Snowbeast (1977)
The premise to this lame made-for-TV flick sounds like something that would happen to me if I were a ski resort owner. I can just see it now. Here I am, owner of a plush ski resort getting ready for our big tourist season, and just what type of ill-fated luck do you think falls my way? No snow? Nah. No one comes to the resort? Nope. How about a damn yeti that decides to start munching on the skiers? I could actually see this happening such is my luck. I mean, I go to a party full of foxy chicks, and all they want to do is talk to my undead friend who smells like rancid liver. Damn Zombo.
Anyway, Snowbeast is your basic Jaws rip-off, only this time we get a great white yeti instead of a great white shark. Let's see, owner (mayor) who does not want to close the resort (beach) down for fear of losing money? Check. How about a marauding yeti (shark) on the loose? Check. People that still go into the woods (ocean) even after they know they may get eaten alive by a monster? Check. As this was a made-for-TV movie, there really is just not much one can offer the viewer in this format. You can't show any gore or boobs, so what really is the point? If your making a movie about a killer yeti, I think those would be two of the top essentials to the flick, you know?
The acting was not really all that bad, but there just was really nothing to interesting to do with the characters except have em' get ate by the monster. And speaking of the said creature, we only get to see it's arms for the first hour or so and when it does show up at the end, in fleeting glimpses, it's really pretty awful looking. Though to be honest, if I saw this as a kid I probably would have been scared, but that's not saying much since Yoda from The Empire Strikes Backscared me. I'm a wuss, I know. I did find it interesting when the creature attacks a school and practically the whole town sees it, yet when they shoot a bear at the end, everyone starts cheering and what not, thinking the monster is dead. What the fuck? One last thing, I hope you like to watch people ski, because about 75 percent of this one is nothing but footage of the characters skiing around the slopes. Honest. In the end, I can only see two reasons to watch this one. If you saw it as a kid and want to ruin your memories of it, or if you have a little one who wants to watch a monster movie but you don't think he's ready for The Howling just yet.