Beast from Haunted Cave (1959)

I don't mind a slow film but this is just plain dull, 12 June 2005

After stealing a load of gold, three gangsters (and a girl) hire the local ski instructor to take them on a cross country ski trip. They plan to meet a plane that's to take them to Canada, but they don't plan on the blizzard that makes that impossible. Oh, and there's some sort of monster on the loose.

Beast from the Haunted Cave is as dull as dishwater. It's padded with some of the most mind-numbing conversations imaginable. These people will talk about anything and everything if it means extending the running time. Other than the 10 foot long arms, the monster reminded me of It from the Addams Family. Better than many of the 50s monsters, but not much better. The music is all over the place and often doesn't fit well with the action on screen. A pre-title sequence has a snappy jazz score that could be mistaken for something out of a Jess Franco film. That's immediately followed by a very serious pipe organ that could easily be mistaken for music from Carnival of Souls. Other than Sheila Carol, the acting is abysmal.

The silliest moment (and there are several) occurs after the cross country trip when the group arrives at the ski instructor's cabin. It takes at least two days to get there, so it's definitely isolated. What do the gangsters find when they arrive? A housekeeper! Hazel would have been proud of this woman's dedication.

2/10