By Erin Free
In this regular column, we drag forgotten made-for-TV movies out of the vault and into the light. This week: the snowbound mythological 1977 animal-attack flick Snowbeast, starring Robert Logan, Bo Svenson, Yvette Mimieux, Clint Walker and Sylvia Sidney.
Some films don’t just conquer the box office, they actually lay waste to the thoughts and ideas of many of the creatives who see them. One look at the army of cinematic knock-offs of classics like Mad Max (and even more so, Mad Max 2), Escape From New York, Star Wars, Halloween and many more offer ample and instant proof. One of the greatest cinematic influencers, however, is Steven Spielberg’s 1975 masterpiece Jaws, which inspired a whole school of “animals attack” flicks, including (but not limited to) the qualitatively disparate likes of Orca (1977), Grizzly (1979), Piranha (1978), and the mighty Alligator (1980), which you can read about in length right here.
The “animals attack” flick also trickled down to the telemovie format, with the cheap, enjoyably exploitative likes of Killer Bees (1974), Trapped (1973), It Happened At Lakewood Manor (1977) and more making their way onto the small screen nearly as quickly as their big screen brethren. Also wedged in amongst this lot is 1977’s Snowbeast, which is notable for taking the basic plot of Jaws and melding it with the myth of Bigfoot, the popularity of which was running riot in the 1970s.
The grainy, incendiary 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film, claimed by its filmmakers to depict a female Bigfoot – a large, hairy, simian-like mythical creature believed to prowl the dense forests of America’s Pacific Northwest – inspired much excitement in the 1970s, bringing forth a wild collection of crazed pseudo-science documentaries (including 1975’s The Mysterious Monsters from the famed Sunn Classic Pictures), big screen movies (1970’s Bigfoot), and even a much-loved episode of The Six Million Dollar Man. [For much, much more on Bigfoot in the movies, click right here.]
As well as lifting the plotline of Jaws, 1977’s Snowbeast also imaginatively and opportunistically melds the legend of Bigfoot with that of the similar, snow-dwelling mythological creatures of the Yeti (basically Bigfoot in The Himalayas) and the Wendigo (a demonic snow creature from Native-American folklore). It’s a pretty savvy cook-up from high-profile screenwriter Joseph Stefano, the man who famously adapted Robert Bloch’s novel Psycho for director Alfred Hitchcock. Though not as well known for it, Stefano was also a major player on TV, co-writing the TV series The Outer Limits, as well as penning telemovies like Revenge! (1971) and Home For The Holidays (1972).
Directed with adequate gusto by TV veteran and one-time 20th Century Fox Studios bigwig Herb Wallerstein (who, incidentally, was killed in extremely unpleasant circumstances by his housekeeper in 1985), Snowbeast first aired on major US network NBC on April 28, 1977, and has developed a very minor horror-film-circles cult in the years subsequent, enjoying successful releases on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray, which is a hell of a lot more than most telemovies experience…even the very good ones.
The set-up is simple: Rill’s Ski Resort in The Colorado Rockies is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a huge party and wide range of on-snow events. Ageing resort owner Carrie Rill (Sylvia Sidney does her trademark ball-busting, acerbic bit to great effect as always) is looking forward to making a fortune before eventually handing the business over to her can-do son Tony (played by the dashing Robert Logan, best known for his roles in the wilderness adventures of Unsung Auteur Stewart Raffill). But there’s one major problem – something has been killing unwise resort guests who go off-piste while skiing…and it’s obviously not human.
With blood on the snow and the body count slowly inching upwards, a team quickly joins action man Tony in tracking down the snowy menace. Gar Seberg (the towering Bo Svenson is surprisingly flawed and vulnerable here) is a former Biathlon Olympic star and longtime friend of Tony’s down on his luck and hoping to get a job at the ski resort. Accompanying Gar is his wife Ellen (the delightful Yvette Mimieux does a lot with a fairly thin role), a hard-nosed journalist constantly disappointed with her sad-sack husband…and who chose him, no less, over ambitious ex-boyfriend Tony. Also drafted in is Sheriff Paraday (the towering Clint Walker adds instant gravitas), who is pleasantly eager to accept Tony’s Bigfoot theories, unlike the cliched sceptical lawman usually peddled out in flicks like this.
With an obviously very low budget to work with, director Herb Wallerstein sensibly keeps his Bigfoot largely out of sight, sticking to POV shots and mere glimpses of what looks like a big man running around in the snow wearing a not-highly-effective monster suit. The approach works, with suspense nicely stoked amongst some strongly performed character building. There are a couple of high-stakes set-pieces that really impress, while a few of Wallerstein’s directorial flourishes (he chillingly fades to red at the commercial breaks) make up for the very lengthy skiing and “resort life” footage, obviously included to pad out the running time.
Though the pacing is a little sluggish and the lack of genuine monster scares certainly hurts, Snowbeast remains a highly enjoyable small screen rewrite of the classic Jaws, savvily following that film’s focus on character, atmosphere, and interpersonal relationships, resulting in a nicely textured animal-attack small screen effort.
Availability: Snowbeast is available to buy second-hand online on DVD and Blu-Ray, and is also relatively easy to find online in fairly decent form if you don’t want to outlay the ducats for the physical media.
If you enjoyed this review, check out our other vintage telemovies Stagecoach, Terror On The Beach, Strange Homecoming, The Possessed, Memorial Day, That Certain Summer, Elvis And The Beauty Queen, Scandal In A Small Town, Victims For Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story, The Seduction Of Gina, Blue Murder, The Brotherhood Of Justice, The Wave, The California Kid, The Cracker Factory, Night Terror, Inmates: A Love Story, The Shadow Riders, CHiPs: Roller Disco, Dawn: Portrait Of A Teenage Runaway, Young Love, First Love, Escape From Bogen County, The Death Squad, Hit Lady, Brian’s Song, The Defiant Ones, A Cry For Help, Trilogy Of Terror, Policewoman Centerfold, Smash-Up On Interstate 5, Something Evil, Savage, A Step Out Of Line, The Boy In The Plastic Bubble, The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission, A Very Brady Christmas, The Gladiator, Elvis, The Rat Pack, Silent Victory: The Kitty O’Neil Story, Terror Among Us, The Hanged Man, Hardcase, Charlie’s Angels: Angels In Vegas, Vanishing Point, To Heal A Nation, Fugitive Among Us, To Kill A Cop, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Police Story: A Chance To Live, Murder On Flight 502, Moon Of The Wolf, The Secret Night Caller, Cotton Candy, And The Band Played On, Gargoyles, Death Car On The Freeway, Short Walk To Daylight, Trapped, Hotline, Killdozer, The Jericho Mile, Mongo’s Back In Town and Tribes.
