Snowbeast

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.

This was filmed partially in Crested Butte, Colorado for the ski slope shots, and 30 miles away in Gunnison, Colorado for fill shots. They shot the 'Winter Wonderland' High School dance sequence in the gym at the high school. This was a pretty big deal for all of the students. A real "Hollywood" movie! I remember Yvette being very petite and very quiet during her on-camera parts. One of the shots has Bo sitting in the middle of a bunch of students in the bleachers. Look close (and quick) and you'll see a geeky guy in glasses behind him. I remember wearing a bright shirt that day. We all had to sign the waivers and promise to be polite and quiet. The director would lay out what was going on in that particular shot and how we were supposed to act. They replaced the glass in one of the gym doors so the Beast could stick his arm through it. They seemed to be careful to not let us see the whole beast. Only parts of it. Bo was a large guy, as I remember. And nice. I was a freshman or sophomore at the time so this was being filmed in the 1976-77 time frame. My friends dad was principal at the time. I remember him being very stressed about all the diversions. Not education friendly I guess. But it was a neat learning experience in another way. And I get to say I was in a movie with Yvette and Bo. Thanks.

As you have read Snowbeast is an awful yet endearing "Yeti" film with an all-(ex)star cast. The shockingly familiar "JAWSesque" plotline is quite at home on the slopes of Crested Butte complete with a washed-up Biathlete (that's the ski and shoot type not...you know), a doubting sheriff, a nervous ski-lodge operator, and the usual cadre of hapless and nameless victims... Oh, and a big guy in a fur suit with scary hands to play Bigfoot.

Other reviewers have mentioned the unintentional humor which abounds here. The script was written by Outer Limits' Joseph Stephano with Roger Patterson as consultant. Patterson is eminently qualified as he was responsible for that now famous shaky film of Sasquatch marching through the woods we've all seen too many times. Since Patterson's Bigfoot looks a lot more convincing than the one in Snowbeast he maybe should have been consulting with the make-up department. He seems to know a thing or two about dressing actors up as manbeasts. Stephano is a great TV writer in most cases. He pulled this off in a couple of days I would think.

While some B-movies are for the aficionados only this one is for everybody. Anyone of any age watching this will appreciate it's lack of merit and it's almost purposeful lack of sophistication. It's silly but fun and might make your next trip to a lonely ski slope a little tingly, if you could find a lonely ski slope anywhere in the country. If you want to see what they used to look like check out "Snowbeast."

I loved Snowbeast when I first saw it. It could never be accused of being a great film but it is very good.

Some Sasquatch type creature is butchering people staying at a ski resort and no-one seems to be able to locate it or kill it. Throughout the movie it kills people and causes some carnage.

You don't actually get many glimpses of the monster. You will see a claw here or there but if memory serves me right, you actually only get split second glimpses of it's face at the end when it is cornered by the good guys. Of course, this doesn't spoil the movie; on the contrary, I think it helps that you don't see the monster every five minutes, it makes the whole thing more authentic. It's much better to hear a few growls here and there and to see the victims reactions.

I recommend Snowbeast to anyone. If you notice it on the TV, make sure you record it.

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.