Abominable is a 2006 monster film directed by Ryan Schifrin, starring Matt McCoy, Jeffrey Combs, Phil Morris, Haley Joel, and Paul Gleason. The film follows a man, crippled in a climbing accident, who returns to his cabin in the woods as part of his rehabilitation, but discovers Bigfoot is in the woods killing people.

This movie has a good story but unfortunately it’s by the numbers. If you’ve ever seen any creature feature you know the story, know the climax, and know the ending. It doesn’t do anything new for the mythology of Bigfoot nor is it as compelling as it could’ve been. The story definitely feels rushed and because of it we aren’t given enough time to establish ourselves with the characters or even witness any kind of arc. Preston’s rehabilitation is touched upon but because of the pacing don’t see him dealing with the emotional weight of losing his wife, Any kind of relationship that could’ve developed between Preston and Otis is explored. We don’t get an arc for Otis. We don’t get an arc for any of the young ladies that show up.

Now, that’s not to say that the story can’t be entertaining but it lacks the finesse to deliver a compelling story. I can say that the climax was actually pretty damn good and the most entertaining bit. The ending is actually unnecessary. I’ve never understood the need to make a sequel bait down ending. Of course the creature is killed but why make it seem like there’s a shit ton of them if the movie doesn’t support it? The movie’s predictable, it rushes with time to build suspense, and it lacks any kind of character development. Still, I was entertained. (2 out of 5)

The characters are completely forgettable, canon fodder for the most part. It’s a shame because our main protagonist, Preston Rogers (McCoy) actually had an interesting backstory. Six months prior to the story we learn that his wife died while mountain climbing. We get a brief moment where he thinks about her while looking at photos but we don’t get to see him overcome his pain. We aren’t given anything about his life, people that care about him. Nothing that makes the character stick out.

The supporting cast is literally given nothing to do. Everyone is written off as canon fodder so after a scene or two be prepared to watch them get killed off. One of the survivors is a girl named Amanda and we literally known nothing about her character. Nothing about her friends. No reason why they’re there. Nothing about their relationships. Otis was the one character I wanted to see develop but he’s literally given nothing to do but be an asshole. And the only time he does do something he gets killed off. Deputy McBride was completely useless, offering nothing to the table. The characters are just poorly written with little to no depth. (2 out of 5)

I’m not opposed to the performances. Despite me not liking the character, Matt McCoy does give a decent performance as the lead. But besides him being freaked out most of the movie he’s not given much else to do. I didn’t mind the performances by the supporting cast which includes Haley Joel (Amanda), Christien Tinsley (Otis), Jeffrey Combs (Buddy), Paul Gleason (Halderman), Rex Linn (Hoss), Dee Wallace (Ethel), Phil Morris (McBride) and even Lance Henriksen (Ziegler). Henriksen had no reason to be in this movie and whatever budget and/or screen time he had could’ve easily been shifted to one of the other actors. Michael Deak portrayed Bigfoot and he’s decent. (3 out of 5)

I can say that I did like the special effects, most notably the overall design of Bigfoot. He’s large, hairy, and quite monstrous, making the creature quite impressive. When it comes to the face design I’m on the fence. On one hand it’s gross, monstrous and intimidating. The glowing eyes made for some really cool silhouetted shots. But on the other hand it does look goofy. It’s honestly one of the best Bigfoot designs I’ve see in a movie. Hell, you get to see a man get his face bitten off.

The blood and gore is done exceptionally well. There’s not a lot but what we do get is actually effective. Close up scenes of Bigfoot ripping into its victims flesh look good. The use of the camera isn’t bad either. We get some decent shots of the forest, some scenes at night have a dark foreboding intensity to it. One of the biggest drawbacks is when the creature’s stalking its prey and we’re looking through its eyes and it just looks cheaply made (especially when the characters should be able to see the creature but somehow don’t). (4 out of 5)

The music is okay. I did not walk out of this movie remembering any of the music. It’s a shame really because Lalo Schifrin has an extensive career in movie and television. The creature effects sound pretty sweet, making it feel heavy when it’s walking and frightening when its roaring or growling. There are some inconsistencies with the sound design. Scenes where Preston is watching the girls through his binoculars you can clearly hear the girls talking when their voices shouldn’t have been discernible because of distance or not heard at all. This was an odd choice to work into the movie. (2 out of 5)

Ryan Schifrin directed this movie and for a first time it’s decent. But it’s got a carp ton of problems. I’m not sure if Schifrin knew what he was working towards. If this was suppose to be a horror film about a killer Bigfoot or a film about a man trying to accept his wife’s death, because it fails to do them both. After Preston’s initial reaction to the house his rehabilitation is quickly forgotten in lieu of focusing on the Bigfoot angle. This took away any kind of depth or development for Preston and emotion for the story. I appreciated his eye for horror because the movie’s got some good shots but because of his direction it goes the B movie route.

Despite the decent direction the writing’s piss poor. Most of the characters have little to no characterization and for those who do they don’t develop. The story’s completely rushed so any kind of buildup is killed before it can be fully realized. Also, like many B movie monsters, the creature doesn’t act like an animal. Because it lacks consistency it kills when it shouldn’t kill and when it should it doesn’t. Preston’s trauma is brought up but never properly addressed. It could’ve been an excellent piece on dealing with traumatic events. Some of the deaths don’t make any sense mainly because of the dumb decisions characters make. There’s a scene with hunters in the woods and it offers nothing to the story. The dialogue isn’t memorable in the slightest and there were plenty of opportunities to have meaningful conversations. Decent direction but the writing could’ve been better. (2 out of 5)

---

In the end, Abominable is one of those movies that has so much potential but sadly fails despite being entertaining. The movie suffers mostly because of the lackluster characters, poor writing, and rushed plot. However, the direction’s decent, special effects good, and interesting story. Abominable gets 2 out of 5.