The title "This man must die" and the original French title "The Beast must die" are interrelated with a Biblical verse: Ecclesiastes 3:19. It reads thus "Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless." The book was written by poet author Cecil Day Lewis under a pen name Nicholas Blake. In the book, there is a major detective. Chabrol deletes that figure. The closest equivalent in the film is a Police Commissioner played by the major French director Maurice Piaiat (without his beard.)
The film is not Chabrol's best but is filled with ironies--e.g. the beast kills a boy, whose real-life brother plays the character who turns into a killer. Is everything meaningless?
The film is not Chabrol's best but is filled with ironies--e.g. the beast kills a boy, whose real-life brother plays the character who turns into a killer. Is everything meaningless?