Winterbeast, Clay-mation Terror

How can a 1992 film utilizing clay-mation and stop-motion f/x  for the creatures be bad?  Exactly!  "Winterbeast" may be low-budget and suffer from sub-par acting and writing, but it is so much fun. In an age of overused CGI, this Massachusetts made horror film is so refreshing.  Fans of Ray Harryhausen will love the effort by film-maker Christopher Thies.

The first 30 seconds of "Winterbeast" will grab you.  A little monster jumps out of someone's gut and a mangled park ranger begins pulling off his own flesh.  On a mysterious New England mountain, ancient Indian curses are causing havoc.  Park ranger Bill (Tim. R. Morgan) has been having nightmares (premonitions?) about the evil doings and wants to find one of his rangers who is missing on the mountain.  His sidekick, ranger Stillman (Mike Magri), who loves whiskey and porn, is hardly capable of assisting him.  Uh oh, a totem pole comes to life and grabs a nude woman from her cabin.  Double uh-oh, a huge bear-like creature comes out of the ground and mangles two babe hikers.

The local resort lodge is owned by a demented Malcolm McDowell type figure, Dave (Bob Harlow). He is upset at the rangers because they are scaring away his customers.  But wait!  This proprietor may be hiding something very sinister.  As more creatures take shape and more rangers and hikers get ripped apart, Ranger Bill realizes he needs to confront Dave.  Will Dave be able to convince Ranger Bill that boating accidents killed the hikers?

 Filled with gratuitous gore and nudity, "Winterbeast" is the perfect film for a cold winter's night. The above mentioned f/x are corny and over-the-top, but that's how we like them. Sure the plot is choppy but true horror film fans will have no problem following the ominous evil story-line.  Instead of paying over ten bucks to see the new "Fifty Shades" film, go to YouTube and see something fun.