TOMASBBloodhound How is it that I don't review any movies on here in like forever, and the first two I do all summer end up being obscure titles with Robert Logan in them?? Weird. Anyway, I sat through this 1977 small screen epic yesterday morning, and came away a bit disappointed. I recall there were plenty of decent tv movies when I was a kid. Don't Go To Sleep, Disaster on the Coast Liner, and perhaps the greatest of them all... Dark Night of the Scarecrow, but Snowbeast is nowhere near those in quality. It is a missed opportunity on many fronts. It takes an interesting premise, a solid cast of typical supporting players, a potentially frightening creature, and just ends up boring the audience. The concept of a yeti, or bigfoot has been the stuff of legends for many years here in America. So many people claim to have seen one, and many are still trying to prove its existence. But would he be some terrifying beast, or some harmless big ape-like animal? Well, this film shows him (or mostly doesn't show him) as being a blood-thirsty almost bear-like creature who attacks and kills humans on sight! Mostly skiers who ski too close are his victims. And of course the local town is doing some sort of big celebration or something common in these 70s monster movies such as Tentacles, Piranha, or others. This puts even more people in peril. Can a former Olympic Skier, his wife, the local law enforcement, and the resort owner's son team up to stop him??Snowbeast is at least an improvement over 1970's Bigfoot, but that is hardly an accomplishment. Way too much time is spent watching people ski or ride around on snowmobiles. The photography is poor, and that is hard to believe with beautiful Colorado scenery as the backdrop. Oddly enough, when we do get brief glimpses of the beast, he looks quite scary! But they hardly show him. Not too much gore, but more than an average tv movie probably had back then. Another downfall is the running time. With commercials thrown in, this thing doesn't have the goods to hold interest for two whole hours. There are at least two Scooby Doo episodes with this same basic plot, and they are more worth your time. 4 of 10 stars. The Hound.

Michael_Elliott Snowbeast (1977)** 1/2 (out of 4)People at a Colorado ski resort start turning up brutally murdered and one witness claims to have seen a large hairy monster. Gar (Bo Svenson) witnesses the monster in action but the Mayor (Sylvia Sidney) refuses to do anything fearing if word got out it would hurt business. Soon more people are killed and something has to be done.This made-for-television picture really isn't that bad as long as you're not expecting some high-class piece of art. Like a lot of the television movies from this period, this here contains a small budget and obviously the main goal was just to get something on the screen for families to sit around and watch and get a few chills. This one here does benefit from a nice cast as well as a rather good monster.There were quite a few Bigfoot movies made during the 70's and looking back on the quality of some of them you could argue that it was the Golden Era for that type of film. I really liked the monster costume here, although one wishes that it was put to better use at times. There are some point of view shots that were clearly influenced by JAWS but they're effective. The attack scenes are also pretty good, although most of them end on a "fade to red," which originally sent you to the commercial.Svenson is good in the lead role and Yvette Mimieux and Robert Logan add some nice support. As was the case with a lot of these movies, a former star appears and in this case it was Sidney. It was certainly great seeing her in the picture and she too turns in a fine performance. Add in a nice music score and some great locations and SNOWBEAST is certainly worth watching.

AaronCapenBanner Herb Wallerstein directed this TV movie, a land-based "Jaws" clone that stars Bo Svenson as former Olympic Gold winning skier Gar Seberg, who is called upon by an old friend to hunt down a murderous Bigfoot-like creature terrorizing his ski resort just as the winter carnival is set to begin. Yvette Mimieux plays Gar's reporter wife Ellen, who becomes directly involved with the hunt along with the sheriff(played by Clint Walker), as it seems this particular "Bigfoot" isn't shy and reclusive at all... Despite being written by genre legend Joseph Stefano, story is uninspired and thin, though the direction does give it some tension in places, and the cast is fine.

Wuchak "Snowbeast" is a 1977 TV movie filmed a year after the popular "Jaws."It's got quite a few positives: Gorgeous alpine locations -- filmed at Crested Butte Mtn Ski Resort, Colorado; a very likable 70s cast, including Robert Logan, Bo Svenson, Yvette Mimieux and Clint Walker; and a decent-looking malevolent Sasquatch for a TV film of that era, although you barely get to see him.Unfortunately the film lacks originality as the plot rips off "Jaws" verbatim. The only difference is that it takes place at a ski resort rather than a beach and the monster is a sasquatch rather than a shark. Like "Jaws" there's a scene where a bear is hunted and killed, making the skiers think the slopes are safe again, but the main characters know it's not the culprit; one of them even states that the dead bear's stomach should be opened up to see if human remains can be found. I hope Peter Benchley got royalties! Despite the similarities, "Snowbeast" lacks the suspense and pizazz of "Jaws;" in fact, it's kinda boring, but well worthwhile if you're in an alpine mood and/or if you're a fan of the four stars. After all, any film with Clint Walker can't be all bad; plus Yvette looks real cute in a tight ski outfit.The film runs 97 minutes.FINAL SAY: I've seen "Snowbeast" three times now and always enjoy it despite its lack of originality and slightly lethargic spirit. It's a must for devotees of the Bigfoot mythos, as well as fans of the cast and those wanting to see great alpine locations. Just keep in mind it's a 70's TV movie.GRADE: C+