Abominable is set in the rocky mountains of Flatwood where wheelchair bound Preston Rogers (Matt McCoy) returns home after an accident on the nearby ominously named 'Suicide Rock' which left him crippled & his wife dead. He has a male nurse named Oatis (Christien Tinsley) to look after him & a nice big house to enjoy the view, meanwhile next door five young teenage girls arrive for a holiday. While looking out of his window Preston witnesses one of the girls Karen (Ashley Hartman) forcibly taken by something big, hairy & has glowing red eyes. Unfortunately no-one believes him, well that is until the big, hairy & red eyed creature comes back to brutally kill everyone else...
Written & directed by Ryan Schifrin this cross between Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) & the infamous once banned in the UK gory Bigfoot flick Night of the Demon (1980) is an OK time waster & watchable in it's own right but nothing particularly special. The script by Schifrin takes itself pretty seriously & is alright, it moves along at a decent pace & tells a reasonable story in a fairly interesting & unusual way however it's far from perfect. While the Rear Window comparisons are valid the two don't compare as the mystery & suspense of the Hitchcock film just isn't here, I mean we know that there's a killer Bigfoot creature running around so there's no mystery as to whether Preston is imagining it or not. The comparison to Night of the Demon is also valid as it's the only other Bigfoot gore film I can think of, unfortunately Abominable is nowhere near as fun, gory, exploitative or memorable as the obscure 80's shocker is. The character's are alright although the girls aren't developed much as they arrive & promptly get killed off pretty quickly, the police act like idiots & I don't care what anyone says if they get a call for help surely they have to respond whether they think it's a hoax or not? Anyway, it moves along at a nice enough pace, the dialogue is OK, the character's are likable enough & there's some decent gore as well. It'll pass 90 odd minutes harmlessly enough if you are into these cheap sci-fi horror type flicks which I am, I've seen better but at the same time I've definitely seen worse.
Director Schifrin does alright, he doesn't really do anything with the location which could have been a major factor in the film. I'm not sure I'd say Abominable was scary because I don't think it is but there are a few effective moments in it. There are a few scenes of gore including a deer with it's stomach ripped open & it's guts spread everywhere, a woman with her stomach ripped open, someone who gets bent in half, the Bigfoot punches someone is the stomach which makes her guts fly out & the films best bit where someone literally has the front of their face bitten off. The special effects are decent enough although the Bigfoot creature does look a bit like a big wrestler dressed in a furry outfit.
Technically the film is fine & is well made, apparently shot in Culver City & Ldyllwild in California. Ryan Schifrin obviously convinced his dad legendary composer Lalo to do the music. The acting is OK & Abominable feature cameos from two genre legends, the always fantastic Lance Henriksen (I love the moment where he finds the girl with her stomach ripped open & he says 'f*ck me... that's gross'!) & an almost unrecognisable Jeffrey Combs sporting long hair, a face load of stubble & horribly dated glasses. The prospect of these two along with Dee Wallace (The Howling (1981), E.T. (1982) & Cujo (1983)) & Paul Gleason in his last role in the same film is great, unfortunately they make small cameos & are wasted which is a shame but nothings perfect I suppose. Minor horror/porn actress Tiffany Shepis also appears as one of the victims.
Abominable is an OK way to pass the time if there's nothing else on, I don't think I'd want to spend any money on it though & actually buy or rent it. Worth a watch but nothing life changing.
Written & directed by Ryan Schifrin this cross between Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) & the infamous once banned in the UK gory Bigfoot flick Night of the Demon (1980) is an OK time waster & watchable in it's own right but nothing particularly special. The script by Schifrin takes itself pretty seriously & is alright, it moves along at a decent pace & tells a reasonable story in a fairly interesting & unusual way however it's far from perfect. While the Rear Window comparisons are valid the two don't compare as the mystery & suspense of the Hitchcock film just isn't here, I mean we know that there's a killer Bigfoot creature running around so there's no mystery as to whether Preston is imagining it or not. The comparison to Night of the Demon is also valid as it's the only other Bigfoot gore film I can think of, unfortunately Abominable is nowhere near as fun, gory, exploitative or memorable as the obscure 80's shocker is. The character's are alright although the girls aren't developed much as they arrive & promptly get killed off pretty quickly, the police act like idiots & I don't care what anyone says if they get a call for help surely they have to respond whether they think it's a hoax or not? Anyway, it moves along at a nice enough pace, the dialogue is OK, the character's are likable enough & there's some decent gore as well. It'll pass 90 odd minutes harmlessly enough if you are into these cheap sci-fi horror type flicks which I am, I've seen better but at the same time I've definitely seen worse.
Director Schifrin does alright, he doesn't really do anything with the location which could have been a major factor in the film. I'm not sure I'd say Abominable was scary because I don't think it is but there are a few effective moments in it. There are a few scenes of gore including a deer with it's stomach ripped open & it's guts spread everywhere, a woman with her stomach ripped open, someone who gets bent in half, the Bigfoot punches someone is the stomach which makes her guts fly out & the films best bit where someone literally has the front of their face bitten off. The special effects are decent enough although the Bigfoot creature does look a bit like a big wrestler dressed in a furry outfit.
Technically the film is fine & is well made, apparently shot in Culver City & Ldyllwild in California. Ryan Schifrin obviously convinced his dad legendary composer Lalo to do the music. The acting is OK & Abominable feature cameos from two genre legends, the always fantastic Lance Henriksen (I love the moment where he finds the girl with her stomach ripped open & he says 'f*ck me... that's gross'!) & an almost unrecognisable Jeffrey Combs sporting long hair, a face load of stubble & horribly dated glasses. The prospect of these two along with Dee Wallace (The Howling (1981), E.T. (1982) & Cujo (1983)) & Paul Gleason in his last role in the same film is great, unfortunately they make small cameos & are wasted which is a shame but nothings perfect I suppose. Minor horror/porn actress Tiffany Shepis also appears as one of the victims.
Abominable is an OK way to pass the time if there's nothing else on, I don't think I'd want to spend any money on it though & actually buy or rent it. Worth a watch but nothing life changing.