The Beast from Haunted Cave (1959) won’t win awards for its schlock, but for B movie enthusiasts, to see it offered side by side with Ski Troop Attack (1960) can make for a fun weekend at the movies–especially if you’re the type who love those drive-in type affairs. Film Masters released this pairing back in October as a look at what the Corman brothers did early in their career. Roger produced the former and got his brother Gene to direct.
Strangely, what I wrote before and thought I had posted has disappeared. Perhaps that monster chewed it up because it didn’t like what I wrote. But after hearing of Roger’s passing, I had to delve into my library and select a sampling of works to remind myself about why this filmmmaker is revered.
Technically, what’s presented is an example of what Roger Corman could get away with when he’s not working within the Hollywood Studio system. The effects are quite crude, and there’s no authentic sense of terror when the gangsters face a giant spider. The character developments keep this film together. I didn’t feel as invested with Ski Troop Attack, since it lacked that sense of authenticity. It’s more notable because when you’re looking at both films back to back, you’ll realise that Roger had both films made in the same location in South Dakota and he hoped nobody would notice!
The remastered release of The Beast from Haunted Cave is not entirely perfect. The video is prestine, but I could catch the odd compression artifact and saw how the production suffered when there wasn’t proper lighting used. In what I liked more was listening to the commentary track from film historian Tom Weaver and filmmaker Larry Blamire (The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra) providing a few meaningful thoughts. Also included is an interview with Chris Robinson, who played the monster in this film. This segment is a portrait of his career, and what he talks about is how tough it is to get into the business. Since this role, he’s done better for himself, and he’s appeared in many fond television programs in the 70s, like Hogans Heroes and even Fantasy Island.
As I continue to look at other Corman films, I’m just glad I’m not limited to what I have on hand in my physical library. Thankfully, Tubi has an extensive collection of this filmmaker’s past works and documentaries that celebrate him. I highly recommend this service, and it’s great that most of his works are in the public domain.
3 Stars out of 5 (movie)
4 Stars out of 5 (home video release)
The Beast from Haunted Cave Movie Trailer
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