Of The Beast -1990- Tamil Dubbed [2021] - Meridian Kiss

Meridian Kiss of the Beast (1990) — Tamil Dubbed

A visceral, dreamlike descent into obsession and monstrous desire, Meridian Kiss of the Beast (1990) blends gothic horror, eroticism, and tragic romance into a nightmarish fairy tale. The Tamil-dubbed version preserves the film’s hypnotic atmosphere while adding a new voice for South-Asian viewers—an unfamiliar language layering fresh strangeness onto an already uncanny world.

The Lost Legend: Why No Official Re-release?

Despite the cult demand, Meridian Kiss Of The Beast -1990- Tamil Dubbed has never seen an official DVD, digital, or streaming release. The reasons are multiple:

  1. Rights Issues: Full Moon Features owns the original, but the Tamil dub was done without formal licensing. The Indian distributor has long since vanished.
  2. Master Tape Decay: The original VHS masters were stored in humid godowns. Most have disintegrated.
  3. Censorship Concern: The dub’s dialogue pushed the limits of 1990s Indian censorship regarding sexuality.

However, fans have preserved fourth- or fifth-generation VHS rips, shared via obscure Telegram groups and Internet Archive uploads. The quality is terrible—tracking lines, muffled audio, colour bleeding—but for aficionados, that’s part of the charm. Meridian Kiss Of The Beast -1990- Tamil Dubbed

Key Themes

  • Tragic romance: The film foregrounds love as both redemptive and destructive. The cursed man’s longing for human connection makes him sympathetic, even as his physical transformations create threat and isolation.
  • Monstrosity as metaphor: The beastly form stands in for repressed trauma, inherited sin, and the destructive consequences of secrecy and guilt.
  • Gothic decay and atmosphere: The setting—a crumbling mansion, fog-laden coasts, and stormy nights—functions as a character itself, emphasizing decline and the passage of time.
  • Consent and agency: The relationship dynamics raise complex questions about power, vulnerability, and the ethics of attempting to “fix” another person through love.
  • The line between horror and eroticism: Like many late-20th-century horror films that flirt with erotic overtones, Meridian Kiss of the Beast uses sensuality to heighten tension and ambiguity about desire versus danger.

From Florence to Kollywood: The Origin of the Film

To understand the Tamil dubbed version, one must first look at the original. Meridian (also known as Meridian: Kiss of the Beast) is a 1990 American-Italian gothic horror film directed by Charles Band—the maestro behind Puppet Master and Trancers. Produced by the legendary (and often schlocky) Full Moon Entertainment, the film starred Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks) and Malcolm Jamieson.

The plot is quintessential gothic erotica: After their father’s death, two American women inherit a mysterious castle in Italy. One of them, Catherine (Fenn), falls under the spell of a cursed count, Lawrence (Jamieson), who transforms into a beastly creature. The "kiss of the beast" refers to a blood pact that binds lovers across time—a metaphor for desire, monstrosity, and eternal damnation. Meridian Kiss of the Beast (1990) — Tamil

In English, the film received mixed reviews but gained a niche following for its atmospheric cinematography, practical creature effects, and a haunting score by Pino Donaggio. However, its destiny changed when it landed on Indian shores.

Why It Remains a Cult Favorite

Why do we still talk about Meridian while other dubbed films like Anaconda or Lake Placid have faded into generic memory? Rights Issues: Full Moon Features owns the original,

  1. The Atmosphere: It wasn't trying to scare you with jump scares; it was trying to hypnotize you with atmosphere. The soundtrack (by the band Pseudo Echo) was synth-heavy and moody, which, when combined with Tamil audio, created a unique sensory experience.
  2. The "Beast" Design: The creature suit is iconic Full Moon Features design. It looked both humanoid and animalistic, sparking the imagination. It felt like a 'real' monster from a storybook.
  3. The Dubbing Culture: This film represents a lost era of Tamil media. Today, we have crisp 4K streaming with perfect subtitles. Back then, we had grainy VHS tapes where the audio didn't quite sync, creating a surreal disconnect that made the film feel even more otherworldly.

Critical Reception: Then vs. Now

On release, Meridian was panned for its thin plot and over-reliance on eroticism. Roger Ebert famously ignored it. However, time has been kind. Today, horror historians praise its production design and Sherilyn Fenn’s commitment.

For Tamil audiences, the film is beyond criticism. It is a nostalgic time capsule. It sits alongside other iconic Tamil-dubbed horrors like The Beastmaster, Witchboard, and Ghoulies. The flawed dubbing, the mismatched lip movements, the dramatic background score replaced with 90s Tamil synth—all of it adds to the charm.

2. The Dialogues

The translators took extreme liberties. Where the original had subtle romantic tension, the Tamil version added dramatic exclamations, curses, and even folk idioms. For example, a simple English line, "Don’t touch me," became "Unigalai thottu viduven, adhu meridianin sabatham!" ("If you touch me, it will be Meridian’s curse!").