Director – Bret McCormick (Blood on the Badge, Children of Dracula)
Starring – Scott Davis (Roller Blade, Ozone: The Attack of the Redneck Mutants), Jude Johnson (Tabloid, Broken Promise), and Blue Thompson (The Real American, Highway to Hell)
Release Date – 1986
Rating – 3.5/5
Blu Release – 4/5
When I was in high school, I frequented the message boards at Upcoming Horror Movies. By frequented I mean I fucking loved on that message board. I met some of my closest friends there along with so many films that I love. It was a huge part of my high school years, and a good chunk of my collection came from recommendations and suggestions of other members from the message board. One film I was suggested was the 1986 Bret McCormick flick The Abomination.
I had tried for years to snag a copy of this film on any format and failed miserably. I was constantly getting reminded of it from various horror groups I’m in and so forth but never found a copy for a decent price. That changed recently when Visual Vengeance was able to put the film out on blu. I had to finally see this one, so I reached out to them, and they were kind enough to send a copy my way for review. I want to thank VV for sending this one my way.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a young man who takes care of his ill mother. She is extremely religious and seeks the help of her preacher instead of modern science. Her preacher tells her that she has a tumor in her lungs, and they pray for her. That night she coughs up the tumor and places it in the trash where it proceeds to crawl out in order to look for a new host. It finds her son and crawls inside where it lays more “spores” which drives him to murder all those around him so he can feed them. **Spoiler Alert**
I knew The Abomination wasn’t going to be a horror film that was well put together with the best acting I had laid my eyes on with a story that would leave me in tears. I knew it was a no budget S.O.V. flick from Bret McCormick but I couldn’t stop my imagination from running wild. After finally seeing the film all these years later I can safely say that it was worth the wait. While it may not be for every horror fan, I absolutely loved it.
The acting in this one is far from the worst I have seen but it’s pretty standard for no budget S.O.V. horror films of the late 80s. The cast is really into the film and the characters are pretty one dimensional, but they really try. It is shown in each scene, but it is easily forgettable. The story for this one is something that feels like it was written specifically for me. An extremely religious mother infected with some sort of tumor-like creature that lays its spawn in her son is nothing short of brilliant. The film doesn’t go on for too long and ends when it should.
Finally, the effects in this one make the film. The tumor, the death scenes, all of it look great especially when you consider the film’s budget. That was the most impressive aspect of the film and the thing that sticks with you days after watching it. Overall, The Abomination is a must own for genre fans and this release from Visual Vengeance needs to be on collector’s shelves. Check it out.
Special Features:
Region Free Blu-ray
New producer-supervised SD master from original tape source
Commentary with Director Bret McCormick, Rob Hauschild and Matt Desiderio of Visual Vengeance
Commentary with Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine
“Monster Kid Movie Maverick” – Brand New, Feature-Length Bret McCormick Interview (2022)
Actress Blue Thompson Interview (2022)
Actress Victoria Chaney Interview (2022)
Interview with The Abomination’s Original VHS distributor: Michael Jack Shoel (Donna Michelle Productions) (2022)
The Abomination – Filming Locations Tour (2022)
Super 8 Outtakes and Raw Footage – Reel 1
Super 8 Outtakes and Raw Footage – Reel 2
Behind The Scenes “The Stairway”
Behind The Scenes “Tumor Test”
Image Gallery
Interview with “The Abomination”
Bret McCormick – Original Super 8 Films
Visual Vengeance Trailer
Bret McCormick Trailer Archive
6 page Booklet with Essay by Tony Strauss
‘Stick Your Own’ VHS Sticker Set
Reversible Sleeve Featuring Original VHS Art
Optional English subtitles
