So just what exactly is a winterbeast? Oddly enough, Winterbeast does not answer that question. It is too busy being amazing to worry about things like having a coherent title. Or much adherence to any standard rules of moviemaking. The box art says "It Must be Seen to be Believed" - and I think that is a fair statement - it's hard to encompass in words just what exactly this movie is. It's definitely low budget, cheesy, and surreal. But it's also a ton of fun if you're looking for off-the-wall entertainment.
I'll try to sum up the plot: People are going missing in a small town up in the mountains. A forest ranger and a general store owner are trying to figure out what is going on, and stumble across a huge, very menacing looking statue out in the middle of the woods. (There is a Native American mysticism angle to the mystery, but it's not presented in a way that makes any sense.) Periodically, people will get attacked by crazy stop-motion creatures (or sometimes puppets) that have nothing to do with each other... they're not great looking, but they are all fun in a very lo-fi way. Also, the ranger wants to close down the local motel where all the tourists are staying, saying it's dangerous to keep it open when people are going missing... but the skeezy/impish motel owner is having none of it. Admittedly, it doesn't sound like much, but Winterbeast is not something you watch to be entertained by the twists and turns of the plot. It's the execution that makes it excellent... it's just charmingly insane.
So, as you can probably guess, it's not a traditionally "good" film. But if you're into the "so-bad-they're-good" type stuff, it really is a must see. It's $1.99 to rent on Amazon Instant. You won't be disappointed.
I've been trying to think of ways to describe Winterbeast for a couple of days now, and I just come up empty each time. My best frame of reference would be Things, the 1989 Canadian cult classic. Reading the reviews of that, I keep coming across words like "spell-binding," "mesmerizing," and "brain-melting." Winterbeast can probably lay claim to those (lofty) adjectives as well. While it's a better made (and far better looking) film than Things, Winterbeast has the same feeling like it takes place in a slightly different reality... what you know about dialogue, character interaction, and visual storytelling does not apply here. Everything is just a little bit off.
Oh, and if you haven't seen Things you should see that too. Winterbeast is probably a little more palatable though.
I want to say more, but it would basically amount to a list of all of the weird things that are in Winterbeast. And that only makes sense once you've seen it. And once you've seen it, you don't need to read a list, because you can have great fun making your own. The circle of life.
I would make certain you are into this particular type of film (or, as they would say the long gone Title Wave video store - "Bad Bad Bad Cinema"). If so?
I would definitely recommend this film.
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