Snowbeast (1977)

A Colorado ski resort is besieged by a sub-human beast that commits brutal murders on the slopes.

Director:

Herb Wallerstein

Writer:

Joseph Stefano

Stars:

Bo Svenson, Yvette Mimieux, Robert Logan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bo Svenson	...	Gar Seberg
Yvette Mimieux	...	Ellen Seberg
Robert Logan	...	Tony Rill
Clint Walker	...	Sheriff Paraday
Sylvia Sidney	...	Carrie Rill
Thomas Babson	...	Buster (as Thomas W. Babson)
Jacquie Botts	...	Betty Jo
Kathy Christopher	...	Jennifer
Jamie Jamison	...	John Cochran
Richard Jamison	...	Ben Cochran
Liz Jury	...	Mrs. Blodgett
Richard Jury	...	Charlie Braintree (as Ric Jury)
Rob McClung	...	Deputy #2
Annie McEnroe	...	Heidi (as Anne McEncroe)
Victor Raider-Wexler	...	Deputy Holt

Storyline

In this made for TV film, an enormous and angry bigfoot creature begins to terrorize a Colorado Ski Resort during a winter carnival, by eating several skiers. At first everyone insists it is just a bear, until ski patrolman Tony Rill sees a white shadowy beastly shape disappearing into the woods. Although Tony's grandmother Mrs. Carrie Rill, who owns the Ski Resort and the town sheriff, Sheriff Paraday disagree, it soon becomes clear when the creature finally attacks the town.

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Plot Keywords:

abominable snowman | bigfoot | winter | winter carnival | log | 

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Taglines:

The legendary creature is half man... half animal... and a cold blooded killer!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are two versions of this movie. The original aired version that ran 72 minutes and a longer version that runs 88 minutes.

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Goofs

It appears that Sylvia Sidney took an unplanned fall during the gymnasium scene. She trips and falls pretty hard. It appears she may have broken an arm in the fall. She does not appear in the rest of the film despite being a major character earlier in the film.

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Quotes

Sheriff Paraday: I understand she was a guest at your ski lodge. I was hoping you could help me idenify her.
Tony Rill: I must have seen her somewhere. Maybe I will recognize her when I see her face.
Sheriff Paraday: She does not have one.

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Alternate Versions

The National Broadcasting Company decided it would be a little violent to have a skier fall from the ski lift and break a leg and then become a victim to the Snowbeast. In this scene, it was where the Winter Games took place. Writer Joseph Stefano and director Herb Wallerstien changed the scene to have the Snowbeast attack the town's gymnasium were they are holding a skiing contest for the snow champions. The fall from ski lift scene appears in some other versions of this film.

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Connections

Referenced in Beasts (1983)

User Reviews

Corman-esquire cure for insomnia

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Snowbeast

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Douglas Cramer Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Glen Glenn Sound)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1