Snowbeast

An annual Colorado skiing event is terrorised by a Yeti.

Over the years, I've revisited Snowbeast more times than I care to admit. I first caught it as a child, long before Blu-ray or YouTube, and the film etched itself into memory. For some, it was just another TV movie, but for me-growing up on Tales from the Darkside, Creepshow, and Tales from the Crypt-it struck a chord. Monsters were my entry point into horror, and this snowbound Yeti tale felt both familiar and unsettling.

The film was shown a number of times on UK television, including 20 September 1980 (LWT), 7 August 1987 (LWT), 22 June 1997 (LWT), 24 June 1997 (Sci-Fi Channel Europe), 19 May 1999 (Sci-Fi Channel Europe), and 13 August 2000 (Channel 5). I'm not certain whether I first caught it on one of these airings or via a VHS recording of the UK broadcast. It wasn't available on UK home entertainment releases until 2004 and 2009, so any viewing at that time would have been from TV broadcasts or personal recordings.

Not to be confused with 2011's Snow Beast, veteran TV director Herb Wallerstein's 1977 NBC outing is a competently made, poor man's TV version of Jaws, but it tries hard reach the summer blockbuster's depth, tension, and flair.

Written by Joseph Stefano (who wrote the screenplay for Psycho), it offers the expected slow, talky dialogue, which is broken up by the occasional glimpses of the Yeti, a Bigfoot-like Snow Beast. Robert Prince's music is fitting, notably in a setup where the beast is glimpsed at a window before smashing through it in front of a hall full of children and skiers. Endless Snow Beast POV shots aside, the snowy on-location shoot adds atmosphere, with cinematography by Frank Stanley.

The acting is of its time, but better than today's low-budget attempts. The man in a suit and real-looking blood is still more effective than the bad CGI Syfy Channel productions currently being put out. It has higher-than-usual production values, especially considering it's a made-for-television movie.

As Yeti films go, it's worth checking out-particularly for those wanting a 1970s fashion nostalgia ride.

For those who still hear the call of this snowbound cryptid, the USA's Retromedia released a Blu-ray in 2018; Makeflix reissued a BD-R in 2024 offering both the 72-minute and restored longer versions, which is probably your best bet.

Rating- 3 stars*** out of 5

What else could you ask for a man dressed in a bigfoot-yeti-sasqutach like costume. I have never seen a film about that ledgenary creature but here it is Snowbeast. Not a great title but still okay. It's about that Bigfoot like creature killing skiers at a ski resort in Colorado. Bo Svenson, Vvitte Mineux, Clint Walker and Robert Logan leap into pursuit to stop it. Silva Syndey co-stars. Although the films looks rather like Jaws in some ways. I once had to think Joseph Stefano did great on Psycho why would he try to copy Jaws? Also it's failing of Direction leads to not so great suspense. But it's music by Robert Prince was okay. So if you hav'nt seen a movie about the legendary creature go out and rent it it's not all that bad. Filmed in 1977. Mostly played on T.V but was released to theaters in small quanties.

I watched this on DVD after acquiring a 10 pack called "Vault of Horror". I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. The acting ranges from competent to embarrassing, you never really see the monster, the storyline apes Jaws from scene to scene, but somehow it works if you watch it in the right frame of mind. Most of all it brought back memories of my childhood of watching those low-budget 72 minute TV movies they used to show from 8:30 to 10:00.

For a low budget, made-for-TV movie from 1977, this one packs quite a wallop. Sure, we never really get to see the monster and there is an abundance of non-professional extras on hand, but the lead performances (Bo Svenson, Yvette Mimieux and Clint Walker) are just fine. There are two very strong qualities which take this film into the recommendable range. One is the excellent location photography. Sure, the Colorado mountains are gorgeous, but the stedicam work around the slopes really add to the tension. Second is the musical score. It is just excellent, so far about the norm for a TV movie of the era. I don't have the composer credit at hand, but it's my guess that there was a connection between him and Joseph Stefano, who wrote the film and was a veteran of Outer Limits, also noted for its engaging musical score. Anyway, between the music and the swooping camera work, this film is often genuinely creepy, almost from the first few minutes. And bless her sweet soul, isn't Yvette gorgeous? She sure grew from the Time Machine into a beautiful woman. Final word: it's hard not to notice the plot similarity between this feature and Jaws. Made two years after the Spielberg classic, we're still dealing with a monster on the loose and a town that doesn't want to admit it for fear of losing tourist dollars. Maybe Jaws on the Slopes would be a good subtitle here.

Good looking actors like Mimieux and Svenson and pretty scenery can only do so much to save a poorly written story. Snow Beast is a typical 1970s monster horror film and plays out like an over-long ancestral episode of the X-Files without any of the subplots that made that show tolerable. Of course it's about a yeti terrorizing a ski resort. But since the yeti itself (also a pretty good looking creature) only appears in the film for about 2 minutes scattered over the entire 86 minutes of the film, the resort is mostly inhabited by bad actors. Frankly, only Mimieux gives a performance worthy of recording, though Svenson seemed to at least be enjoying himself.

Svenson and Mimieux's characters are married, though seemingly becoming estranged because of Svenson deepening depression. Bob Logan plays a good friend of the couple who appears to be interested in Mimieux for reasons that go beyond friendship. Svenson's problem is that he regrets having given up skiing after winning five gold medals and becoming a champion. This sets up a subplot which is used to justify about 30 minutes of Corman-esquire scenes of people skiing. Svenson is a pretty poor skier for an ex-champion. The hunt for the yeti, which really couldn't justify more skiing scenes, instead explains why most of the last 15 minutes of the film consists of the principle cast riding around on snow mobiles. And lest I forget, Clint Walker shows up, playing himself in a County Sheriff's uniform and leads the snow-mobile brigade.

Like many "shockers" of the 70s, Snow Beast avoids an adequate special effects budget and an R rating (it's a TV movie) by not allowing the audience to see the beast itself or really, any of the horror scenes. You only see the beast when the actors do. And when they see it, they die, while you are only likely to experience narcolepsy.

It took me four nights to get through this one. I have read through some of the more enthusiastic reviews, and all I can say about them is that I am glad that diversity thrives here on IMDb.