Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Snowbeast’ (1977)

Written by Scott Edwards

There is nothing better than a good snow in my opinion, but I know that many people do not share that thought. One of the things that I really like about the snow is being able to track the creatures that move though my yard. I know of the cute little bunnies that eat the grass in the summer, but every once in a while, I find some bigger tracks from deer and the occasional ones from the local coyotes that like to stroll along the street. If you did not have a blanket of snow of the ground, you never know who or what could be roaming around your house, so maybe it is time to give that a second thought.

The Rill Lodge and Ski Resort is ready to celebrate its 50th Winter Carnival and Mrs. Rill will not allow anything to get in its way. But there is something hiding up in the mountains that has never been seen by any of the locals and when one of guests goes missing and her grandson Tony hears the farfetched story about a monster taking the guest away, he wants to check out what it could have been. Searching the hill and finding a ski jacket covered in blood, then seeing and hearing the beast in the hills, Tony wants to give his report to the sheriff right away. But Mrs. Rill is against this for one reason and one alone, the betterment of the resort and the town, and if anything happens to the Winter Carnival, both of them will suffer and maybe never get back on their feet. 

Arriving up the mountain with his wife Ellen, Gar Seberg is not looking to rekindle his Olympic skiing days, but rather needs a job from his old friend Tony. Without hesitation, Tony is happy to welcome his old friend and his wife back to the mountain and even though he hires Gar, he is more infatuated with Ellen as the two had a very hot past. Trying to get part of the mountain restricted from the skiers to keep them safe from the beast, it is apparent that the mountain killer has found a little out of the way place to keep his food at the abandoned barn. After finding the body of the missing skier in one of the water troughs, Sheriff Paraday is ready to listen to what Tony was ready to tell him about what might be happening on the mountain.

Ellen has her own idea about what is happening around the resort as she is being kept in the dark by everybody, but her investigative mind will not let it go. Following the police to the old barn, she finds large tracks that lead into the woods and believes that she may have found a Bigfoot creature. But the growls of the unseen beast are getting louder and she knows that whatever she is trying to find is not friendly and may be looking to make her it’s next meal.  Seeing that his wife has not made it back for the night, Gar puts his skis on to find the woman that he married and sees that she has found shelter it the old barn where the other body was found. Keeping each other safe for the night, the reunited couple is shocked to see that the beast is trying to get in and after them for a quick bite. Being frightened off by Tony and the Sheriff, everyone now understands that the beast that is roaming the mountain is not only looking for food, but is ready to take it to the next level when it gets hungry again.

I am one that is against this for most movies, but if a remake needs to be made, Snowbeast should be right on the top of the list. As this is a Made for Television movie from the 70’s, you don’t get to see much more than just a splatter or two of blood and I for one would like to see the carnage that the beast inflicted upon its victims. I actually enjoyed this movie very much, with the suspense and the silliness of people not trying to get away from the monster’s growls. When I am watching a horror movie, I know that the love story is needed so you can at least feel something for when one of them gets killed off and the love triangle in this movie does just that. With plenty of suspense, a grandmother that only wants to think about money, missing skiers and a hairy beast in the woods, this is just a nice little throwback to how a horror movie was supposed to be made, even if you don’t have a ton of blood. It is the perfect movie to put on if you are going up to the slopes and wonder if hitting the back country is right for you. Stay Scared.

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