Made in the wake of the crummy "Snow Creature" and the insipid "Half Human," this fright flick rates as a substantial step up in quality in the 50's yeti movie cycle. What makes the sound quality of this one so remarkable is the fact that Jerry Warren, the notorious Grade Z schlockmeister responsible for such dreck as "Teenage Zombies," "The Incredible Petrified World," and "Frankenstein's Island," both produced and directed it, showing a most atypical adroitness and sense of consistent focus that's not evident in his other pictures.
The story once again centers on an ill-advised expedition that encounters a tribe of vicious yetis while poking around the treacherous Himilayan mountains. But this time the admittedly trite premise is compensated for by a tight execution. B. Arthur Kennedy's efficiently compact and straightforward script adds a few tasty twisted twists to the proceedings; having one of the expedition members turn out to be the mutant spawn of the Abominable Snowman and having the yetis abduct young ladies for vile breeding purposes are terrifically perverse touches. Moreover, the reasonable complicated characters are realistically drawn and believable. The performances are solid and spirited, with especially commendable turns by Rock Madison as the duplicitous half-man, half-yeti hybrid dude and Virginia Maynor as the endearingly spunky heroine. Victor Fisher's able, moody, starkly lit nighttime photography imbues the rocky landscape with a splendidly creepy gloom-doom atmosphere. The yeti monsters are fantastic: they're mean, skull-faced, broad-shouldered beastmen who possess a genuinely fearsome and intimidating presence. The attack scenes are presented with real snap and vigor. Much like its high altitude setting, "Man Beast" transcends the cruddy yeti movie norm and stands tall as a superior 50's creature feature.
The story once again centers on an ill-advised expedition that encounters a tribe of vicious yetis while poking around the treacherous Himilayan mountains. But this time the admittedly trite premise is compensated for by a tight execution. B. Arthur Kennedy's efficiently compact and straightforward script adds a few tasty twisted twists to the proceedings; having one of the expedition members turn out to be the mutant spawn of the Abominable Snowman and having the yetis abduct young ladies for vile breeding purposes are terrifically perverse touches. Moreover, the reasonable complicated characters are realistically drawn and believable. The performances are solid and spirited, with especially commendable turns by Rock Madison as the duplicitous half-man, half-yeti hybrid dude and Virginia Maynor as the endearingly spunky heroine. Victor Fisher's able, moody, starkly lit nighttime photography imbues the rocky landscape with a splendidly creepy gloom-doom atmosphere. The yeti monsters are fantastic: they're mean, skull-faced, broad-shouldered beastmen who possess a genuinely fearsome and intimidating presence. The attack scenes are presented with real snap and vigor. Much like its high altitude setting, "Man Beast" transcends the cruddy yeti movie norm and stands tall as a superior 50's creature feature.