Abominable

Matt McCoy (perhaps best known as Commandant Lassard's nephew, from the last two "Police Academy" sequels) plays Preston Rogers. A paraplegic widower, whose wife died six months before the opening credits, in a mountain-climbing accident. This has left him with agoraphobia (fear of the outdoors), which his psychiatrist has ordered him to face, head on, at the old mountain cabin.

Accompanying him is Otis, a somewhat patronizing physio-therapist. And, while he goes shopping for some non-allergenic milk, five gorgeous young women arrive at the ritzy cabin next door, for some kind of bachelorette party weekend.

Wouldn't you know it? That's when the local Bigfoot arrives, as well. And, the first victim it takes is Karen, the blonde who's more addicted to cellphones than that spokes-guy in the commercials.

Pres doesn't know it was the Monster until he sees its glowing red eyes. The first time: peering at him from the edge of the woods. The second time: peering at him right through the glass of his own backporch window, after he's been forced to tranquilize the disbelieving Otis!

Finally, we get to see the Monster full-scale. And, that's where my two-point deduction comes in. The movie's title kind of described the prosthetic Bigfoot costume! Sorry, Mr. Deak. But, that get-up made you look like a Jack Elam impersonator, with hypertrichosis, more than anything else.

Even so, the rest of the movie was very suspenseful. I empathized with Pres' self-doubt; so much like William Shatner's, in the classic TWILIGHT ZONE episode, "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet." I loved the fairly big-name cameos by various SF veterans (especially, Lance Henriksen). And, there was only one gratuitous nude death-scene, among the five women. Thank you, SciFi Channel!

Practice is finally making perfect, with your made-for-TV movies.

Just a couple nitpicks, before I go. With all due respect to that "crypto-zoologist" interviewed on the Internet? Yetis and Bigfeet are supposed to be one-and-the-same things! Just separated, geographically.

And, the name of the nearby town; Flat Woods? Written as one word, that's the name of the actual West Virginia town that had the first-ever reported case of a 4th-class close encounter. In September of 1952 (five years and two months after Roswell)!

Abominable is about a group of people who are attacked by a snowman minus the snow. Big Foot , sasquatch, whatever. A group of young girls trying to have some fun away from home, a group of hunters that turn into the hunted, a paraplegic and his psychopathic attendant, all get in on the act. Nothing really new as far as plot or dialog here, but nothing really bad either. Some reasonably good special effects with the monster, some anthropological realism, and some nice scenery are all part of the show. The seasoned cast has something to contribute to this and they strengthen the delivery. Pretty good entertainment if you don't have much else to do.

I saw the end of this on the Sci-Fi channel when it first came out and figured it was crap. And while it is pretty much crap, when I watched it yesterday, I realized it's crap with style and some sweet effects. I usually hate everything that the Sci-Fi channel sponsors but this one got my attention for some reason.

The acting isn't great but it isn't terrible either. I thought Jeffrey Combs was awesome and Matt McCoy was pretty good. Everyone else was average or worse. The story is pretty good and it was very interesting watching the special and seeing that influence came from Rear Window which is an all time favorite of mine. The gore was pretty sweet and I thought the creature looked pretty cool. I also enjoyed the ending. CHeck this one out for some B-movie fun!

The movies that the Sci Fi Channel premieres on Saturday nights are a decidedly mixed bag -- "mixed" meaning "bad, but watchable enough because it's free on TV". That said, Abominable is probably the best one yet and one of the few that I wouldn't have minded paying for as a rental or even in a theater (well, matinée price). Basically, it's a monster movie spliced with Rear Window, with an "abominable" man-beast as the menacing killer -- a simple story wonderfully executed with quick pacing, a strong cast of character actors, and gloriously gruesome effects. You'll appreciate it all the more next week when Boa vs. Python vs. Komodo vs. Gerbil comes on.

I have a category of movie I call a "Good, bad movie". You'll either get that statement or you won't. If you are a real movie buff, you'll appreciate the value of a good, bad movie. This is a really cool twist on the Big Foot mythology. I saw this on the Sci-Fi channel and I expected some of their usual crapola. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Certainly this isn't a masterpiece or anything. But for the obviously small budget, it was very well done. The FX were cheesy, but adequate. The script was average. But the basic plot and the cinematography set a mood that really sucks you in. It's gripping, suspenseful, and doesn't drag or bore you. Matt McCoy (Preston Rogers) was quite good, exceeding his B list status. And Haley Joel (Amanda) didn't settle for being the dumb bimbo that this part was probably written to be. She actually had a touch of depth to the character.

If you want to huddle under a blanket with your significant other and have an entertaining, suspenseful evening, I recommend Abominable.

Also, make sure you don't miss the final scene. No spoiler here, but I have to say that the final shot of the movie was B movie brilliance.

Tachyon