Two archaeologists - "Dr. Crawford" (Ralph Seeley) and his pal "Maury" (Dick Welsbacher) are out in the tundra when they discover the remains of a neanderthal man. Clad only in a loin cloth, he is removed for further investigation. Thing is, as he thaws out he begins to wake up - and with one hell of an hangover. He is not an happy chap, and is soon on the rampage - a particularly dangerous state of affairs for "Elyse" (Suzanne Farrar) for whom he is out to prove that morning horn is not just a modern day thing! This might have been more fun had it been left as a lightweight sci-fi/horror adventure film. Sadly, though, it is dreadfully over scripted with loads of technical and scientific babble from the boffins whose presence is completely superfluous to the silly and occasionally exciting nature of the storyline. Essentially, this is just like a mummy movie - only it's a cave-man who wants the gal this time. The acting is pretty terrible (especially Farrar) and the visual effects do little to add any sense of peril to this cheap and cheerful nonsense. Darwinian in isn't. Good it isn't, either.
6 Reviews
"This fellow knocks every accepted evolutionary theory into a top hat!"
classicsoncall26 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The best thing about this flick is the fairly intelligent dialog among the characters, but that's about as far as it goes. The 'Beast' is nothing to write home about, it's no more than a knock off caveman that's purportedly been buried for get this - sixty million years! - and discovered during an anthropological dig run by an insufferable pain in the butt named Bernard Maury (Dick Welsbacher). Another member of his team wants to cash in on this major find resulting in assorted murder and mayhem. The film tries hard to be earnest but it's just a bit too dumb for it's own good. I'll say this though, it's not everyday you get to see a titled creature stopped with a triceratops tail spike to the chest, but you get that here in a finale that's somewhat anticlimactic. I am surprised that I'm only the second reviewer for this flick here on IMDb at the time I saw the picture. Not that it deserves a wider audience, but with a title like that, you would think more folks would want to check it out.
The Smelly Caveman from the End of Time
Oslo_Jargo6 May 2024
Warning: Spoilers
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
*Plot and ending analyzed*
With an extravagantly flamboyant title like "The Beast from the Beginning of Time", you would think that the spectacular titular monster is from another planet, or distinct zone of time in another universe. But no, apparently it is from the good old polluted Earth. And he comes complete with an ancient loincloth tied around his (blank) to prove it. Imagine the smell of that thing.
This is a tolerantly interesting zero-budget little movie. That is, if you have the patience for it. And by patience, I mean the type of patience that you can acquire only if you have been incarcerated for 6 months, or have been living alone in a desolate forest for one year. It is long-winded and exceedingly garrulous. I mean these guys can really chatter and yap with the best of them. The plot is about some troglodyte that is uncovered in some type of dig. It is never mentioned what area of specialty the crew is from, but it is safe to say they are either archaeologists, paleontologists, or relic pirates. And they are extremely dull, dumb, prone to bickering, and a very danger to the community where they live.
Anyways, the troglodyte is inexplicably "animated" back to life by some lighting storm, and he impales a man with a shovel. The blame is put on one of the men of the dig, who is quickly labeled a lunatic and locked up in the local nuthouse. But he gives a stern warning to everyone that the troglodyte came to life during a lightning storm. But does anyone listen? Not those arrogant men of science.
Finally, the arrogant men of science go look for one of the original men involved with the dig, who is in the academic building late at night. There is also a lighting storm brewing, and the homicidal troglodyte comes back to life and rips off the arms of the original man involved with the dig. He also kills an old custodian, who was packing a revolver, and probably moonshine, in his room on the furnace level.
The smug academic guys try to hunt the troglodyte, with the help of a few useless sheriffs. But bullets are ineffective, and a tail spine spike from the fossilized figure of a Stegosaurus in the building museum, is used to impale him. But, the troglodyte is still breathing at the end. Eegah!
The horrible condition of the aged movie actually aids the viewing. And, although those who are more inclined to find fault in these types of movies may disagree, the troglodyte was actually quite acceptable.
So, if you are altogether already accustomed to these old zero-budget horror movies, then you might find this one somewhat amusing.
Makes great viewing paired up with Trog (1970), Iceman (1984), and Quest for Fire (1981).
Have fun.
*Plot and ending analyzed*
With an extravagantly flamboyant title like "The Beast from the Beginning of Time", you would think that the spectacular titular monster is from another planet, or distinct zone of time in another universe. But no, apparently it is from the good old polluted Earth. And he comes complete with an ancient loincloth tied around his (blank) to prove it. Imagine the smell of that thing.
This is a tolerantly interesting zero-budget little movie. That is, if you have the patience for it. And by patience, I mean the type of patience that you can acquire only if you have been incarcerated for 6 months, or have been living alone in a desolate forest for one year. It is long-winded and exceedingly garrulous. I mean these guys can really chatter and yap with the best of them. The plot is about some troglodyte that is uncovered in some type of dig. It is never mentioned what area of specialty the crew is from, but it is safe to say they are either archaeologists, paleontologists, or relic pirates. And they are extremely dull, dumb, prone to bickering, and a very danger to the community where they live.
Anyways, the troglodyte is inexplicably "animated" back to life by some lighting storm, and he impales a man with a shovel. The blame is put on one of the men of the dig, who is quickly labeled a lunatic and locked up in the local nuthouse. But he gives a stern warning to everyone that the troglodyte came to life during a lightning storm. But does anyone listen? Not those arrogant men of science.
Finally, the arrogant men of science go look for one of the original men involved with the dig, who is in the academic building late at night. There is also a lighting storm brewing, and the homicidal troglodyte comes back to life and rips off the arms of the original man involved with the dig. He also kills an old custodian, who was packing a revolver, and probably moonshine, in his room on the furnace level.
The smug academic guys try to hunt the troglodyte, with the help of a few useless sheriffs. But bullets are ineffective, and a tail spine spike from the fossilized figure of a Stegosaurus in the building museum, is used to impale him. But, the troglodyte is still breathing at the end. Eegah!
The horrible condition of the aged movie actually aids the viewing. And, although those who are more inclined to find fault in these types of movies may disagree, the troglodyte was actually quite acceptable.
So, if you are altogether already accustomed to these old zero-budget horror movies, then you might find this one somewhat amusing.
Makes great viewing paired up with Trog (1970), Iceman (1984), and Quest for Fire (1981).
Have fun.
Unimpressive amateur monster movie rescued from the Lethe of lost media
EyeAskance23 January 2019
Archaeologists are puzzled by a perfectly-preserved human body unearthed from a multi-million-year-old geological stratum. Following subsequent analysis, the remains are determined to be of an early ancestor to modern man. This startling discovery rouses the interest of a few high muckamucks in the science world, and they prattle-on endlessly with the usual pseudo-scientific explanatory deductions. Things take an even more bizarre turn when an electrical storm unexpectedly(?) reanimates the prehistoric fellow, who proceeds to wreak very familiar B-movie havoc. He's not really much of a beast, quite frankly...long-haired and clad in a formless makeshift skirt, he looks more like an unsightly vagrant transvestite who just got thrown from a mechanical bull.
THE BEAST FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME is something of a regional curio, largely funded(well, okay, maybe not LARGELY) by a Wichita, KS area independent TV station, and written/directed by the host of a weekly horror movie show popular in the region during that time(he has the starring role, as well). The film languished in obscurity for decades, being seen only by the handful who caught it during a scant few local TV airings.
The film is now readily viewable on a number of streaming sites, free of charge. This is fortunate, as it's honestly not worth paying money to see. Genre fans should be grateful for any monster movie that gets shielded from the death-kiss of "lost cinema", and this case is no exception...all things considered, I'm happy to have seen it. I'm also sorry to report that it has a barnyard quality very much on par with some of the era's other low-grade regional cheapies...TEENAGERS BATTLE THE THING(1959), NIGHT FRIGHT(1967) and THE LEGEND OF BLOOD MOUNTAIN(1965) spring to mind. Flatly written and depressingly unimaginative, it runs its course at a loitering pace with a mere modicum of action in the final stretch. To its credit, however, performances from the key players are, surprisingly, rather passable for such a picayune project, and there are dashes of gore which, though tame by today's standards, were fairly excessive for '65. Too, the finale is shot with an unexpectedly artful, even borderline experimental flourish in high-contrast black and white.
All said, this might intrigue a select few for its rarity and somewhat unusual production history. Any rediscovered addition to the horror canon is a welcome one, but the best thing I have to say about TBFTBOT is that I've seen worse.
3.5/10...disappointing.
THE BEAST FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME is something of a regional curio, largely funded(well, okay, maybe not LARGELY) by a Wichita, KS area independent TV station, and written/directed by the host of a weekly horror movie show popular in the region during that time(he has the starring role, as well). The film languished in obscurity for decades, being seen only by the handful who caught it during a scant few local TV airings.
The film is now readily viewable on a number of streaming sites, free of charge. This is fortunate, as it's honestly not worth paying money to see. Genre fans should be grateful for any monster movie that gets shielded from the death-kiss of "lost cinema", and this case is no exception...all things considered, I'm happy to have seen it. I'm also sorry to report that it has a barnyard quality very much on par with some of the era's other low-grade regional cheapies...TEENAGERS BATTLE THE THING(1959), NIGHT FRIGHT(1967) and THE LEGEND OF BLOOD MOUNTAIN(1965) spring to mind. Flatly written and depressingly unimaginative, it runs its course at a loitering pace with a mere modicum of action in the final stretch. To its credit, however, performances from the key players are, surprisingly, rather passable for such a picayune project, and there are dashes of gore which, though tame by today's standards, were fairly excessive for '65. Too, the finale is shot with an unexpectedly artful, even borderline experimental flourish in high-contrast black and white.
All said, this might intrigue a select few for its rarity and somewhat unusual production history. Any rediscovered addition to the horror canon is a welcome one, but the best thing I have to say about TBFTBOT is that I've seen worse.
3.5/10...disappointing.
A Lost film that should have stayed that way.
mhorg20189 August 2023
Oh Damn. I have to write SIX HUNDRED WORDS for this garbage? Do yourself a favor, don't waste your time with this. Bad everything. Acting. Special Effects (see, I spelled that out to use more words). Bad filming. Bad Print (On tubi). At first, the title caught my interest. Until I checked here on IMDB, I thought this was a joke, like the Skeleton of whatever it was. But it wasn't. Maybe the only movie ever filmed in the state of Kansas, it was obviously filmed in a State of Confusion. You won't reach a state of Nirvana if you watch it. But you will be in a state of boredom! Just a horrible non-effort to make a film. AVOID!
Great cheap monster movie.
MonsterVision992 September 2023
Talky but engaging oddity with a caveman going on a killing spree. Good make up for the deformed beast. The chiaroscuro lighting, the dark backgrounds and hard lighting on the subjects gives them a special highlight within the shot and becomes borderline expressionistic at times. The framing and composition becomes particularly expressive during key moments and adds to the strange atmosphere the film creates, especially during the last 20 minutes. The directing is mostly the typical static master shots with a few inserts but sometimes the director focuses on objects and even zooms in and out of them at certain moments for accentuation (not with the same end and narrative focus as, let's say, Jess Franco but still very good direction), unorthodox techniques that were rather underused in movies at the time it was made. This type of outsider art is why low budget regional movies are always far more interesting than the mass produced corporate productions from big studios, even to this day.
The ironic thing about this is that this movie about a strange being from a bygone era becoming unearthed and destroyed by the modern man suffered the same fate as its monster, being uncovered and taken from 1965 to 1981, only to be eviscerated by critics and audiences, who judged it negatively as soon as it was discovered. With the addition of gore and the fact that it seems like a throwback to the type of movie being produced just a few years earlier, perhaps it was a cute homage to 50's creature features. Either way, an unexpected but welcomed addition to the monster movie genre.
The ironic thing about this is that this movie about a strange being from a bygone era becoming unearthed and destroyed by the modern man suffered the same fate as its monster, being uncovered and taken from 1965 to 1981, only to be eviscerated by critics and audiences, who judged it negatively as soon as it was discovered. With the addition of gore and the fact that it seems like a throwback to the type of movie being produced just a few years earlier, perhaps it was a cute homage to 50's creature features. Either way, an unexpected but welcomed addition to the monster movie genre.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
