Snowbeast (1977) (TV)

It's kinda like Jaws, but in the snow . . . and on a mountain . . . and with fur . . ., 11 March 2008

In Snowbeast, a town is preparing for its annual Winter Carnival only to find it threatened by some sort of killer snow monster. You don't have to look too hard to find the similarities between Snowbeast and Jaws. They're everywhere - from canceling the Winter Carnival vs. the 4th of July celebration in Jaws to the cover-up on the part of the mayor / sheriff, the comparisons are endless. It should go without saying that Snowbeast is in no way near as good as Jaws, but it does have its moments. Chief among the positives are some incredibly creepy and effective scenes when the titular Snowbeast is stalking its intended prey. An isolated, snow-covered mountainside can become a very ominous place when the quiet is broken by the blood curdling roar of the Snowbeast. Freaky stuff! Unfortunately, this being a made-for-TV movie, the film cuts out a lot of the actual attack scenes and we're left with a bloody snow aftermath.

As you might expect from my rating, however, I did find a lot to fault in Snowbeast. First, this being a made-for-TV movie, there's far too much unnecessary and forced sentimentality. There are several seemingly endless scenes between the movie's hero, Gar Seberg (played by the unmemorable Bo Svenson), and his wife about some meaningless back-story that had no bearing on anything in the movie. Ugh! Second, the Snowbeast wouldn't have killed near as many people if they had just kept going down the mountain. One of the funniest moments involved a ski rescuer who had searched the mountain for hours without incident. However, the moment he got near the Snowbeast happened to be the precise moment he decides to do a face-plant in the snow. Could this clumsy oaf have made it any easier on the Snowbeast? It's because of these negatives that I can only rate this movie a 5/10.

5/10