This film was a real dissapointment for me. I bought it in a dual pack with another low budget horror 60's film and was just left with nothing. I wasn't really sure exactly what kind of movie this was...an independent film made by some students? Is it a crime/thriller film? Is it a horror movie? Horrible acting, pathetic script, uninventive special effects, and a monster that's in the movie for only about 10 minutes. I appreciate low budget horror films (chainsaw massacre, night of the living dead, the season of the witch), but this one just doesn't cut it for me.

This movie scared me good as a kid. I never knew the name of it until a few years ago, but I ALWAYS remembered that creepy monster in the cave! What's it about? Well, some crooks decide to rob a bank near a ski resort. They pull it off flawlessly, planting explosives in a nearby mine in order to draw authorities there instead of the crime-site. All is well, until a bizarre creature from that same mine begins tracking, stalking, and killing the crooks. This thing is UGLY! It's like a giant spidery, tentacled, faceless horror. It webs it's victims, using them as snacks for later. The terror in the eyes of the webbed-ones seems like a direct influence for those poor souls ensnared years later in all those mega-budget ALIEN flicks. Unlike most of the rubber-monster movies of the 50s / 60s, BFHC is actually well written, acted, and directed. Another example of doing a lot with next to no money. Check it out...

Beast from Haunted Cave is one of the few Roger Corman-protege pictures that actually comes off better than some of Corman's own films (try watching Creature from the Haunted Sea some time). The plot, though derivative, holds your interest, and the performances are for the most part competent and believable. A few of the dialogue scenes are surprisingly fresh and natural compared to typical low-budget efforts of the time. But what really gives this movie its reputation are the creepy atmosphere and gruesome shocks effected by director Monte Hellman in several `set-piece' sequences (the tree in the forest bit and all the monster's-cave scenes). No explanation is given for the bizarre, surreal `beast' and none is needed; it's just there to give you nightmares. Watch this with the lights off for old-fashioned drive-in horror show effect.
Synapse's DVD, if not `loaded' is still a fine showcase for the film. The movie is presented in both anamorphic widescreen and full frame versions and features the "extended" version with additional scenes (shot by Hellman) that were added for TV airings. The print is in very nice shape with very good to excellent tonal values, sharpness, and shadow/highlight detail; and little evident wear or speckling. Extremely watchable and light-years from most of the other butchered versions available on tape and DVD. Extras are comprised of trailer, chapter stops, and liner notes only (a commentary by Hellman would've made this a five-star disc), but the set is well worth the money for fans of 50s/60s horror cheapies.

I highly recommend this new release over the previous "Killer Creature" double feature version. The quality of the DVD is very good, they give you the option of watching in either widescreen or the old box format and the audio is very clean. This version also has some missing scenes that I have not seen before.I wish this company well and look forward to thier next release.

Tom Phillips

I know this is a low budget quickie, and, as such, would probably be regarded by 'experts' as not having much cinematic merit. But I have to say that, speaking merely as an average cinemagoer, I liked it a lot. I found the storyline to be good, the acting and direction to be more than adequate, and Chris Robinson's spider monster to be genuinely scary. The film moves along at a good pace, and the climactic final ten minutes - in the cave - are very effective. All in all, a cut above the usual horror 'B' movie output of the period.