Director – Ryan Schifrin (Tales of Halloween, The Tiffany Problem)
Starring – Matt McCoy (True Detective, Six Feet Under), Haley Joel (Damages, Crash Landing), and Christien Tinsley (Felon)
Release Date – 2006
Rating – 3/5
Blu Release – 4/5
Tagline – “Think big”
When I hit high school my horror obsession was in full force. I was still collecting tapes but I had a new love in DVDs along with recording made for television Sy-Fy flicks on tape and then converting them to DVD with my DVD burner. This was a big hobby of mine and I that was the only way to get a lot of shitty movies that was never made available for purchase after the airing.
The year after I graduated the film Abominable aired on television. I can’t remember the channel but I’m fairly certain it was a Sy-Fy channel premier. Either way, I recorded the film on tape and then lost it when my collection was stolen while in college. Sometime after that I found the film on DVD when a Movie Gallery near my college was going out of business. This is a film I’ve watched several time since the original airing and when MVD announced a blu release in their MVD Rewind Collection line I knew I had to review it. Thank you MVD for sending this one my way!
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows Preston Rogers (McCoy) who is now paraplegic after a hiking accident where he lost his wife. As part of is rehabilitation he is going to a cabin deep in the woods with his caregiver to get over his fear of the forest. The cabin beside him is being rented by a group of women having a bachelorette party for the weekend. Things start off innocently enough but Preston is still uneasy. He notices the phone lines down near the cabin and soon he spies something menacingly wondering around the cabin with the woman in it. Soon after one of them goes missing and he gets a better look at the beast. The bigfoot like creature takes the girl deep into the woods. Preston is unable to chase due to his handicap and is forced to try to contact the home next door to tell the others that she was taken. His plan fails and they start looking for her. Soon, one by one they fall victim to the beast leaving just one woman and Preston. The two are able to get together and work together to survive the hellish night before the beast can brutally murder them like he did all the others. **Spoiler Alert**
I know this film is far from perfect and suffers from several flaws but I still find myself thoroughly enjoying it. I’m a sucker for horror flicks centered around cryptozoology and the fact that this film has nods to other famous cryptids really adds some additional entertainment to me.
The acting in this one is not the best but poorly written characters are at fault and not the cast. The characters are rough to like and difficult to root for. Their personalities all clash and we get no character that you want to see live. They are all equally annoying and you look forward to their demise.
The story for this one is simple but works for what it is. When you have bigfoot crushing people with his feet we don’t need a story that is complex or thought provoking. We get some suspense and a lot of bigfoot action. The biggest downside to the story is the lack of character development. We get several characters tossed as us with similar personalities and very few redeeming qualities.
Finally, we get several deaths and a bigfoot costume that I love. The deaths are bloody with some decent enough practical effects and I absolutely love the bigfoot costume. It’s easily one of my favorites. Overall, Abominable is far from perfect but I can’t deny how fun it is. I’ve watched it several times since my first viewing and I can see myself throwing it in several more. Horror fans and fans of bigfoot horror need to grab this on blu now from MVD.
Special Features:
Brand-New 2K High-Definition transfer from the original camera negative
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of the main feature
5.1 Surround Audio (Uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
Audio Commentary with writer/director Ryan Schifrin, Actors Matt McCoy and Jeffrey Combs
Introduction from Director Ryan Schifrin (HD)
”Back to Genre: Making ABOMINABLE” featurette (SD)
Deleted and Extended Scenes (SD)
Outtakes and Bloopers (SD)
”Shadows” Director Ryan Schifrin’s USC Student Film (SD)
”Basil & Mobius: No Rest For The Wicked” (16:28, HD) Short film written and directed by Ryan Schifrin featuring a score by legendary composer Lalo Schifrin and starring Zachari Levi, Ray Park, Malcolm McDowell and Kane Hodder
The original 2005 version of ”Abominable” (Blu-ray only, 94 mins, SD)
Original Theatrical Trailer
Poster & Still Gallery
Storyboard Gallery
Collectible Poster
