Abominable: We've Hunted it for Years, but What Happens when it Decides to Hunt Us?

Although Sasquatch, Bigfoot, the abominable snowman, and/or yeti are one of my favorite myths, my expectations for this movie were not that high. For me, 75% of the entertainment value in a Bigfoot movie is how well the creature is done. Which means I haven't found many Bigfoot movies I like a lot because most of the time the creature effects are awful. Either you don't get to see the creature enough or the effects are so bad that you don't want to see the creature.

As for Abominable's creature effects, in my opinion, they deserve a C+ grade meaning that I didn't love it but it wasn't so awful it ruined the movie for me. The biggest problem I had with the creature and the only problem I really had with the movie at all was the face. I personally thought it was a little too human like and a little too big. I understand there was a lot of mechanics involved in the head and that's why it was as big as it was.

I just wish they had more resources to make the face more proportionate or scaled down some and more beast-like. As for the rest of the effects, they deserve A+++. Some of the kill scenes rival anything I have seen in other movies like Final Destination or The Hills Have Eyes remake. I'm so glad I decided to wait for this movie to be released on DVD instead of watching it on the sci-fi channel. I hate edited horror movies.

The story surprisingly enough was not that bad either. Maybe it's just me being that I'm disabled but I thought there were some pretty tense moments. I mean you have a man who's disabled, stuck in a house and the only way out is a huge staircase. His caretaker is more of a hindrance than a help and now he has something stalking him that can't be reasoned with so he has to use the one weapon he does have his mind ala Hitchcock's "Rear Window". If matters couldn't get any worse the big hairy creature knocks down the phone lines and it's up to him to save his next-door neighbors - a group of girls looking for a weekend away.

The acting is not the best I have ever seen but it's, by far, not the worst either and I was somewhat shocked at all the familiar faces. I mean you have three of the most recognizable names in horror all in the same film Lance Henriksen, Jeffrey combs, and Dee Wallace. I don't want to mislead you though - none of them have huge parts however their scenes are greatly entertaining, especially the ones with Lance. I do think they could have dealt a little bit more with the back story of Matt McCoy's character, Preston Rogers. It is briefly discussed how he got in the wheelchair but I assumed there would be more flashbacks that might show he had a previous encounter with the beast. However it seemed as if that idea was dropped after the first 15 minutes.

There was definitely a throwback feeling for me with Abominable. It reminded me a lot of the creature features that got me interested in horror to begin with. It does start out a little slow but once the creature begins to be revealed, it picks up a lot of steam and doesn't let up until the credits. This is definitely a movie I would add to my library. There are some typical cliché horror moments but one of which made me jump. Overall it was an enjoyable experience and I believe it deserves at least 3.5/5 stars.