Search for the Beast (1997) User Reviews

A few laugh out loud moments.

[Hey_Sweden · 3/10 · 23 April 2015]

Big bear of a man Rick Montana plays Dr. David Stone, a scientist in Alabama. He's hired by filthy rich Milton St. John (exploitation legend David F. Friedman) to find what could be the missing link in the Okaloosa wilderness. Stone thinks he's just being hired to obtain confirmation that this thing exists, but of course he hasn't been told the truth. He will be accompanied by an air headed "assistant" (shapely blonde Holli Day) and a gang of armed-to- the-teeth yahoos.

The cast and crew bumble their way through this micro budget schlock flick. The staggering ineptitude on display is only tolerable to a point because the movie commits one of the cardinal sins of cinema: it's boring. It's only 70 minutes long, but even that running time is going to feel like a chore to some. "Search for the Beast" basically has no energy, slogging its way from protracted scene to protracted scene. What saves it from a lower rating are some occasionally funnier (and trashier) moments than expected. The "doggie style" sequence comes to mind.

You know the acting in such an affair is bottom of the barrel amateurish when it's Friedman who comes closest to delivering a decent performance. All the same, it's giggle inducing when we see him try to emote at one point. The monster is hilariously awful looking; some viewers may perk up a little at the occasional female nudity, but those hoping for gore will be sorely disappointed as every kill happens offscreen. The ending is extremely underwhelming.

If you're a die hard aficionado of Bigfoot cinema, that's still no guarantee that you'll have a good time with this one. Proceed at your own risk.

Three out of 10.

Oh my goodness

[mlevans · 3/10 · 29 November 2009]

Oh my! I decided to take a chance and rent a DVD from Netflix with this one, Legend of Bigfoot, Capture of Bigfoot and Shriek of the Mutilated. I'm not sure which one was worse. Well, no, that's not true. Legend of Bigfoot (1976, not to be confused with Capture of Bigfoot -- 1979, which also went by that title) was so bad I couldn't finish it. The other three merely left me scratching my head, amazed that I grew up in the 1970s and somehow turned out normal.

SPOILERS AHEAD After seeing one film, in which the Yeti was faked to cover a satanic cannibalistic cult, I didn't think a Bigfoot plot could get any more bizarre. I was wrong. A hillbilly and a Bigfoot capturing women for each other to share has to edge out the cannibals for weirdest plot.

At least this was the most passable Yeti costume of the four films. (Mind you, that's not saying MUCH!) Long scenes of totally irrelevant sex, a long sequence of interesting but totally irrelevant folk music and some characters whose actions defy logic make this a somewhat typical 1970s B horror flick. Add the asthmatic-sounding heavy breathing whenever Bigfoot is apparently getting reasonably close to anyone, a one-scene appearance by a sheriff who looks more like a Silver Dollar City blacksmith, the annoying habit of the prof and a couple of the bad guys either talking to themselves or thinking out loud to narrate the action and a Bigfoot who is somehow impervious to automatic weapons, and you get a 1.6-rated film.

Should I waste ink pointing out plot holes in such a film? Well, maybe. Let's see…the grad student throwing herself at the middle aged professor is a bit much – and her 'you saved my life' remark made no sense at the time. (It would have, had it happened at the end of the film, I suppose.) The prof is being chased by men with a pack of hounds, yet somewhere along the way they disappear. The rich guy funding the expedition is a tad unbelievable. Sure, he wants the creature dead…but he is apparently willing to let his goons kill the prof and the girl to get it? I've seen worse films – even some with much bigger budgets. If one likes B horror with the obligatory semi-nude scenes, flimsy plots and a little gore, this might be worth your while. If you're looking for The Shining … or even Lady Frankensatein, this isn't it!

all time howler

[dejonlee · 1/10 · 22 August 2006]

If I could give zero stars, I would. This is present on a 4 movie DVD of Bigfoot movies and this is the worst. It concerns loosely a tracker going into the wilderness after the "missing link" to earn 100,00 dollars. Of course, his backer has ulterior motives. That is as comprehensible as the plot gets. The acting is nonexistent; the lead reads his lines in scene after scene, including a trek thru the forest, from a clipboard he holds. Finally the entire movie, halfway thru, is completely voice-over. People appear and disappear at random, they run from the beast in terror and the next moment are chatting quietly. There is no resolution of the plot, people are killed right and left and the characters don't seem overly concerned.

For those that care, there are several scenes of naked breasts, all the female leads, simulated sex including bestiality by the beast on one of the females, not a pleasant sight. and there is totally gratuitous guitar and mandolin playing a la Deliverance.

Worse than "plan 9 from outer space"

A Must See for Bad Movie Lovers

[Michael_Elliott · 1 February 2013]

Search for the Beast (1997)

* (out of 4)

Director R.G. Arledge's tale of a scientist (Rick Montana) who is paid to go into the Okaloosa wilderness to try and track down the mythical Bigfoot creature who has been said that have kidnapped several dozen people. The scientist takes his female assistant and a bunch of rednecks with guns in to try and see what's really going on. I first heard of this film while reading Michael Adams' "Showgirls, Teen Wolves and Astro Zombies," which was devoted to bad movies. I certainly didn't hate this movie as much as he did but there's no doubt that it's one of the worst Bigfoot movies to ever be made but to be fair, the entire Bigfoot genre really hasn't produced any good movies. It's obvious that this here was an incredibly low-budget film and it should go without saying but with a budget this low it was going to be impossible to come up with anything good. The first part of the film's soundtrack is so full of loud hiss that you'll want to hit the mute button and it's funny because in the second half the hiss is gone and instead of an actual soundtrack we're given narration. I'm really wondering if this move was done because of all the hiss. There are countless other problems from the horrid dialogue to the awful acting to the hideous looking creature. The creature is obvious just a gorilla suit that isn't going to full of 2-year-old and just wait until you see the dead skull in the scientists lab. As bad as the film is, there are a few good things I'll give it credit for. For starters, the director was actually able to get a couple girls to take their clothes off. Usually in these types of movies the director can't pull this off so I'll give him credit for the nudity. The film also features a hilarious seduction scene that takes place inside a tent and I swear it's just about as hilarious as anything Keaton and Chaplin did. Another hilarious moment is a sex scene that happens towards the end of the picture where the girl is bent over a chair and has the most boring look on her face even after Bigfoot jumps in for some action! It is worth noting that exploitation pioneer David Friedman appears in a role and it was nice seeing him. SEARCH FOR THE BEAST is a bad movie, there's no question about that but at the same time it has enough camp and laughable scenes that make it a must-see.

A total stinker

[Woodyanders · 1/10 · 22 November 2007]

Sasquatch spent most of the 90s toiling away in such horrendously lame'n'tame children's movie bilge as "Little Bigfoot," "Bigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter," and "Big and Hairy," which makes this regional redneck horror/action hybrid a definite anomaly, but still nothing to get all excited about. In the misty backwoods of the Okaloosa Wilderness in Annistan, Alabama, a local Bigfoot creature murders the son of all-powerful rich jerk Milton St. John (an embarrassingly poor turn by bona-fide exploitation legend David F. Friedman). St. John bankrolls an expedition led by insipid nice guy Dr. David Stone (semi-sentient walking spam chunk Rick Montana in a stupendously lousy non-performance) to find the foul fiend. Unbeknownst to Stone, the other members of the team are a stereotypically gung-ho, trigger-happy bunch of hillbilly yahoos specifically hired by St. John to bag the beast. R.G. Arledge's lax, ham-fisted direction strikes out in every conceivable department, thereby sinking this leaden bomb to an unforgivably schlocky sub-level of rank amateurishness: the sluggish pacing, putrid acting, wafer-thin cardboard characters, ill-judged stabs at lowbrow humor, the huge letdown creature (it's some heavy-stepping zhlub in a rubber ghoul mask and black gorilla costume), weak off-screen killings, and dissatisfying sudden'n'senseless ending all leave a great deal to be desired. Those looking for a fun, worthwhile Bigfoot flick are strongly advised to search elsewhere.

If You Don't Like It, You Don't Get It!

[drenotheclown · 10/10 · 16 July 2013]

If you didn't grow up watching Universal Studios classic monster movies, never went to a downtown theater or sat in your car at a drive-in watching low-budget gore-fests, if you don't know artists such as Sid Haig or Rudy Ray Moore or David Friedman, you likely won't enjoy this movie. If all your pampered senses are only accustomed to fifty million dollar films with more computer animation than real people and things, you'll think this movie is bad. For the rest of you who gets it- Search for the Beast is an authentic exploitation thriller with genuine roots in the old tradition of fast-and-cheap movie making and over-the-top storytelling we loved so much in those drive-in masterpieces. This pedigree is solid with the inclusion of two b-movie stars: The late, GREAT David F. Friedman (Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS, 2001 Maniacs) and Rick Montana (Charlie and Sadie, Bikini Hoedown, Redneck Revenge). It has it all- nudity, violence, double-crossing villains, hillbillies, and a bloodthirsty monster. So find it, watch it, get a copy for your collection.

Search for the Beast: Expected Shakespeare? You Poor Fool!

[lordgrim · 10/10 · 17 July 2013]

In the interest of honesty and full disclosure, I must tell you I am involved with the production of the long-awaited sequel to Search for the Beast. So, though I had NOTHING to do with the first movie, call me biased if you must.

I recently had the rare treat of watching the original director's cut of Search for the Beast. The sound and picture quality was much more refined than the tampered-with versions. Each distributor who sold the original cut edited it to their liking and downgraded the quality. Still, if you expect something on par with a film you'd see at an IMAX theater, you will be woefully disappointed. That said- Search for the Beast hits all the right cues for a great b-movie experience: A plot involving intrigue and double-crossing, acting that ranges from bad to brilliant, humor, creepiness, non-existent budget, large body count, monsters, nudity, violence and sex. This is exploitation fare in the old tradition and it's executed with honesty and shamelessness. The fact that exploitation cinema icon David F. Friedman is in it adds more credibility to this movie than most viewers will ever know. All considered, this is a must-see for fans of Bigfoot movies and b-movies in general. If you put aside your CGI-spoiled expectations, you'll probably do what the producers did when making this movie- have fun with it.

It's all about Clay Mitcham

[toddtheteacher · 10/10 · 25 August 2016]

There comes a time in every young man's life when he contemplates the idea of becoming a movie star in the big city of Hollywood. In 1997, Clay Mitcham made his first and only foray into the movie-stardom, and boy did he deliver. Clay delivered his single line with the expertise and charisma of a young Robert Redford. "Hey! It's over there!" Wow! When I think of what could have been if Clay Mitcham had continued to pursue his career in Hollywood, I get chills. Alas, Clay had enough of stardom after that single role. Between the paparazzi at his door every time he tried to venture out, to the unrelenting bikini clad women throwing at himself, yelling, "He's over there!", clay just couldn't take it. Instead, he pursued a life of purpose as an Elementary School Principal/power lifter. Yes, this great thespian chose not to indulge in the life of a rich and famous A-lister, But instead, chose to serve. But One can imagine what might have been. Clay could have been Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Clint Howard all rolled into one. Unfortunately, we will have to settle for his single line. It's over there, you say? Yes indeed, sir. It is most certainly, over there.

going to be a cult classic

[TerryGSims · 10/10 · 31 August 2007]

it is what it is a classic "B" movie and its great in classic "B" style Rick Montan stars in this big foot style thriller. Check it out if your a bigfoot fan. The lust filled beast scavenges the hills of central alabama looking for unsuspecting victims. One the scene comes the classic good DR.Stone(Rick Montana) who is employed by a "b" movie classic villain (classic movie maker Dave Friedman) to find the beast for "scientific" purposes (snicker). The good DR searches the Alabama woods with the classic blonde looker and several bad guys who are trying to thwart the good DR. In the end all the bad guys die the good DR. gets the girl but not the monster. Do I smell a part two? I hope so I love this classic stuff.

A revelatory experience.

[zestybittermint · 10/10 · 19 April 2024]

R. G. Arledge is a modern renaissance man. A beautiful use of the poor image quality of the bigfoot footage genre to evoke its source material. Whenever the beast appears on screen the frame rate is reduced by at least half. The fear, the horror. Edge of your seat action. The audio mixing makes it feel like the gunfire has left you truly deaf. Arledge has dethroned Zimmer as the king of soundtracks. At one point the camera crew cuts to a random frog. I must presume this is an artistic choice I am too uncultured to understand. Perchance the frog represents the absurdity of life. One will never understand the wonderful mind of Arledge. Truly the worst part of this movie is the fact it ends and you are forced to return to reality.

360 Anthropologist No-scope

[sagerzak · 9/10 · 19 April 2024]

With only three soundtracks and four semi distinct bird sound effects, R. G Arledge crafts his masterpiece without thinking about the common man. Only to the individuals strong enough to brave the unintelligible dialogue and repetitive music, will find a true masterpiece, enough to rival the likes of Sharknado, perchance even Nicolas Cage's magnum opus in his acting legacy, Left Behind. R. G Arledge is not afraid to put his political views into his work, proudly displaying as four confederate frat boys get mowed down by a no-scoping anthropologist. Although half the scenes in this movie are practically pornographic, displaying nips and all for minutes on end without a line of dialogue, it is a brave move that no filmmakers today would dare to attempt. R. G Arledge's porno thinly veiled as a bigfoot movie creates a sense of awe and discomfort as you are forced to witness a grown woman bent over by a man in a big foot costume. Truly no piece of art is quite like this.