Do you have false memories about any specific movie? Something you’ve thought to yourself, for over a decade, was about one thing with one actor playing a specific character and then upon rewatch, you realize you were VERY far off? For me, that movie is Abominable. My neighbor came over on a Saturday at some point in my youth. My parents had the Sci-Fi channel on, and a movie called Abominable was playing. At one point, it caused my neighbor to scream and subsequently ask my dad to walk him across the street at the end of the night.
My Long-Held False Memory of Abominable
Here is my false memory of the movie. A couple goes to a cabin in a heavily forested mountain range and gets trapped inside when a freak snowstorm hits. The couple find themselves trapped in the house as Bigfoot taunts them for hours upon hours before inevitably breaking in and killing them. At one point, Lance Henrikson (in a wheelchair) joins the fray as a former Bigfoot hunter. After buying the subtitle-less MVD Blu-Ray/DVD release I realized just how wrong I was.
Abominable actually follows Preston Rogers (Matt McCoy), an affluent man who is returning to his mountain house six months after a rock climbing accident took his wife’s life, as well as his ability to walk. Preston is released into the care of a nurse named Otis Wilhelm (Christien Tinsley). Otis joins Preston at his house for a few days to help him with a sort of immersion therapy. There are also multiple stairs (like over 30) to get into the house, so Preston is essentially trapped in the house without the assistance of Otis. Amanda (Haley Joel) and her friends arrive at the house next door to Preston. Equipped with binoculars, Preston is stuck watching Bigfoot pick these girls off one by one because Otis doesn’t believe him. Can Preston warn the remaining girls? Or will they continue to call the man watching them with binoculars a creep?
Hitchcock’s Rear Window Influence on Abominable
It is very clear that writers Ryan Schifrin, James Morrison, and director Ryan Schifrin were heavily influenced by Hitchcock’s Rear Window. As someone who has only seen a handful of Hitchcock’s films, I’ll take Ryan at his word on that. While the Hitchcock reference escapes me, I was able to pick up on a few other references to Bigfoot cinema. Well, one reference and one nod. Bigfoot cinema hit the genre heavily in the late ’60s/early ’70s upon the release of the rightfully criticized Patterson–Gimlin footage. Some even say that the footage was the first Bigfoot movie. (I say that because it’s fake.)
The most noticeable reference to Bigfoot cinema is the handful of times we leave Preston’s POV and transport ourselves into the eyes of the Bigfoot itself. Bigfoot’s vision is a slightly out-of-focus image with a yellowish vignette around the outside. This homage is directly lifted from the uniquely gory Night of the Demon, which is a Bigfoot slasher film and one of the only Bigfoot films to be considered a Video Nasty.
From Off-Screen Kills to Full-On Bigfoot Slasher
Abominable tips its hat at the Bigfoot cinema of yore. As these films were pumped out en masse in the ‘70s, their popularity started waning. This meant less money was being funneled into Bigfoot films which forced the subgenre to turn into more of a tell, don’t show subgenre. Bigfoot would rip people off-screen and the outcomes would be shown post-kill (if shown at all). The first person to go missing in Abominable is thought to be killed that way, though Schifrin and Morrison have a great payoff for that character. As the kills ramp up, so does what we see. It feels like Schifrin and Morrison pay their homage to the films that led the groundwork of Bigfoot cinema and then amp it up tenfold to let the audience know, “This ain’t your grandma’s Bigfoot movie.”
We need to talk about Bigfoot itself. At its core, Abominable is a man-in-a-suit film. Actor, and Oscar-nominated/winner, Christien Tinsley also served as Creature Effects Coordinator. With the exception of one awful digital Bigfoot mouth, where it unhinges its jaws like a snake, the Bigfoot creature is astounding. On top of the Bigfoot proper, the kills are practical and exceptional. Part of my false memory surrounding this film was that it was a Sci-Fi Original, and I went into this viewing still thinking that. Upon further research, it was not. While some of the acting does feel Sci-Fi Original-ly, the effects are beyond what you would expect for a film like this.
Red Eyes or Yellow Eyes? Bigfoot and Unreliable Sightings
There’s something that Preston says in the film that was either a straight-up error or a very fortunate mistake. Aside from the necessary, “I know what I saw!” line, Preston describes the creature as having red eyes. It clearly has yellow eyes. Part of me wonders if that was intentional or not. Was this a commentary on sightings and conspiracy in general? I’ve spoken at length with a Bigfoot enthusiast/hunter as well as a few Ufologists. None of them have exaggerated their experiences to me, but as someone who is deeply ingrained in this culture, exaggeration is something we need to accept. So, is this eye-color discrepancy a goof? Or is this further commentary on sightings as a whole? I am going to say it’s the latter.
The acting in Abominable isn’t fantastic, but it’s far from schlocky B-movie acting. There are a few cameos from some horror icons. Dee Wallace has a few minutes of screen time. Part of my false memory was correct in the fact that Lance Henriksen is indeed in the film! However, like Dee Wallace, his screen time is limited. And he doesn’t waste a second of it. Paul Gleason is in the film for a few minutes and is a joy to watch. But it’s Jeffrey Combs who steals the [cameo] show. His costume makes him nearly unrecognizable, and he chews up the scenery more than the constant chain of cigarettes in his mouth.
Is Abominable Worth Watching?
What’s most impressive about Abominable is that it’s a film for Bigfoot cinema fans as well as people who don’t really have an interest in the hairy cryptid. (Yes, I called Bigfoot a cryptid, fight me.) Abominable pays its dues to the films before it and still finds new and creative ways to make it fresh and fun. At a lean hour and 34 minutes, this film doesn’t overstay its welcome and will delight and please all ages of horror fans. That being said, I do not recommend the MVD release. There are no subtitles, and the intro from Ryan Schifrin feels like he’s doing a chore. If you have the physical copy, maybe watch it without his intro. It tainted the first 10 minutes of my viewing experience.
