Beast from Haunted Cave Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

Beast from Haunted Cave Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 22, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the two disc Beast from Haunted Cave Special Edition from Film Masters.

Rather amazingly Roger Corman is still with us at the venerable age of 97 as this review is being written, though his brother Gene passed in 2020 at a just somewhat less venerable age of 93. The Corman Brothers are of course legends, and even casual film fans will at least know of some of Roger's achievements, if arguably not being as aware of the contributions of Gene. Many will even know the brothers helped to found New World Pictures in 1970, but even those folks may either not have known or not remembered that earlier in their careers Roger and Gene founded a distribution company called The Filmgroup, even as Roger in particular was already making his name with his American International releases. Some of the supplements included in this two disc set of Filmgroup offerings get into at least a bit of the background for this situation, but suffice it to say the almost always budget conscious Cormans figured out they could produce their own films without the benefit of pesky union crews, and they could also perhaps manage to score some local freebies, or at least something pretty close, by visiting never before utilized locations for their films, which is why both of the films in this set perhaps just slightly comically used South Dakota for their productions. Beast From Haunted Cave is certainly in line with any number of other Corman "monster pictures", but kind of interestingly Ski Troop Attack is ostensibly set in the Hürtgen Forest during World War II.

As is discussed in some of the supplements included on this disc, Beast from Haunted Cave is kind of the cinematic equivalent of one of those ubiquitous "but, wait, you also get. . ." commercials. While it is indeed a "monster movie" in true Corman (AIP) fashion, it's also a heist adjacent enterprise, as a bunch of nefarious nogoodniks decide that utilizing a local ski resort to help with their getaway after a gold robbery in Deadwood. The result is understandably goofy at times, and the titular creature is probably going to provoke more laughs than scares, but you kind of have to hand it to both the Cormans and (in his first of many Corman collaborations) director Monte Hellman for fashioning a film out of what may amount to a revamp of that vaunted MGM musical conceit of "hey, we have a barn, let's put on a show", with a ski resort filling in for the barn in this particular case.

Both this film and Ski Patrol Attack were shot more or less in tandem, or at least in succession, and so both feature stalwart Michael Forest in lead roles, and of course the crews and supporting casts also offer some of the same people.

Beast from Haunted Cave Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Beast from Haunted Cave is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Masters with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.85:1 (theatrical) and 1.33:1 (TV) aspect ratios. As can be gleaned from the running times I've listed in the supplements section below, the TV version is considerably longer and it also looks manifestly different from the theatrical version at times, aside and apart from any aspect ratio changes. The theatrical version has a much more pronounced grain field than the TV version, at least intermittently, and in fact it almost looks like the theatrical version might have been assembled from two different elements, with one seeming a bit more "dupey" than the other. That results in some noticeable ebbs and flows in not just grain thickness, but clarity and fine detail levels. All of this said, my hunch is some fans may find the theatrical version a bit more "organic" looking despite any intermittent roughness. On the plus side for the TV verson, I'd argue that clarity is generally a bit better, and contrast can also be more convincing. Both versions show quite a bit of admittedly minor age related wear and tear, mostly in the form of repeated scratches. The theatrical version can occasionally show other anomalies like hair or other debris caught in the gate, which don't show up in the TV version.

Beast from Haunted Cave Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Beast from Haunted Cave features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks on both versions of the film. The tracks certainly show some occasional age related wear and tear, and there a few actually discernable dropouts on the TV version which thankfully don't afflict dialogue. Both tracks have noticeable hiss and occasional crackling. Dialogue and a rather strident score are rendered with decent if occasionally imperfect fidelity. Optional English subtitles are available.

Beast from Haunted Cave Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical (HD; 1:05:27) and TV (HD; 1:11:56) versions are accessible under the Play Film Menu.


• Commentary features Tom Weaver and Larry Blamire on the Theatrical Version.


• Original trailer for Beast from Haunted Cave (HD; 1:38)


• 2023 re-cut trailer for Beast from Haunted Cave (HD; 1:38)


• Behind the Scenes Beast Still Gallery (HD; 4:22)


• Interview with Chris Robinson (HD; 6:30) is an "easter egg" that perhaps unexpectedly Film Masters has asked me to offer a hint on how to find, so I'll simply channel a mirror version of Horace Greeley and say "head east (i.e., right), young man". Robinson portrayed the titular monster and has some fun memories of his start in the industry.

Beast from Haunted Cave Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Beast from Haunted Cave is probably best appreciated as a curio from the Corman Brothers' vaunted filmographies. It at least offers an unusual setting, and it's certainly a bizarre "combo platter" of genres. Technical merits are generally okay if variable, and the commentary is very enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.