Winterbeast (1986)

Winterbeast is a low budget American horror film about an ancient Native American demon that murders partygoers in the Wild Goose Lodge, Massachusetts.

Although filmed on 16mm in 1986, it was never fully completed and the existing footage remained unreleased until five years later when J.R. Bookwalter’s Tempe Video (“The Evil Dead meets Northern Exposure”) issued a tape.

Written and directed by Christopher Thies, this eccentric production features stop motion monsters. It was subsequently released on a Special Edition DVD in 2008 with a 20 minute Making of featurette, deleted scenes (!) and audio commentary.

Reviews:

“There’s a lot of weirdness on display in Winterbeast, like gross misuse of plaid flannel clothing of all colors and a creepy stuffed deer head that shows up in multiple locations and always seems to be staring at the audience. Maybe it knows something we don’t.” Kevin Pyrtle, Wtf-Film

“I’m a sucker for stop-motion animated monsters, and this film boasts an interesting menagerie ranging from a walking totem pole to (loins girded?) a giant demonic chicken. These things are fun to watch, particularly, since they don’t blend well, or even at all, with the live action footage.” Matt Bradshaw, Moviefone

Buy: Amazon.com

“Love it! Love it!… If you find Winterbeast, watch it. Then, watch it again…The film drips with weirdness – camera angles and frame compositions – the sets. It’s all one big pile of greatness…” Bleeding Skull

“While at times the film can be a little slow it is definitely worth watching to see all the cheesy, stop-motion animation monsters murder their clay prey!” Deathwish Industries