Snowbeast - Il mostro delle nevi

An annual Colorado skiing event is terrorised by a Yeti.

Not to be confused with 2011's Snow Beast. Veteran TV director Herb Wallerstein's 1977 outing is a competently made, poor mans, TV version of Jaws but doesn't reach the summer blockbusters depth, tension or flair. Written by Joseph Stefano (who wrote the screenplay for Psycho) offers the expected slow talky dialogue which is broken up by the occasional glimpses of the Yeti, Bigfoot-like Snow Beast.

Robert Prince music is fitting, notable is a set up where the beast is glimpsed at a window which it then smashes through 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 from Frank Stanley. The acting is of its time but better than today's low budget attempts and the man in a suit and real looking blood is still more effective than the bad CGI Syfy channel productions 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 especially for those wanting a 70s fashion nostalgia ride.

SNOWBEAST is about the Rill Ski Lodge, its 50th anniversary celebration, and the huge, hairy monster that wrecks it all.

The wanton slaughter starts right away, leaving unwary skiers slumped on the slopes. Of course, lodge owner, Carrie Rill (Sylvia Sidney) won't entertain the idea of closing the place down. After all, what are a few deaths, when a winter carnival is at stake?

Enter Gar and Ellen Seberg (Bo Svenson and Yvette Mimieux). He's an 8 foot tall man in need of a job and a confidence boost, and she's his long-suffering wife. Can they put their soap opera marriage on hold long enough for Gar to help track the creature? When 9 foot tall Sheriff Paraday (Clint Walker) gets involved, it takes a while to convince him, and then the hunt is on.

As made-for-TV, killer Bigfoot movies go, this one's not too bad. It's also fairly talky, and has several lengthy shots of people just skiing along, like they're in a travelogue.

THE BEST PARTS ARE: #1- When the beast attacks the lodge, ruining the night for the winter carnival queen! #2- The monster's assault on the sheriff's camper! The yowling yeti unleashes an avalanche of -conveniently placed- logs that defy physics and all logic, by hopping into the camper sideways!

A frigid feast of furry fun!...

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.

I saw this on late night tv in the early eighties. I was staying at my grandmothers house and I was in a sleeping bag. She had one of those Ye olde toilets where you had to go outside to pee. Needless to say I was to scared to go out side lest the Snowbeast would get me. There was no snow but I was too scared and peed in the sleeping bag. I'm still scared of the dark. And sleeping bags. And my grandmother. She's dead now though which is fine cause she was crazy. Also don't watch scary movies if you have to outside to pee, it may not end well.

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."