Catherine (Sherilyn Fenn, TWIN PEAKS) returns to Italy to her family's ancestral castle. Her former nanny Martha (Hilary Mason, DON'T LOOK NOW) neglects to inform her that the inherited "responsibilities of the castle" include a family curse. After witnessing an impressive performance by visiting gypsy carnival act "Fauvrey's World of Wonders", she and her American friend Gina (Charlie Spradling, TWICE DEAD) invite the charismatic Lawrence Fauvrey (Malcolm Jamieson, VICTOR VICTORIA) and his performers to dinner at the castle. The girls are drugged and Lawrence leaves Catherine to his twin brother Oliver (who literally turns into a beast while bedding Catherine) while he has his way with Gina. After the troupe have left, Catherine starts having ghostly visions of a murdered girl in a white dress (whom she used to see when she was a girl). Reluctantly, Martha reveals that the girl was Catherine's aunt and that she was murdered years ago by someone from the visiting "Fauvrey's World of Wonders." Catherine soon fears that history will repeat itself; but she cannot help but feel alternately drawn to and repulsed by Oliver who tells her that he only way to end the curse is for her to kill the beast. Meanwhile, Gina returns to town to uncover the secret of an ancient painted-over canvas that depicts the castle and, possibly, the fate of its current inhabitants. Phil Fondacaro (TROLL) and Vernon Dobtcheff (CATACOMBS) also star.

Empire Pictures/Full Moon Entertainment producer Charles Band's fleshier version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has gorgeous cinematography by Mac Ahlberg (HELL NIGHT), a beautiful orchestral/electronic score by Pino Donaggio (CARRIE) - both Band regulars - make-up effects by Greg Cannom (BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA), and attractive Italian locations (including the Castello di Giove, also featured in CASTLE FREAK and THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM), as well as sensitive performances by Fenn, Spradling, Mason, and Jamieson; however, the sight of a naked Fenn doing the "beast with two backs" with a man in a cuddly monster suit (stunt double Alex Daniels, who also donned Cannom make-up for the short-lived TV series WEREWOLF) is chuckle-inducing. The brief flashes of skin may not be enough for viewers expecting an eroti thriller, and the scares are non-existant for horror fans. Despite this, MERIDIAN manages to be classier than Zalman King's cheesy Southern Gothic TWO MOON JUNCTION (although that one did feature more undraped screentime for Fenn), and it has an importance as one of the first Full Moon Pictures production (dating back from the glory days of their lucrative distribution deal with Paramount which also produced the first three SUBSPECIES and PUPPET MASTER films and a handful of other solo horror and sci-fi entries considerably slicker and better-made than later works under the subsequent Full Moon Pictures and Full Moon Features banners).