BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE (1959)
Director: Monte Hellman
Synapse Films

Alex (Frank Wolff), a small-time gangster, his girlfriend, Gypsy (Sheila Carol), and his two henchmen (Wally Campo and Richard Sinatra--Frank's unfamous cousin) visit snowy South Dakota, planning to pull a heist from a bank. They exploit the friendly cooperation of a local ski instructor, Gil (Michael Forest--unforgettably annoying in the "Who Mourns for Adonais?" episode of "Star Trek") and a hunter for their own purposes.

The crooks stage a mine explosion to divert the town's attention while they cleverly swipe some gold bars from the bank's vault. Meanwhile, one of the gangsters visits the "haunted cave" and his female companion is devoured by what is believed to be a legendary monster. Alex convinces Gil to take the group across the snow covered mountains to the hunter's cabin. His real intention is holding the two as hostage as his he and his gang smuggle their gold across the Canadian border. After a lot of brawling, flirting and pacing about in the snow, the film concludes in the cave where the beast of the title captures most of the cast and feeds off their blood.

Cult director Monte Hellman's directorial debut is loaded with talk and hammy acting, but the film's monster--a huge, hairy spider-like creature with a bulb-shaped head and long floppy arms--is highly memorable and the scenes of victims being webbed up to the cavern walls and gradually drained of blood are disturbing even by today's standards, and undeniably inspired similar images found in the first two "Alien" movies some 20 years later. Produced by Roger Corman's brother Gene, Hellman economically shot the film back to back with SKI TROOP ATTACK, which was co-directed by Roger and featured the same exact cast!

Long a staple of budget video releases due to its public domain status, BEAST has appeared on video (and DVD) many times before, usually consisting of the shorter theatrical version (barely running over an hour). The film was expanded to over 70 minutes for television airings, and the complete version is represented on this DVD. Synapse's disc represents the definitive video release of BEAST, culled from superior source materials, so if you plan on buying the title, this is the edition to get. There is minor wear and grain in spots, but overall, the black and white image looks crisp and detail remains sharp throughout. You can view the film in its full frame incarnation or the 16x9 enhanced, 1.85:1 widescreen version, which definitely adds more picture information to the sides. The sound is fine, but dialog is muffled at times--this is most likely due to the overall cheapness of the production. The DVD also includes a theatrical trailer and lengthy liner notes written by Bill Warren. (George R. Reis)

BACK TO REVIEWS

HOME