This is an interesting mixture of creature and criminals. Most of the human characters (except Gil) are members of a professional group of robbers. The gang's operations are well planned and often quite profitable. Their latest target is the ingot-filled safe of a small gold mine near a ski resort. Unforeseen complications, including a horrific spider-like monster, make for an interesting story.

Part of the robbers' getaway plan is to escape the local area by skiing cross-country. A small plane will land on a frozen lake, then whisk them away to Canada. The only problem is that all of the felons need skiing lessons, which is the reason that Gil finds himself on the slopes early in the morning, watching Alex ski and Gypsy make herself a martini. Keep in mind that the heist and cross-country ski escape is scheduled for the next day, because Marty and Byron are barely able to navigate the bunny slope. Those two will be lucky if they can lift their legs in the morning, let alone rob the mine office.

I have not mentioned two elements of the gang's plan. Alex tasked Marty with distracting the local law enforcement and other possible witnesses. A bomb is to be planted in the mineshaft and timed to detonate at 9:00 AM (they are also making their move on a Sunday, to ensure the mine and mine office are empty). The second important fact is that the cross-country skiing expedition will be led by Gil; their destination is Gil's cabin in the mountains. The robbers will hole up in the cabin until the escape plane arrives.

Something that complicates the carefully-thought-out plan is that Gypsy likes Gil. I mean, she really likes him. Whether she is drunk or sober (most commonly, in fact almost always, the former) Gypsy comes on to the ski instructor like a freight train (one filled with gin). Eventually, this starts to make Alex jealous; he regards Gypsy as personal property. The amusing thing is that Gil is so straight laced. He does not show any interest in the alcoholic woman until Gypsy lets some of her real feelings show through.

By that, I mean that Gypsy is not satisfied with the life she is currently leading. Gil does not know that Alex and his cohorts are bandits, but picks up on the worrisome vibes. The ski instructor understands that his pupils are not the sort of people he would normally hang out with.

While everyone else dances and drinks at the ski resort's bar, Marty disappears with Natalie. The crook has two things in mind. One of those is planting the bomb like he was told, but the other involves the dark-haired waitress. Once the pair is inside the mine, the first task is simple. Marty just tells Natalie that he wants to poke around and finds a dark corner to leave the ticking bomb. While taking care of that he finds a thick mass of cobwebs and pieces of an unusual egg. It is only after the would-be Casanova rejoins Natalie and commences to sucking face (foreshadowing of Marty's second goal for the evening) that things go wrong. The beast watches the guy suck on the girl and thinks, "Gee, that looks like fun!" and grabs Natalie; the coward gets away. He is unable to explain to Alex what happened because of the shock, but he does survive.

Okay, the monster probably did not perform any brain activity above an instinctual level before grabbing Natalie. Without being able to throw direct taunts at Gil, I am pretty strapped here. What I want to do is lampoon him for being such a _____. Gosh darn it! There it goes again. Do you have any idea how frustrating that is?

Missing (presumed et) waitresses do not stop Alex. The bomb and the robbery go according to plan with the three men taking two bars each. The take might sound low, but the ingots stored in the mine company's safe are quite large. I would estimate each must weigh twenty-five pounds. If Marty and Byron had sore thighs before, this should cause them severe muscular distress. I hope that their cross-country rations package includes bananas. Anyway, the three bandits meet up with Gil and Gypsy at the top of the ski lift.

The cross-country trek goes fairly smoothly, except for Marty chasing shadows while on watch. He hears a spooky sound in the night and stumbles through the deep snow in search of its source. What the paranoid man finds is Natalie, webbed high in a tree, and something stalking him in the darkness. A viewer's first thought is going to be that Marty is hallucinating, but I am not so sure. Later, we see Natalie stuck to the wall of a cave. The arachnid horror is large enough to have clutched the silk-bound girl to its abdomen and carried her as it tracked Marty through the forest. It is no wonder that Natalie is little more than a screaming near-corpse for the remainder of the film.

The desolate, snowy landscapes lend themselves to the fear aspect of the story. At night, the snow reflects a ghostly glow that is interrupted by the black specters created by individual trees. Wind howls through the mountains, but not loud enough to completely cover the mewling cries of the lurking monster.

Gil's cabin is amazingly cozy for a home located two days cross-country from anything. The group settles in to wait out an approaching blizzard and everything is fine until Gypsy kisses Gil in front of Alex. She causes a battle royale! Beset by all of male robbers, the heroic ski instructor proves that he is more than a match for three dime store crooks, but a cheap .38 pistol is another matter entirely. Once Byron pulls the gun the fight is over, though Gil maintains his backbone. He reminds Alex that they are guests and should act like guests.

Byron reminds me of Joe Pesci. Probably unimportant, but does anyone know if Joe Pesci has a weakness for graham crackers, warm milk, and heavyset Native American women?

Just because they have reached the cabin does not mean that the characters are safe. The blood-sucking Beast has followed Marty and the others to their mountain hideaway. It attacks one night, but is driven off by rifle fire. Marty sustains a wicked-looking bruise from one of the creature's long appendages during the encounter.

Between the personal conflicts and the added stress of an unknown horror stalking them through the snow, the micro-society really starts coming apart. Gypsy warns Gil about Alex and the others as she watches him chop wood one afternoon. When the plane comes, Alex intends to kill Gil (note: Alex looks nothing like Uma Thurman). The stoic hero is not surprised in the least. He tells Gypsy to meet him in the woods above the cabin after dark. They will travel back to the resort and notify the authorities of the bandits' whereabouts. Gee, if you are going that way, could you tell somebody about the spider monster from Hell that is lurking in the woods?

Alex notices Gypsy's change of attitude, probably because he makes a living of reading people. He orders Byron to keep an eye on her until the sudden return of the Beast causes a complete change of plans for everyone. Small Dove and Byron end up stuck to the wall of a cave near Gil's cabin, watching the monster slowly suck Natalie dry. It is a chilling scene, especially once the unfortunate waitress starts screaming. The agonized wails do not stop the creature from feasting on her warm blood. Natalie is simply screaming her head off, because she can't do anything else and being turned into a meal by a creepy spider monster sucks.

Before the film ends, a final confrontation between the characters and the Beast is required. Amusingly, at one point the monster is advancing on Gil as he ineffectually delivers shot after shot from his rifle. Gypsy starts throwing rocks at the arachnid menace and it stops pursuing Gil to chase the girl. Either the creature is stupid or Gil is shooting blanks. Bullets have no effect, but Alex and Marty are carrying Very (flare) pistols. Maybe those can hurt it. It's a 50's monster movie, do ya think?

Cast:

Michael Forest - Gil Jackson
Sheila Noonan - Gypsy Boulet
Frank Wolff - Alexander Ward
Wally Campo - Byron Smith
Richard Sinatra - Marty Jones
Linne Ahlstrand - Natalie
Chris Robinson - The Beast & A Bartender
Kay Jennings - Jill Jackson