Per Matt
Just in time for Halloween, Film Masters releases Beast from Haunted Cave Special Edition, which is sure to add some seasonal screams to the spooky season!

It’s the end of October and as the temperature drops, the winter season isn’t too far away. Lucky enough, the newly restored double-header featured in this Blu-ray release highlights both scary sci-fi and a cross-country WWII adventure taking place during the snowy season.

Beast from Haunted Cave tells the tale of Chicago gangsters looking to score some bars of gold in Deadwood, South Dakota. But this heist needs a very big distraction for it to be successful. Good thing the Broken Boot Mine isn’t too far away, but these criminals never would have imagined what they were in for after awakening the dangerous creature that had been living there, which is seeking revenge!

Even though it was clearly shot on a shoestring budget, Haunted Cave offers story elements that had me hooked from the start: Criminals involved in a heist, a hideaway private location, a bad girl-turned-good, an outnumbered underdog who simply longs for isolation, an unseen monster that’s the star of the show and so much snow! Needless to say, the showdown takes place within a “haunted cave…”

After watching Beast, I’m still unsure what this killer creature exactly looks like (which seems to be a budgetary issue). At times, the anthropomorphic blood-sucking “animal” has spider-like arms, while other times they resemble tentacles. And it seems to predate the Predator with a translucent sheen to hide from its prey. There’s no rest for the wicked, especially when fleeing this crazy cryptid!

And always remember, nothing good will ever happen after uttering dialogue such as this: “I’ve never seen a gold mine before, let’s take a look…”

Beast From Haunted Cave Special Edition. Photo Courtesy: Film Masters

Ski Troop Attack is the second of this Roger Corman daily double, which opens with some cross-country skiers, who could have been featured in Beast. This isn’t actually the case, but it sets the mood as terror can arrive at any time, especially in the mountains during wartime. Somewhere in the Hurtgen Forest of Germany during 1944, a small group of commandos on reconnaissance patrol swish behind enemy lines for intel. After tracking their enemy, they stumble upon a suicide mission that might just turn the tide in the battle.

Somber in storytelling, this is not a sci-fi film, but one featuring the true horrors of the battlefield that ultimately becomes a snowbound chase flick. When confronted by a faithful hostage, the scariest scenario emerges: “Hitler has never lied to the German people. The new secret weapons are almost ready…”

Gives me shivers just thinking about it.

One by one the soldiers — both good and bad — are written out of the story and their overacting deaths are definitely enjoyable to watch. Attack is full of foreboding music, which gives way to a sad moral to the story.

To not only have one, but two horror titles remembering the season is the reason… for scares, is great. It definitely is the most wonderful time of the year. And for both of these films to be molded by Roger Corman is a treat. Hollywood Intruders: The Flimgroup Story is an included documentary that tells the story of Roger and Gene Corman’s joint business venture that was created as an alternative to Roger’s monster movies released by American International. The first in a series, Part One: Men Who Deal in Death, details The Filmgroup’s beginnings. In true Ballyhoo fashion, it highlights some great nuggets of information that this cinema aficionado truly enjoyed.

I was most interested in how the filmmaking brothers designed scripts around the available money for each release, as well as the way they integrated stock footage into their stories.

Both movies of this title were filmed within the Black Hills of South Dakota, planned to be released as a drive-in double feature. The scenery offers a breath-taking good time, despite the lack of resources used by the filmmakers. Also included as bonus features is audio commentary by historian and filmmakers for both movies, re-cut/restored trailers, production gallery photos, companion essays and more! As an Easter egg, there’s also an interview with the original beast hidden somewhere on the disc!

In the documentary, The Wasp Woman and Attack of the Giant Leeches are briefly discussed. Could this brief tease be the perfect marketing tool to possibly promote the Film Masters’ next chapter? Until then, we’ll have to wait and wonder. But you can purchase Beast from Haunted Cave Special Edition as a Blu-ray and DVD from the company’s webpage now!

Happy Halloween, everyone!