Ehirerapp Waste of time

Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

ferbs54 During the 1960s, the Italians proceeded to make impressive strides in their historic cinematic output. The old-master auteurs such as Fellini, Antonioni, De Sica, Visconti and Pasolini continued to put out quality product (to put it mildly, in the case of the first two), while up-and-comers such as Mario Bava and Sergio Leone helped to jump-start the nascent genres of Italian Gothic horror, the giallo film, and the so-called "spaghetti Western." The Italian comedies continued to flourish, as did the country's truly one-of-a-kind "sword and sandal" films. But there was one area in which the Italians, try as they might, just couldn't seem to make much of an impressive dent, it seems to me, and that was in the arena of sci-fi. Case in point: the 1967 film "The Snow Devils." Despite its ambitious story line, a top-tier actor in front of the camera and a respected director in charge of the production, the film, to my not-so-great surprise, fails to deliver in most departments. And yet, like all those inferior Italian sci-fi films of the period, cheesy as they are, this one remains good fun, somehow, nevertheless. My beloved "Psychotronic Encyclopedia," which usually has a high tolerance for this sort of dreckish fare, deems the film "very boring," but I somehow managed to be entertained by it. Certainly not anyone's idea of quality cinematic fare, the picture, cheesy as it is (I still have not decided whether it is more asiago, fontina or robiola in nature!), is yet one that you might comfortably settle down to watch with your favorite 8-year-old nephew sitting beside you. In the film, we learn that the weather station near Mt. Kangchenjunga, in the Himalayas, has somehow been destroyed, and all its inhabitants killed. Sent to investigate is granite-jawed hunky dude Rod Jackson (played by Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, who many will recall from Bava's classic film of the previous year, "Kill, Baby, Kill), commander of the orbiting Gamma 1 space station, which itself is part of the UDSCO (United Democracies Space Command). Along with his second in command, Capt. Frank Pulasky (Goffredo Unger, who both looks and functions here like Scott Grimes' Lt. Gordon Malloy character in the new and hilarious TV program "The Orville"), and Lisa Nielson, whose fiance had gone missing after the Kangchenjunga disaster (and played by the lovely Ombretta Colli, here, unfortunately, sporting a hairdo of singular atrociousness), as well as a good dozen mountain porters, Jackson treks to the region of the weather station, near which a "high-energy proton field" has been detected that is, alarmingly, altering the very climate of the Earth. The polar ice caps have started melting, followed by the inevitable worldwide flooding. Ultimately, the team discovers the cause of the disasters: Blue-skinned, white-furred aliens from the planet Aytia, whose century-long presence in the mountains has been the source of the local yeti legend, are changing the Earth's temperature to adapt it to their own uses! Jackson and Co. manage to wipe out the aliens' installation, only to later discover a more shocking truth: An entire outpost of the cyanotic-looking aliens has been established on the Jovian moon Callisto, from which they plan to continue their attacks on our planet! And so, Jackson and his allies suit up and blast off for Jupiter, to attempt one do-or-die battle in outer space.... "The Snow Devils" starts off promisingly, and I must say that its first half--especially the scenes in which we see our brave team hiking through the Himalayas--is fairly well done. The film's theme song, by composer Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, is also striking; almost like a cross between a spaghetti Western tune written by Ennio Morricone and some psychedelic rock effort. But the picture falters in its second half, and the special effects that are utilized to showcase our team in space are of a truly embarrassing nature; almost on an Ed Wood level of awfulness. Trust me, you will be howling at the meteor swarm that our heroes pass through, a swarm that looks like some sparklers thrown at the camera lens. Director Antonio Margheriti, who had previously impressed me via his Gothic horrors "Castle of Blood" and "The Long Hair of Death," both starring the great "Queen of Horror" Barbara Steele, and who had already helmed such sci-fi outings as "Battle of the Worlds," "War of the Planets" and "Wild Wild Planet," does his usual competent job here, but he is ultimately let down by the cheapjack nature of the production. Special FX surely are not everything in a motion picture endeavor, but when they are as laughably bad as these are here, they can unfortunately torpedo a viewer's suspension of disbelief. "The Snow Devils" is surely not the worst way to spend 90 minutes, but as I say, it is surely an exercise in cheese. The Italians, by the way, would do a LOT better a few years later, with their classic sci-fi outing "The Green Slime." That one is surely an exercise in camp and cheese as well, but at least the FX are better, and it also features the great Luciana Paluzzi, who is undoubtedly a special effect in her own right....

Scott LeBrun The fourth entry in Italy's "Gamma One" spaghetti sci-fi series does have a rather amusing story. When a weather station in the Himalayas is attacked, and its employees killed, intrepid space captain Rod Jackson (Giacomo Rossi Stuart) is dispatched to find out what happened. In the company of his faithful sidekick Frank Pulasky (Goffredo Unger), a guide (Wilbert Bradley), and assorted porters, they venture into the mountains, and encounter the title culprits: the yetis of legend, who just so happen to be aliens!Series director Antonio Margheriti (who also co-wrote the screenplay) has some fun with the far out premise - for a while. While "Snow Devils" isn't as engaging as earlier entries, it's still goofy enough to work, with villains who helpfully give the audience and the heroes all the exposition that they could need. While it will strike its viewers as being cheap and cheesy (the Snow Devils are pretty tacky looking), it's this "quality" that makes the movie moderately charming. The performances are adequate from all concerned, and the ladies - Ombretta Colli, Halina Zalewska - are lovely. Enzo Fiermonte once again essays the role of the steadfast General Norton.The problem is that Margheriti can't steer the story towards an effective finale. Things actually get too slow and too quiet instead of building up the tension and excitement. But at least we eventually get rewarded with a couple of explosions.This movie does offer a reasonable amount of fun, even if it's not altogether satisfying.Followed by an unofficial series entry, the notorious "The Green Slime".Six out of 10.

zillabob The budgets of WILD WILD PLANET(1965) and WAR OF THE PLANETS(1966) ran out in this follow up to those films, using props and situations created in them. This one is earthbound and lacks the terrificly gaudy miniature future-scapes of the last two outings. And lacks the stars(Tony Russel, who actually has screen *presence* in the previous two).Has a terrific opening score that playable several times, but the whole thing seems terribly set-bound, and small sets at that. But overall recalls to us a time of film-making long gone.Fun stuff.

rstef1 I can't decide what was the most egregiously foolish part of this piece of cinematic detritus from Italy. Is it the howlingly bad dialogue, the terrible special effects, the atrocious acting, god-awful dubbing, moronic script, pretentious music or silly costumes? Oh, why pick one when together they add up to monumental idiocy, truly a so bad it's good classic.Here's the plot, such as it is. The arctic (which apparently is located around the Himalayas??!!) is heating up and threatening to flood the world. The weather station there has been destroyed by, get ready, Yetis! A helpful scientist explains that sometimes these creatures come down from their mountains and just go crazy-eights bonkers! Okay, so I'm paraphrasing here, but I can assure you the actual explanation is just as hilariously lame. Our intrepid hero and his buddy, along with a plucky female with really big hair and way too much eye makeup, go to investigate and discover that the yeti are, and I quote our hero here, "aliens from outer space"! Gasp! And they have a big machine that's heating up the ice so it melts and covers the planet and they'll refreeze it and then they can live on it because it's like their planet and yada yada yada...Anyway, the baddies are kind enough to provide this exposition to our heroic party of badly dressed leads so that the heroes can thwart the diabolical plot a bit later. Why do the bad guys always do this in bad movies and t.v. rather than just kill the good guys? There follows a gun fight, with special effect laser guns that Buster Crabbe and company would have jeered at, and some of the hokiest death scenes ever captured on film. The heroes prevail, naturally, and now they have to deal with the results of the melting ice and flooding conditions.Mystery Science Theatre would have had a ball with this garbage, and even without Joel, Mike and the bots, it's still pretty damn funny. Put your brain on hold, have a few drinks (trust me, it's better that way), kick back and enjoy Snow Devils!