The Worst Film Ever

Good movie but grossly overrated

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The search for the mysterious Yeti takes a group of scientists into an expedition they fear that they might not survive and an adventure that if they do, they'll never forget. Stranded in the middle of a freezing wilderness, a group of explorers are rescued by scientists searching for a link between pre-historic and modern man. Frozen in time, the Yeti suddenly appear out of nowhere. Are they friendly links to a long ago past or monsters? This gives the audience the chance to figure this out for themselves and see the humans both as monster and civilized man, while surprising revelations come out that among the science fiction nonsense might get the audience thinking. This is probably the best of the Jerry Warren no budget thrillers, certainly as far from a masterpiece as one can be, but at least with a minimum of imagination put into it. There's really hardly any acting involved; In fact, the cast are among the lousiest non reactors that I have ever seen. What makes this even more curious is the fact that even in the midst of this frigid cold, the men all wear hats with feathers in them as if they were climbing the Alps to yodel. When the Yeti does appear, you never really get to feel anything but sorry for them, because it is their space which is (once again) being invaded by "civilized" man. There are some truly horrific sequences where a few members of the traveling party fall what seems indefinitely off of the jagged, rocky cliffs. I guess since the other two on the DVD collection are either just pathetically bad or sleep-inducing boring that this one gets marks for simply becoming tolerable.

When I found out that the next movie on my groups list was a film directed by Jerry ("Wild Wild World Of Batwoman") Warren, I was resigned to the prospect of consuming the cinema equivalent of a sh*t sandwich. My consolation: "Batwoman" was one of those bad films that is SO bad that it's perversely fun to watch...so I was hoping for the same kind of entertainment value from "Man Beast".To my surprise, "Man Beast" was halfway decent. It wasn't a good film by any means: The leading lady and her first suitor are as wooden and clunky as you'd expect.The logic of the screen play falls apart in several places. Some of the dialog is pretty risible. And the cast spends most of its time in the "Himalayas" wearing clothing more suited to a walk in the woods in autumn. But still, there were moments in this film where I didn't want to wash my face with broken glass to distract myself from the proceedings.A couple things save this film from the usual dismal fate of JW productions: for once, his use of stock footage is reasonably well integrated with the rest of the stuff he actually shot himself. There's some decent bits of stage business and a couple of good "reveals" that pump some energy into some scenes. A couple of his actors are decent - the dashing he man guide who eventually usurps the girl's affections can deliver his lines, the actor who plays the professor manages a low key, believable performance. And "Varga" is an interesting character - both his makeup and costume "design" and the motivations of his character (and the revelation of his big secret) add some chewiness to the movie.But in the end, it's still a Jerry Warren film....Jerry Warren, a director who insists on undoing any good impression he might have made in the first part of the movie with a "Yeti attack" scene that is disconnected and impossible to follow, and who ends the movie with a 'huh?' moment (the surviving couple escape when Varga, a character who is part Yeti and who has lived in the mountains all his life, proves incompetent at pounding in a crampon and falls to his death as he tries to rappel after them.) I wouldn't seek this one out, but if you are trapped into watching it, at least you won't need to gnaw your leg off to escape.

**Possible Spoilers Ahead**In the annals of Yeti Cinema, Hammer's ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OF THE HIMALAYAS was a masterpiece. Then there's this turkey, made by the future director of FRANKENSTEIN ISLAND and THE WILD WORLD OF BATWOMAN. A group of goofballs, including one Sherpa guide who doesn't look the least bit Asian, go to the Himalayas in search of the Abominable Snowman. They spend about as much time bitching at each other and doing pratfalls as they do looking for the monster. The cold climate is mentioned but the adventurers wear light jackets and stupid-looking hats with no ear-flaps. They don't wear gloves. The snowman effects are abominable, in keeping with the production values, the acting, the writing... For one scene involving the exterior of a temple, Warren jumped a fence onto another set and began shooting. Most people who've seen MAN BEAST wish the whole crew had jumped the fence and kept on going.

This wasn't that bad, you only have to sit through this film for only 67 minutes, its sort of a quick story about the growing popularity of Yetis, Abdominale Snowmen, the Sasquatch, etc... in the 1950s, which grew its highest in the 70s. "Man Beast" is a fun movie too watch if you're not feeling critical about movies at the time. ... Plus, there's not as much talk in this as there is in other bad 50s b-sci fi films.