User reviews

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

Six months after a climbing accident in Suicide Rock in which his cable snapped and his wife died, the crippled Rogers (Matt McCoy) returns to Flatwoods on a wheel chair nursed by Otis Wilhelm (Christien Tinsley) as part of the treatment prescribed by Dr. Rainer. They lodge in Preston's cottage and sooner Preston sees a pair of huge red eyes in the woods. He tells Otis, but he believes Preston is paranoid. Later he sees his blonde next door neighbor Karen Herdberger (Ashley Hartman) vanishing in the woods and he tries to tell her friends, but the girls believe he is a pervert peeping them. Without phone lines, Preston uses his Internet through satellite to communicate with the police, but they do not give credit to his words. In despair, Preston tries to communicate with his neighbors. Meanwhile Ziegler Dane (Lance Henriksen), Billy Hoss (Rex Linn) and their friend (Jeffrey Comb) are hunting the animal that is killing the cattle in Hoss's farm. When Ziegler finds the wounded Karen in a cave, he realizes that his friends and he are in danger.

The B-movie "Abominable" is a funny entertainment that uses the idea of "Rear Window", i.e., a man confined to his home that witnesses that there is something out there but he is not able to move or to communicate with other people, associated to the legend of the Bigfoot a.k.a. Sasquatch. This is the type of a good "bad movie", with many flaws, silly situations, naked woman etc. that is enjoyable in the end. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Abominável" ("Abominable")

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!

Preston Rogers (Matt McCoy) heads back to his cabin in the mountains for the first time since an accident left him paralyzed and took his wife's life. With his nurse in tow, Preston makes his way into the high wilderness. Sadly, Preston's nurse is a useless imbecile named Otis (Christien Tinsley), who thinks that Preston is just a big baby, as well as an unwanted burden.

While he's getting settled in, Preston sees that a group of fun-loving, young women have arrived at the cabin next door. As night falls, having been abandoned for the day by Otis, Preston realizes that something else has also arrived. While he watches, in helpless REAR WINDOW fashion, his new neighbors suffer the brutal attacks of the titular titan.

ABOMINABLE is a pretty good take on the Bigfoot phenomenon. This yeti is no joke! It's no lumbering giant, and is very quick. It also has quite the tendency toward savage mutilation! The monster is well-realized and menacing.

McCoy is convincing in his role, and the rest of the cast is serviceable as monster fodder, including the wonderful Tiffany Shepis, who has the second best death scene in the movie, literally going "head over heels"! The best such scene involves Otis' "big headache", which will make gorehounds giddy with glee!

Some fantastic cameo appearances add to the fun, including Dee Wallace-Stone, Lance Henriksen, Jeffrey Combs, and Paul Gleason!

Overall, not bad, although, the one question that kept coming up was, "Don't cabins have curtains?"...

Kudos to writer / director Ryan Schifrin for doing his part in keeping monster movies alive: this is actually a pretty good horror film in general, and one of the better efforts in the "Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Yeti" sub genre. It benefits from some good shocks *and* suspense, solid atmosphere, a real sense of isolation, and a formidable monster.

Schifrin is able to put a spin on his film by crossing it with "Rear Window", in which the protagonist is a paraplegic (ever-likeable Matt McCoy as Preston Rogers), who's able to tell early on that something scary is going on. He's returned home to his mountain cabin, in the company of a jerk caregiver named Otis (Christien Tinsley, also the films' creature and makeup effects designer), and notices that some attractive young women have taken up temporary residence in the cabin across from him. However, he realizes that a monster is in the area, and has to rely on his own wits since any attempt to contact authorities is met with disdain.

Veteran monster actor Mike Deak plays the creature, who's given an appropriately ugly visage by Tinsley. This particular Bigfoot is VERY nasty, and very stealthy. One of the best moments occurs when Preston looks out his window, and the creature is looking in at him. Another unqualified highlight is a characters' demise around the 77/78 minute mark. Gore hounds will laugh in appreciation.

The film isn't free from flaws, or the usual quota of truly dumb characters, but overall it's definitely enjoyable. One of its main assets is a spooky score by veteran composer Lalo Schifrin (the directors' father), and it DOES have a sense of humor to go with the chills. (Lance Henriksen, playing a hunter, tells a story of a Darwin Award winner, and then proceeds to make the classic dumb horror film mistake of wandering off on his own.)

McCoy gives a creditable, low-key performance in the lead role, and Schifrin populates his story with guest appearances by a variety of familiar faces: Jeffrey Combs, Paul Gleason, Rex Linn, Phil Morris, Tiffany Shepis, Dee Wallace. Schifrin himself can be glimpsed as a gas station attendant. For a guy who's usually not an actor, Tinsley is quite amusing in his portrayal.

Good fun from start to finish, with a priceless final shot.

Seven out of 10.

After seeing a lot of positive reviews here I was looking forward to a nice uncomplicated horror movie.

The opening scene was promising, creepy atmosphere, good sound effects, some gore. The first half of the movie was able to live up to expectation. Even though the sound effects where overdone and sometimes inappropriate, the movie kept a grip.

This tension was however totally lost when we get to see the full monster at about half way. No creepy sounds or gory murders during the rest of the movie could make up for this abominable cheap Halloween costume.

This creature simply should have stayed in the dark...

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.

Many people are saying how bad and horrible this movie is. I would have to disagree. This may not be an academy award winner, but compared to other SciFi channel movies (such as King Kobra Vs Komodo, released the week after), it is much better. It is probably the bets SciFi original I've ever seen, with the exception of Dog Soldiers. This movie was also not filled to the top with hundreds of C.G.I monsters and effects. Anyone you ask will say, a guy in a monster suit, looks better than some C.G.I monster. The story is about 5 young girls, who go to a cabin, for a relaxing vacation. In the cabin next to them is Preston Rogers, a crippled man, and his assistant Otis. During the movie, many people are killed by this enormous Yeti, as Preston basically watches from his window, the whole movie. Of course the police won't believe that the monster is real. The acting isn't great, but it isn't horrible. Some notable people are in this movie such as Lance Henriksen, Dee Wallace-Stone, and Ashley Hartman or "The O.C". Overall this movie is a good and entertaining watch, with a lot of gore. Abominable is rated R, and stars Haley Joel, Karin Anna Cheung, Lance Henrikson, Paul Gleason, Matt McCoy, and Ashely Hartman

Ryan Schifrin, the director of this flick wasn't well known until he appeared in Hatchet 2 as a featured hunter, uncredited but still he could say he was in Hatchet 2. I guess due that reason that suddenly Abominable came available here 5 years after its release. Still you could pick it up here immediately on the sale shelves. So that means a lot. For us Europeans Bigfoot doesn't mean a thing. Okay, you had the comedy Harry and the Hendersons concerning Bigfoot. Nevertheless, this one here also had some appearances of well known horror actors. For instance, Jeffrey Combs is in it for his faces he can make, and Lance Henriksen is in it to play the tough guy. But be aware, both are only a few moments in it. Tiffany Shepis, also one of those well known actresses in the genre is in it and guess what, you can see her again in full nudity. And there are more names, too many to mention. And that's the problem, names doesn't make a movie. Scripts do and here it fails a bit. I must say that a few killings are indeed gory but when Tiffany dies watch the blood sputtering on the wall above the window, next shot, blood is gone and those mistakes tear a flick down for me. One attack by the Sasquatch is worth mentioning, won't spoil it but you will surely recognise it. But really, nothing happens for a lot here, a few attacks and that is it. You can see the end coming once it appears, you really know what's going to happen. No suspense although the effects used and make up for the Yeti were well done. If he had made it like Hatchet well, a classic it would be but for know it is what the title says, abominable.

It isn't very good, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it abominable. A man who had his legs paralyzed in a mountain climbing accident that killed his wife goes to spend a few weeks at a remote cabin by the woods, cared for by his new live-in male nurse. The only other building nearby is the house next door which is occupied by a party of shapely giggling bimbos. Sitting in his wheelchair looking out the window with binoculars like in REAR WINDOW, the poor guy sees a large dark humanoid figure lurking in the forest just before one girl disappears. Of course nobody believes him. He soon realizes they're all being stalked by a ferocious killer Sasquatch! Long gone are the days of 1970s style Sasquatch/Bigfoot movies, in which viewers were encouraged to sympathize with the misundetstood creature and see him/it as just a part of nature. This beast is a mean, violent, superstrong meat-eating predator that attacks humans unprovoked and lives in a cave full of bones. The earlier portions of the movie are fairly tense and scary in an old-fashioned "monster on the loose" sort of way. But once the creature reveals itself and launches an all-out assault, the movie falls victim to some terribly poorly blocked and staged action scenes. A man has the entire front half of his head chomped off and we see his legs dangling beneath without so much as a drop of blood running down. To make this effect appear convincing, they would have needed to pretty much empty a bucket of stage blood onto the floor. There are several gruesome deaths in ABOMINABLE but the victims' bodies all seem to have been filled with gelatinous, extra-thick cherry pie filling instead of anything resembling human blood in its normal liquid state. The Sasquatch gets an axehead that appears to be all of eight inches from end to end stuck about an inch deep in his back, and when he's shoved back first against a tree, the axe absurdly gets pushed all the way through his enormous thick body, sticking out of his chest. (Did it suddenly grow several inches longer? Where did the handle go? And why didn't the exposed end of the axehead stick in the tree? The Sasquatch has bones, doesn't he?) When a car crashes, the driver is thrown through the windshield but a passenger is inexplicably hurled sideways. One stunt after another is botched, ruining any sense of realism. And that's a shame, because the acting and dialogue are perfectly serviceable and an eerie feeling of helpless isolation is established early on and is well maintained through most of the movie, creating a creepy mood that is wrecked by the phony action and effects work that comes along in the last third, making suspension of one's disbelief ever more difficult. The monster is an impressive creation, standing about 7 feet tall with long brown fur, an ugly snarling face and a broad mouth full of gigantic sharp teeth. He's one of the best (and scariest) Bigfoot suit designs I've seen. Genre regulars Lance Henriksen and Jeffrey Combs appear briefly as dumbbells on an ill-prepared Sasquatch hunting trip who quickly end up as Purina Yeti Chow. ABOMINABLE premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel, so you know it can't be too good, but it's still a better-than-average man-in-a-suit monster rampage movie in an agreeably simple, old-fashioned format. If only they'd go back and reshoot the action stuff..... Oh, and while they're at it, it might be a good idea to leave out the shot in which the hero tells a cop to "send in the Calvary", when he meant to say "cavalry".

This has got to be one of the worst piles of crap I've ever had the misfortune of witnessing!!! I actually feel dumber after watching this rubbish.

I don't know what was worse... the script, the acting, or the "effects". There's an hour and a half of my life that I'll never , ever get back... I love B movies but this was not even funny! Total pants! I was actually praying for death by the end of the movie. The fact that any of the pitiful characters actually made it out alive was a disappointment in itself. I actually wanted the Bigfoot (some guy in a crappy suit)to kill all of them just for the bad acting alone! watch it if you want... but be warned!

Up until recently i was always disappointed in the lack of true monster movies, some of my best early memories were of staying up late to watch such films as "Snowbeast", "the abominable snowman", the hammer movies, abbot and Costello and a little more recently "the howling" and "Dog Soldiers".

Todays monster movies (i.e "cursed" and "the relic") are little more than a barrel of poor cgi effects and some throwaway supernatural plot, Long gone were the days of prosthetics and make up effects. Monsters that you could reach out and touch and not soon to be dated computer generated beasties.

But just a few weeks ago i discovered "Abominable" and was genuinely excited at the prospect of a yeti tearing around a mountain side resort.

The story taking on a more unconventional form of viewing, revolves around a crippled ex mountain climber "Preston" released from a mental institution and left in the care of orderly "Otis", Together they stay in Preston's mountain home not far from the mountain were he was crippled and his wife killed in a climbing accident.

Naturaly Preston unable to leave his accommodation due to his condition starts to witness the grisly acts of the local yeti, with Otis naturally believing him to be a nut job and trying to sedate him.

This is were the film works best, with our hero unable to leave his home he as to find resourceful ways of warning his neighbours ( a house full of nubile young ladies. Yummy.) and nearly all the action taking place from his perspective out of his window.

The film is enormous fun through-out and has great twist ending ( maybe a little predictable, but if you plan on taking a monster film seriously, you shouldn't be watching one) The film as some great cameos from the likes of Lance Henricksen, Jeffrey Combs and Dee Wallace Stone and is directed by Ryan Schifrin son of Lalo Schifrin (The man behind the Enter the Dragon theme) who also provides the excellent score to the film.

So if you miss the good old days of monster movies give "Abominable" a whirl and relive those classic monster memories!

I bought this one for the dvdcover which shows a scarier monster than is actually in the film and that is my only negative comment : the monster's face. It was almost laughable and thats a shame because this low-budget movie is well-made, it makes me wonder what the director could do with a bigger budget. Protagonist Matt McCoy is one of those actors you've seen before but you can't seem the recall from what movie, anyway he's good in this one, putting him in a wheelchair was a good move as it restricts his movements and creates a tension when the monster comes into view. I won't go into much detail, the other characters aren't worth mentioning (the male nurse is annoying), there is some nudity, a big monster, not too much gore and some cliché characters. All in all, 90 minutes well spend but Harry & the Hendersons is still my favorite Sasquatch movie.

The whole mythos surrounding "Bigfoot", "The Abominable Snowman", or "Sasquatch" is an enthralling one, captivating the general public since the first alleged Bigfoot sightings in the early 1950s. A number of Bigfoot films have been made, capitalizing on the general population's interest in these anomalies. Needless to say, many of these films have gone relatively unnoticed or dismissed as the campiest of B-Movies (excluding Hammer Studios' 1957 classic 'The Abominable Snowman'). This brings us to Ryan Schifrin's feature-length directorial debut 'Abominable'. Not since 1957 has such an enthralling, riveting, yet original picture hit the screens pertaining to this subject matter - a true creature feature with a Hitchcockian twist.

'Abominable' begins with the paraplegic Preston Rogers (Matt McCoy) traveling up to his mountain-home for the first time in six months after recovering from a mountain-climbing accident. Preston is accompanied by Otis (Christien Tinsley), an impatient and condescending physical therapist (The viewer soon learns from a local newspaper that the town has received an alleged "Bigfoot" report from a local resident). Preston soon reaches his cabin. As the evening progresses, he resides on his deck (overlooking the forest and a neighboring house) gazing off into the woods through a pair of binoculars. When Otis steps out to get a carton of soy milk for Preston at the nearest store, a group of girls arrive at the neighboring house. At the same time Preston soon begins to notice strange happenings in the woods surrounding the neighboring house and watches helplessly as the tragic events of the night unfold.

Standing drastically alone from the pseudo-horror produced by major (and minor) studios of this day and age, 'Abominable' is an excellent, extremely original, and extremely unrelenting film. The film accomplishes an atmosphere and storyline unachieved and untouched since the heydays of drive-in horror that were the 1950s through the 1980s. 'Abominable' possesses a certain quality which has been vacant within the horror genre (especially the monster-movie sub-genre) for years and years: it is devoid of CGI. The Monster (Michael Deak) is, in fact, a man in a suit! To some, this conjures up a question; does the suit look excessively "cheesy" and unrealistic? Fortunately it does not; the effects used are executed quite well and The Monster doesn't generate a phony-vibe in the least. Many of the facial movements of The Monster seem to be achieved through robotics (ala 'An American Werewolf in London') and the result looks extremely realistic and life-like. The film's plot is the result of a winning combination; it features the classic creature-feature storyline, coupled with a very Hitchcock-styled, 'Rear Window'-esquire, premise. The screenplay is excellent; practically all of the events within the film are experienced from Preston's helpless perspective. Whether it is at his window or on his balcony, Preston overlooks almost the entire series of events, giving the film an extremely claustrophobic and helpless atmosphere. The cinematography and lighting are also ingenious; the shadowy woods seen from the balcony add depth and an eerie uneasiness to the film. Matt McCoy proves himself to be an excellent actor, as does Christien Tinsley, but the character interactions between McCoy and Haley Joel prove to be the true acting highpoint within the film. A broad range of emotions are showcased between the two, all of which are executed with precision.

'Abominable' achieves a certain charm lacking in practically all horror films of this day and age. It showcases a style of film-making that has been lost, a style of film-making that is the horror genre: the classic monster movie. No, it doesn't have "breathtaking CGI", no the plot is not Steven King-worthy, but it manages to entertain and it manages to illustrate that which is the embodiment of American horror. Schifrin's film stands firmly as an instant cult-classic, on par with great titles and counterparts (dare I say) of the 1980s such as 'Pumpkinhead', 'An American Werewolf in London', and 'Prophecy'. 'Abominable' stands alone in a time when horror has gone to the dogs; it breaks the trend of spineless PG-13 horror films and shatters the standards of pointless special effects showcases such as 'Cursed'. The creature feature is back ladies and gentlemen, and in full force. The way horror should be – "Abominable".

Overall I would have rated this a 5 or a 6 if I am honest. You can tell it is low budget and it is quite flawed ... yet you can also tell it has a lot of heart. The monster is not seen in the beginning, something Jaws established (by accident) - and makes the movie more terrifying.

You also have the all star cast if you think about it. Not sure how all those talented and well known people (mostly in the horror community) got cast ... but they are here and they make it a better movie by just appearing. But what gave this the push to make me go "7" is the ending ... while it seems quite cliche, it packs a punch that really has quite the power behind it.