(1977)
Directed by Herb Wallerstein
Starring Bo Svenson, Yvette Mimieux, Robert Logan, Clint Walker, Sylvia Sidney
Only a couple of years after the release of Jaws (1975), doing similar themed movies were still in force. But this was one made-for-TV, as well as getting about as far away from the water as you could, setting it in a ski lodge up in Colorado! Instead of a rogue shark, we have the title character, sort of winter version of Bigfoot, but much more menacing.
Bo Svenson plays Gar Seberg, an Olympic gold medalist in skiing a few years earlier, but hasn’t been able to hold onto that former fame and glory and is now down on his luck. Along with him is his wife Ellen, played by Yuette Mimieux, a TV journalist. They arrive at the Rill Lodge and Ski Resort, run by an old friend, hoping that Gar can get a job. Gar and Ellen obviously are having trouble with their marriage, which doesn’t help when Tony Rill, the manager of the lodge, is not only an old friend of theirs, but an old flame of Ellen’s. But Tony has other things on his mind, like a female skier going missing earlier that day. Her friend says she was attacked by something, even though she didn’t see it. When Tony when to check out the area, he thought he saw something huge and white amongst the trees along hearing a loud and terrifying roar. Something that wasn’t human.
And as the odds would have it, this is all taking place right before the lodge’s annual Winter Carnival, with an expected record attendance. The last thing the lodge’s owner, Tony’s grandmother Carrie, played by Syliva Sidney, wants is a panic that could affect the reputation of the lodge. Sound familiar?
As more people are attacked, Gar and Tony, along with local sheriff Cole Paraday, played by TV veteran star Clint Walker, they set out to find and kill this beast. Want to see Walker in a couple of other great made-for-TV films? Check out Killdozer and Scream of the Wolf, both from 1974 and both worth your time.
It’s hard to believe, but this was actually written by Joseph Stefano, of Psycho fame, but I think that helps make this an actually good movie. Sure, a lot of people might consider it a Jaws-ripoff, which it totally is, but there are some very good actors bringing these characters to life. And even though it was made for television, it still feels like a feature film. This was the only feature directed by Herb Wallerstein, who had only worked on episodic TV shows throughout his career. It builds suspense, only giving you glimpses of the titular beast, and gives you enough clues or implications to some nasty gore that we don’t get to see. It is so obvious when they were going to break for commercials, but for me and those growing up watching TV movies all the time, I found it to be very nostalgic and fun.
Normally Svenson, standing 6’ 5”, towers over the rest of his cast. But then by casting Clint Walker as the sheriff, who stands 6’ 6”, now you have these two “giants” that are only diminished in size by this snow creature! Modern fans might think they recognize Grandma Rill, from playing Juno the caseworker in Beetlejuice (1985) but had a long career before that, working on Hitchcock’s Sabotage (1936). Yvette Mimieux is probably best known for playing Weena in The Time Machine (1960) as well as another made-for-TV movie, Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1979).
Recently released on Blu-ray by Leomark in another disc that has absolutely no extras and just starts playing when you put it in your player. The quality looks pretty good, compared to those old shabby VHS and DVD releases from years back. The picture is a lot clearer and crisp, giving some new life into some of the night sequences that were just too dark before. Thanks again to AV Entertainment for providing a copy for us to review. You can purchase this project from them at http://www.moviezyng.com.
