Review of The Beast of Hollow Mountain

Cowboys and dinosaurs?! Now why don't we have this more often. This unique combination of fantasy, sci-fi, western and horror would show up again only once after 'The Beast of Hollow Mountain' in the vastly superior 'Valley of Gwangi (1969)'. As a kid I loved watching cowboy movies and constantly reading about dinosaurs. Well this was made for me… well surely back then I might have dug it, but this was my first viewing of 'Beast of Hollow Mountain' and it was a largely a lightweight disappointment. The problem here was that the western side of the story (feuding cowboys, cow herding and a mischievous Mexican kid) is lacklustre, systematic and takes up most of the framework and time. The pacing is ultimately slow and languishes within this period. The projected dino action (and this when it virtually appears too) doesn't come in to play until the hour mark and the film runs for just 80 minutes. This is when it picks up the energy levels and riveting suspense, but this all depends on if you have bothered to last the distance. Even with the ambitions, it never entirely gels and satisfies. The variable stop motion animation is less than imitating, but well achieved nonetheless. The direction is colourless (ironically it's filmed in colour) and typical, as the heavy-handed score and atmospheric sound FX gets out much more life. Doesn't make it any better though. The acting is acceptable, with a perfectly able lead performance by Guy Madison and the location photography is admirably framed.

Not terrible, but a plain, unremarkable hybrid b-film.