Track of the Moon Beast (1976)

User Rating:

1.6/10   

Director:

Richard Ashe

Writers:

Bill Finger (writer)
Charles Sinclair (writer)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Rising Moon Creates A Monster

Plot:

A young man is transformed into a hideous "moon beast" due to a meteor fragment lodged in his body.

Plot Keywords:

Meteor | Stew | Native American | Love | Monster

Cast

Chase Cordell	...	Paul Carlson
Leigh Drake	...	Kathy Nolan (as Donna Leigh Drake)
Gregorio Sala	...	Prof. John 'Johnny Longbow' Salinas
Patrick M. Wright	...	Police Captain McCabe (as Patrick Wright)
Francine Kessler	...	Janet Price
Timothy Wayne Brown	...	Dr. Sutton
Crawford MacCallum	...	Dr. Lawrence
Jeanne Swain	...	Caroline Harris
Alan Swain	...	Sid Harris
Fred McCaffrey	...	Dr. Rizzo
Tim Butler	...	Budd Keeler
Gary Kanin	...	The Newscaster
Frank Larrabee	...	Lead Singer
Joe Blasco	...	The Moon Beast

Also Known As:

Track of the Moonbeast (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

90 min | USA:81 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Lizard Productions Inc.

Trivia:

The film was shot in 1972 but it took four years before it was released due to difficulties finding a distributor.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Paul is suffering from his Moon Beast illness about halfway through the movie, the camera zooms in on the full moon, only it's obviously a photo of the moon.

Quotes:

[looks at the glowing moon rock]
Kathy Nolan: Moon rocks? Oh, wow!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Track of the Moon Beast (#11.7)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

California Lady

And what a cheesy track it is!

Fragment of meteorite gets lodged in young man's head, causing him to turn into a monstrous lizard-man when the moon rises.

Track of the Moon Beast is a fine example of drive-in B movie schlock! The movie consists of a thin story line, hokey dialog, less than impressive cast, and an all around look of 'we filmed this scene in my back yard'. It's a wonder the movie managed to hide from the people at Mystery Science Theater 3000 for ten years.

Yet despite all its campy trappings, I can't really say that I dislike this movie! Being a lover of B cinema it's rather enjoyable in a non-serious kind of way. I do give the film kudos for its surprisingly decent horror makeup, it's not surprising that this was early work from Rick Baker. The moon beast should have gotten more screen time though. Star Chase Cordell makes for an OK hero/victim and Gregorio Sala is memorable as a long-winded native American expert. Alas the rest of the cast is pretty weak, especially the wooden Donna Leigh Drake who doesn't have a believable line in the whole film! Still the tongue-in-cheek qualities keep it entertaining.

So, for those who enjoy their horror on the cheesy B movie side, you just might like this amusing monster flick.

** 1/2 out of ****