to capture the reincarnated witch and restore the young bride. Will they succeed? The only reason to recommend this low-budget quickie is to see Steele, best known for "Black Sunday" and one of the sexiest and voluptuous screen actresses in history. She has a pretty decent, if abbreviated, nude sex scene early on. I think it may have been trimmed for U.S. viewing. Unfortunately, once her character is transformed into the witch, which happens early on, we see nothing of her until the very end. She could have used a lot more screen time, and made this trifle more watchable.

A strange phenomenon among newbie film makers is to start their careers burlesquing the thriller genre. Typically this involves much silliness, rambling plot lines and destroying the good moments with bad comedy. "She Beast" falls into this category.Filmed in the wake of many international hits for Italy's classic horror cycle, the film's producer (whose first production this was) could have used the talented cast, lush color and widescreen format to create a creepy, drive-in classic. However, each time the film begins to succeed in this way, it derails itself with high school-esque slapstick which in all probability, no one found funny at the time but the producers.Still, it's worth a peek for die-hard Barbara Steele and Euro-horror fans.