SNOW BEAST (2011)

Streaming on Tubi!
Directed by Brian Brough.
Written by Brittany Wiscombe.
Check out the trailer here!!

Jim (including One of Them Duke Boys John Schneider), his daughter Emmie (Danielle C. Ryan), and two other researchers head up to the Canadian wilderness for their yearly study of the declining population of snow lynx in the area. Meanwhile, a local ranger (Jason London) searches for answers missing tourists. Both put them on a collision course with a rampaging Yeti.

With some pretty low stakes and a rather uninspired script, SNOW BEAST definitely is the lesser of the two films bearing its name. I don’t know if this is supposed to be a remake of the 1977 Squatchploitation flick of the same name and written by Joseph “PSYCHO” Stefano, but this 2011 SNOW BEAST fails to compare in almost every aspect of the film. I guess since the 1977 SNOWBEAST was one word, whereas SNOW BEAST 2011 is spelled as two, it should indicate the two are meant to be seen as two separate entities.

The acting is ok. John Schneider tussles his hair and offered tough love to his rambunctious daughter, who of course, rebels at every turn, causing all sorts of mischief. This only makes her feel guilty when the Snow Beast takes her dad and she is forced to go find him with another ranger. I guess that’s some sort of drama going on, but it’s of the bare bones, sitcom kind.

The Yeti costume looks ok. It’s bulky and looks like a mammoth monster. This creature feels more like a Wampa from EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and they even set up an arctic cave where it stores its prey, just like the beast from the classic sci fi film. The biggest problem is that we see too much of this Snow Beast, which makes it lose its allure and mystique. Less is more, even when your monster looks as good as this one does. Now, I won’t say it’s a perfect Bigfoot suit. The face looks like a pile of cow dung with an articulated mouth, but at least the get the size and the bulk right.

I’m going to give SNOW BEAST 2011 Two Feets and three toes.

It gets that because it is a competently made film and these days, not a lot of Bigfoot films are. It’s not that gory. Not that intriguing. Not that scary. But it is an ok timewaster. I wouldn’t go out of my way to see SNOW BEAST. See the original 1977 SNOWBEAST instead. It’s much more fun.