Le Redoutable Homme des neiges

It's rather strange seeing Hammer horror in black and white after all the vibrant colours that their later offerings show off so boldly; but the black and white gives it that old monster movie feel (which is what the movie is anyway...) and it's a good factor for that reason. It's true that this isn't Hammer's finest work, but it's a very nice early offering; and shows some early ingeniousness of the studio. That's what I like best about Hammer Horror; when you see one of their movies, you know that you're going to be in for a fun and imaginative ride and this film certainly delivers on that front. The plot follows botanist Peter Cushing as he joins a group of arctic explorers that go off into the Himalayas in search of the mythical beast - the Yeti. The film then follows, in adventure style, their misadventure as they come face to face with the beast itself and get more than they bargained for...

The snow setting gives the film a feeling of isolation that invokes a constant feeling of dread and we get the impression that if something bad does happen - there wont be anyone there to save our hero's. This mind game has been carried off in many films since this one (Alien, most notably), but here is a good early example of that. The film is also different from most other horror films as it handles a subject and a monster that hasn't often been covered. This sets it apart in a good way as it's something different from the viewer and also goes some way to showing Hammer's inventiveness as most studios are happy to continue taking the safe option and making horror films that have been tried and tested. The fact that the Yeti doesn't appear for much of the film will no doubt annoy some viewers, and it did me somewhat, but it helps the film as it ensures that the audience will be intrigued to finally see the monster. The film is very well paced and doesn't get boring either, which is a plus.

As I said, this isn't Hammer's best film. However; it's definitely well worth tracking down for the Hammer fan, and people in general that want to see a good monster movie.

I can remember barely being able to keep my eyes open watching this on a late night horror movie show, because it's not a movie for kids. Didn't realize that then, and so I always remembered it as being a pretty weak film. However, a viewing of the widescreen laserdisc version left me with a strong impression of a very fine adult feature that is more a thriller than a horror film. It lives up to the reputation of Hammer during this period, and of course that of Peter Cushing as the premier actor of the studio. Even Forrest Tucker's typical heavy-handed hamminess cannot take away from this absorbing tale of scientific endeavor clashing with crass commercialism, with a creature of an intellect that bests the men chasing it. I must say that the whole mental telepathy plot point was completely missed upon first viewing, but then I was only 10 at the time, however it now makes all the sense in the world.

Despite the title this is really not a monster on the rampage horror movie that you might expect from Hammer. Writer Nigel Kneale goes for quirky science and director Val Guest adds atmospheric direction on a low budget in this spooky thriller.

Peter Cushing is principled botanist John Rollason searching for evidence of the Yeti in the Himalayas with an expedition team that includes dodgy Forrest Tucker who is more like a sinister Barnum type showman looking for monetary gain by capturing a Yeti.

The creature is very much kept off screen for a lot of the time as Kneale explores humanity's darker side as represented by the likes of Tucker. It is suggested that the Yeti are gentle, intelligent beings from a superior civilisation that one day will take over from humans and Rollason does not view them as monsters.

The film has a moral message aimed at perils of human greed and its penchant for destruction.

Dr. John Rollason (Peter Cushing), his wife, Helen (Maureen Connell), and a colleague, Peter Fox (Richard Wattis), have traveled to a remote location in the Himalayas, ostensibly to study rare plant specimens. However, Helen and Peter soon learn that John had an ulterior motive, when he reveals that a ragtag group of explorers, headed by Dr. Tom Friend (Forrest Tucker) are on their way to meet up with John. They plan to lead a small expedition further into the mountains, in search for the infamous abominable snowman, or Yeti.

The Abominable Snowman is a marvelous combination of adventure, horror, and a film with a broader message. The beginning may seem a bit slow to younger viewers, but it is crucial to the plot, and Peter Cushing, as always, turns in a tremendous performance. The monastery setting seems authentic, as do the climbing shots that follow, even though most of the film was shot in Hammer's UK studios and the mountains are actually the Pyrenees in France.

It doesn't take long for director Val Guest to build tension, first dramatically with the ulterior motive revelation and the conflict is causes between John and his wife, then during the Friend expedition's climb, and most importantly, when our crew nears the Yeti. Because the creature effects, especially in the 1950s, can't rival the viewer's imagination, Guest wisely keeps the creatures off-screen for the bulk of the film, and when we see more, it's in heavy shadows. This makes the Yeti material extremely effective.

The message at the end is sincere and poignant, as it also would have been at the time of the film's release, when anthropological exploration of seemingly alien cultures was still regular, captivating news.

Overall a 9 out of 10 for me, and very close to being a 10.

Hammer's first 'real' horror film – this one preceded THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN by a few months – is a quaint, quintessentially '50s monster movie, with a typical British slant: the focus is on the psychology of the characters involved, rather than pure action and thrills as you'd expect from the Hollywood equivalent. As a result, this film is quite slowly paced (although not leaden) and short on the actual adrenaline of man-vs-beast action, but nevertheless it proves to be an efficient exercise in increasing tension, helmed by the able Val Guest.

Peter Cushing takes the lead role of the kindly scientist, whose idea is to capture and study the Yeti, rather than use it to make money through entertainment. Essentially, he plays the same type of dedicated good guy as in most of his Hammer horror films, and he's great as usual. Forrest Tucker is the American co-star, his presence here to draw in the overseas markets; he's the mountaineer with a ruthless secret and essentially the film's villain. The rest of the cast are made up of pretty women (Cushing's wife), scared natives (the Sherpas) and stuffy British types (get a load of that guy 'Foxy').

The movie is well shot and has a fair few effects shots; all of them are cheap, and you can see how most were created, but they're nevertheless charming. The Yeti is wisely hidden for most of the film, only appearing in a brief shadowy instance at the climax, and is all the more thought-provoking and weirdly disturbing for it. The plot, when all is said and done, is little more than a threadbare mystery a la Agatha Christie, with the cast being picked off one by one whilst the Yetis lurk and howl in the background. The plus side is that Nigel Kneale's script is excellent and the human psychology of the key players is always true-to-life, just as in the QUATERMASS films; as a result, this low-budget movie is actually a lot better than it probably should be.