Beast From Haunted Cave begins the only way it could; with skiing, day-drinking, and an opening credit shout-out to South Dakota as we are introduced to smarmy criminal Alexander Ward (Frank Wolff) and his gang, who’s ranks include his boozy-floozy gal pal Gypsy Boulet (played to rum-soaked horny… yet tragic and sympathetic perfection by Sheila Carol), who plan on robbing a nearby bank vault containing some gold bars.
In order to get that goal accomplished, our villains pose as cross-country skiers and hatch a plan to set off an explosion in a nearby gold mine to create a diversion for their heist. Of course this being a creature feature, the setting of said explosive unleashes a pissed off long-legged spider thing which pursues them to their hiding spot… namely the remote cabin of ski guide Gil (prolific anime voice over artist Michael Forest) who becomes both an unwitting pawn in the evildoer’s plan, and horny for Gypsy… a lot of horny swirling ‘round that lady I tell ya…
Will that dastardly gang get away with their ill-gotten gains, or will Gil be able to convince Gypsy to leave her life of crime and make a run from her surrogate family of fiends… or will the monster drain all of them of their blood… it’ll probably be that one…
Coming from legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman (Death Race 2000, Rock n’ Roll High School, Humanoids From the Deep), along with his brother Gene and in league with director Monte Hellman (Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!) and screenwriter Charles B. Griffith (A Bucket of Blood, The Little Shop of Horrors, and many, many more classic Corman productions) Beast From Haunted Cave is one hell of a ghoulishly great creature feature hootenanny!
Part of that aforementioned greatness comes from the titular Beast itself which is presented as an ambiguous, eerily long-legged, vague rough sketch of a spider monster which makes it both effective and a walking nightmare, and the horrific screams it emits don’t make it anymore lovable.
Adding to this creature’s creep factor is the fact it encases it’s victims in webs where they hang weak and pale from the monster’s slow siphoning of their blood for its sustenance (imagery recalled in Cameron’s Aliens for sure) and when coupled with the victim’s sobs and sharp mental decline you get some fever dream terror fuel right there cats n’ creeps!
Also of note is the fantastic cast assembled including the Wolff as the psychopathic Alex, a fella that can go from charming to horrifying in the slap of a backhand, Forest as the stalwart hero who prefers to live alone in the wilderness… save for the company of his housekeeper Small Dove (Kay Jennings who wasn’t a professional actress, but nevertheless has solid delivery and fun interplay with Wally Campo who portrays the childish gang member Byron, and a fun performance from Richard Sinatra as Marty a criminal who goes from tough to obsessed once he encounters the creature.
That being said, this film belongs to Sheila Carol who’s portrayal of the beaten down Gypsy includes pretty bleak depictions of alcoholism, physical and mental abuse, using sex to fill emotional emptiness… but the character is offered both hope and ultimately a kind of redemption all while being personable and entertaining to watch.
The environments presented here make the picture a stand-out as well, as Corman ditched his California-based Bronson Canyon stomping grounds for the snowy locales of South Dakota which give the adventure a unique flavor… and the use of a local mine to stand in for the eponymous cave makes the scope of the piece seem much larger for minimum investment, and it looks damn cool to boot!
Speaking of investment, this Blu-ray release from Film Masters features some bonus material for fans of the fright flick at hand including: a lively audio commentary from Author/Film Historian Tom Weaver, joined by filmmaker/artist Larry Blamire (The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra), that examines the film and it’s production with a ton of anecdotes, factoids, and interview recreations, a duo of trailers (one vintage, the other a modern re-cut of the same), and a photo gallery.
Also included is the TV version of the film that contains new sequences actually featuring the cast that were shot much later to achieve a runtime suitable for television broadcast standards.
But, that is far from all as a second Blu-ray is included featuring 1960’s Ski Troop Attack… a World War II set romp wherein a platoon of soldiers must traverse snow-covered terrain in order to destroy a bridge being utilized by Nazi forces… if their constant in-fighting doesn’t destroy them first!
Featuring the same snow-bound locations and cast as Beast From Haunted Cave, Ski Troop Attack was shot directly after production wrapped on Beast, though this time Corman himself took the director’s chair (with Charles B. Griffith once again on script writing duties).
While a fun war pic with a unique location for such things (padded and expanded with the expected military stock footage), Ski Troop is definitely the lesser of the two pictures contained here as the creature-feature thrills and chills make Beast vastly more entertaining, though the cast is once again excellent here as before.
And as before, this disc contains bonus material as well, and features: a highly listenable, info and anecdote packed commentary track by author/screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner (who along with Weaver provides an essay for the included collector’s booklet that comes in the package) joined by critic/film historian Howard S. Berger, part one of a documentary focusing on Corman’s Film Group production company, and a re-cut version of the film’s trailer.
It also must be said that the new HD transfers utilized here are quite good, with minimal grain (Ski Troop Attack suffers more here), with solid detail, and rich blacks that enhance the two pictures black and white cinematography.
Bottom line; Beast From Haunted Cave is a wicked winner of a creature feature, and this edition does it justice, plus the inclusion of another feature, and the information contained in the commentaries make this a must-own for Corman fans!
