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| Available at Amazon.com |
If you ever wondered what would happen if you mixed Rear Window with Bigfoot and you like cheesy bad B monster movies, then this one’s is for you.
Preston Rogers (Matt McCoy) is a mountain climber who lost his legs in his wife in a failed attempt to climb Suicide Rock. After years in a mental institution he is brought back to his home in the mountains to face his fears. Only his haunted past turns out to be the least of his problems when a blood thirsty Bigfoot is out to get any human who crosses his path, including Preston and his jerk nurse Otis (Christien Tinsley), three hapless hunters (Jeffrey Combs, Lance Henriksen and Rex Linn) and four young women staying in the house next door.
Preston can do nothing from his wheelchair but watch with his binoculars as the Bigfoot slaughters the women, but it isn’t long before Bigfoot sets his sights on Preston and he must do everything he can to save his life and the one remaining woman.
This movie is goofy and ridiculous on every level. The film opens with our introduction to Bigfoot and shockingly the two people in the opening scene don’t die. Abominable seemed be laughing in the face of convention. At least that’s what I thought, until we got further into the film then I realized it was actually laughing in the face of logic. The characters, most of who are poorly developed, make the most ridiculous choices, mostly to put them directly in harms way.
The sound in the film is awful. When Preston and Otis first arrive at the house they are greeted by a cacophony of crows, but not one can bee seen. Then we never hear them again. And later when Preston pulls a knife from a woodblock it sounds like a sword being bulled for a sheath. The editing is really bad at times too. There were moments when I had to rewind the film to see if I really saw what I saw. Really jaunting bad cuts that really take you out of the film.
The acting across the board is really sub par. The only place this movie offers anything is the great B movie cast. They are each in only one or two scenes, but you get Lance Henriksen, Jeffrey Combs and Dee Wallace-Stone just to name a few. Jeffrey Combs’ character is particularly entertaining, with long shaggy, greasy hair, an oxygen tank tube stuck in his nose and a cigarette in one hand. He’s the typical knowledgeable local who pouts off exposition and keeps it mildly entertaining.
The gore and violence in the film isn’t bad. There are few entertaining death scenes. But that about wraps up the compliments I have for this film. It’s definitely borderlines on the whole “so good it’s bad” idea and if you watch it with a bunch of friends you’ll probably have a good time. But by no means is this film meant to be taken seriously.
The film is presented in widescreen 1.85:1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 stereo surround. This film looks low budget. It looks like it was shot on digital, but not in a good way. As mentioned before the sound is really bad too. This score is very predictable and bland.
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Ryan Schifrin, actors Matt McCoy and Jeffrey Combs: Schifrin is just out of film school and is really annoying to listen to. The biggest problem with the film is how it rips off so many other good films, but does it badly. Here the director admits that he has ripped off all these films. Also, inadvertently, admitting that he doesn’t have an original bone in his body. Jeffrey Combs only talks when he’s on screen. Maybe if he talked more it would have been a better commentary.
Back To Genre: Making Abominable: (37 min.) Thirty Seven Minutes? Really? Did this film really need a 37 minute making of? Especially when the director spends a lot of time talking about all the films he ripped off to make it? The only good thing about this making of is that you see everyone had a good time making the film. That’s about it.
Deleted Scenes & Extended Scenes: (6 min.) Worthless scenes that were cut for a reason.
Outtakes & Bloopers: (4 min.) Kinda funny, but after several takes of one shot it gets old quick.
Shadows: Ryan Schifrin’s USC Student Film: (8 min.) This actually isn’t a bad student film. It’s not great, but I certainly seen much worse.
Trailers
Poster & Still Gallery
Storyboard Gallery
Screenplay (DVD-ROM)
A typically bad B Horror film. If that’s your sort of thing then you might enjoy this camp. But if you’re looking for good acting, plot and production value, look elsewhere.
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Anchor Bay presents Abominable. Directed by Ryan Schifrin. Starring Matt McCoy, Lance Henriksen, Jeffrey Combs. Written by Ryan Schifrin. Running time: 94 minutes. Rated R for language gore and nudity. Released on DVD: May 6, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.
About Mike Noyes
