A Fera das Neves

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.

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.

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.

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!...

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.