Abominable (2006)

It’s time for Ryan Schifrin to make a sequel to Abominable, because with his talent and the quality of this creature feature it can’t go bad – and the ending is a perfect, well-used cliché which actually works. It’s a low budget movie, which can be noticed with the crappy pre-credits graphics, but the rest is so damn on-the-spot that it’s difficult to understand this was a SyFy Original Movie when it was released in 2006.

Matt McCoy (in a great performance, one of the few really likable heroes I’ve seen in recent years) is trapped in a wheelchair after a climbing-accident that also killed his wife. After six months the doctors think he’s read to go back to his own home, in the shadow of the mountain that killed her, together with a male nurse, Otis (Christien Tinsley, who also was the creature effects coordinator). It don’t take long until something is lurking outside the house, and soon our hero will witness how the young beautiful women in the house next door is picked off one by one…

No, it’s not Jason… It’s Bigfoot!

Actually, if you mix the Bigfoot-legend with Friday the 13^th and Rear Window you will get Abominable, and what a wonderful mix. Ryan Schifrin handles the direction as a pro and the style is old-school, calm and genuinely thrilling. He learned from the old masters, and it’s hard not to feel involved in the characters. McCoy as Preston Rogers is the best written character, and everything evolves around him. We’re seeing most of what’s happening from his point of view and not one single time are we visiting the opposite house by “ourselves”. Exactly like in Rear Window. The girls are good, but they have little to work with. Most of the supporting parts is played by excellent character actors like Jeffrey Combs, Lance Henriksen (who seem to enjoy playing just an ordinary guy!), Paul Gleason, Rex Linn and Dee Wallace.

The monster itself is fantastic. A classic man in suit, but with a very freaky face and tall as a house. He also delivers some very fun and nasty gore-scenes and the havoc he’s creating in the girls house is so cool. Some very smart editing makes everything seem more spectacular and advanced. He looks a lot like Jack Elam too, which makes it even scarier. A slightly human face which makes us connect to the creature a little bit more, and it feels more like a huge motherf**king hairy killer than a typical Bigfoot.

It’s been talk about a sequel ever since this movie became a huge success on TV and DVD, and it would have been a fantastic opportunity to spin this movie up one notch. More monsters, more gore, more cool characters – and hopefully Matt McCoy back in the wheelchair.

I’ll cross my fingers!