Winterbeast began production in 1985. Producer Mark Frizzell thought it would take a weekend to finish. By 1989, he pulled the plug.
Originally, the filmmakers imagined the Winterbeast to be a stop-motion creature. This became a guy in a costume, of which some footage was shot. When the film fell apart, Frizzell did a little stop motion bits between gigs at his day job to fill in the missing monster footage. The film as we know it was released in 1992.
So the monster you see on the cover is not actually in the movie, instead you'll see some foolish claymation creatures.
@MisterBigFart Watched this one today, phenomenal. I think my favorite part is when they show photos of murder victims, but you can see they're just headshots of some women. Probably actors who auditioned for the film.