The story centers around the trials of Joseph Langdon. A US military deserter and taddle-tale, he is rescued from certain death by a fat man in his underpants surrounded by yellow vapor. Initially, I assumed he was 'the beast' from the title. Turned out he was the devil, and was there to restore Langdon to good health in exchange for his earthly soul.
There was a catch however. As unclear as it was at the beginning, he was given the task to recruit others for evil. That wasn't all he was in for. He also, for no real apparent reason, has to suffer painful transformations into something resembling Medusa's brother, hell-bent on ending his own existence, while feeding on a few unfortunate locals.
After the initial rescue, and a few odd scenes later involving a funeral, and the re-appearance of the fat devil, you find yourself in a hospital with Julia Rogers. She is about to be given the news that her husband - Philip Rogers - didn't pull through a severely disfiguring accident.
This is where things get interesting, and a little bit clever. A little bit.
Philip Rogers, is, in fact, Joseph Langdon! And he's not dead at all! Much to the surprise of everyone, including the doctor who pronounced him; he has a fatal heart-attack.
You see, the opening scene was set 35 years ago. After rescuing Langdon, the fat devil set him up similar to the way Connor MacLeod is in Highlander. Same guy, different name and identity. This earth-shattering revelation is made by the US arm of the local authorities after they recognized him as the deserter they thought had perished years earlier.
Langdon himself is a troubled soul now that, by night, and - as it was made apparent - being riled up by his wife in the bedroom, changes him into a hideous monster. It's a terrible way to be, especially when you look like Elvis.
Now a killer, on the run and impervious to bullets - bar one, which we'll get to - Langdon finds shelter with a blind, non-judgemental man who attempts to sneak him out of town. This is where things go bad for both of them.
Read no further if you want the ending ruined.
Cornered at a military road block, the boys find themselves fleeing into the nearby field, and set upon by flame-thrower toting police. In an attempt to find some sort of resolve, Langdon surrenders them both. Arms raised and heading towards the cops, the old man decides to make a break for it, and legs it back in to the now burning field. Something he regrets about a second after being gunned down.
Angered, Langdon makes his fourth and final transformation and terminates many of his would-be captors. In a sudden change of heart after seeing the old man dying, he gives up running and allows himself to be shot in the chest at pointblank by the police chief. This finishes him off, and you get a rather cleverly executed transition sequence of the beast returning back to Langdon.
Where the 'Yellow Night' part comes in to it, I am still at a loss. It could be due to, each time the fat devil vanishes, he does so in a plume of sulfurous yellow smoke.
Gadgetry: None to speak of. Ok, so there isn't always a raygun present.
Favorite quote: "You two-faced old bastard!" Said by Langdon stating that the blind man was hanging on to a dream that he couldn't fulfill.
Favorite bit: The above-mentioned old bastard. Though blind, he knew, know what I mean? He and Langdon had the only developed back story and his sounded interesting. A bandit of sorts in his pre-blind days, he seemed to be somewhat of a legend among his previous cohorts. Also, you get a flash of Langon's wife's 1970's boobies.
Bottom line: Awful.
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