Beast from Haunted Cave (1959)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Ski Dopes

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Monte Hellman's directorial debut, Beast from Haunted Cave, may not necessarily hint at the treasures to come from this late, great American filmmaker, but it's an interesting enough curio. Produced by Roger Corman and his brother Gene, the film is of course a shoestring number, and — if you're at all familiar with these types of movies — you'll know that the titular beast only appears for a few minutes, and only in bits and pieces (a tentacle here, a furry thing there...). So all that's left is to focus on the human characters, and, fortunately, perhaps thanks to Hellman's touch, there's a grittiness, a lack of artificiality, to them that seems uncommon for this period.

Basically, there's a group of criminals, led by Alexander Ward (Frank Wolff). He has a plan to rob some gold. To get away with the robbery, he plans to set off an explosion in a nearby mine to create a diversion, and then to escape on skis, accompanied by a local ski instructor, Gil (Michael Forest). Ward sends his henchman Marty (Richard Sinatra) to set off the bomb, but Marty brings along a barmaid (what a cool date!), who is killed by the monster. Meanwhile, Alex's unhappy wife Gypsy (Sheila Noonan) spends most of her time drunk or flirting with Gil.

Film Masters has released a Blu-ray featuring a newly restored 4K scan of the movie, from archival 35mm elements. It comes with Roger Corman's own Ski Troop Attack (1960), which was filmed at the same time. Bonuses for Beast from Haunted Cave include a 65-minute theatrical cut and a 71-minute TV cut. There's a commentary track with historians Tom Weaver and Larry Blamire, an original trailer, a new trailer, a stills gallery, and a bonus "Easter Egg."