Starring
Matt McCoy, Haley Joel, Christien Tinsley, Michael Deak, Phil Morris,
Jeffrey Combs, Paul Gleason, Lance Henriksen, Dee Wallace Stone, Rex
Linn,Tiffany Shepis. Directed by Ryan Schifrin. (2006/94 min).
AVAILABLE
ON BLU-RAY FROM
Review
by Josey, the Sudden Catđ
Technically,
Abominable shouldn't be part of the MVD Rewind Collection,
which rescues B-movie obscurities from the video store days and
restores them to their original glory, complete with packaging that
resembles battered VHS covers. Abominable was
released in 2006, long after VHS had gone the way of the dodo,
and video stores were fast becoming an endangered species.
Let's
not split hairs, though. While MVD may not be following the letter of
the law, here, it's surely following the spirit. Abominable
openly embraces the same aesthetic as countless direct-to-video
schlock-fests from the 80s, right down to the prerequisite quota of
spurting blood, stupid characters, gratuitous nudity and a completely
unconvincing monster.
Conceptually,
the film is basically a backwoods Rear Window, with a guy in a creature
costume assuming Raymond Burr's role.
Pretson Rogers (Matt McCoy) is our wheelchair-bound hero who first
sees the beast, but neither his abusive caretaker or the young ladies
in the cabin next door believe him...until it's too late, of course.
No movie like this would be complete without its share of B-movie
icons, and Abominable gives us a bunch of 'em. Jeffrey
Combs, Paul Gleason, Lance Henriksen, Dee Wallace Stone and Rex Linn
all show up in brief supporting roles, either as comic relief,
creature fodder or both.
 |
| "Is that Jimmy Stewart staring back at us?" |
Though
mostly serious in tone, Abominable is ultimately more
amusing than scary. However, because the film wears its influences so
proudly, viewers who grew up on this stuff are more likely to laugh
with it than at it. Sure, the monster could have been
rendered with CGI, but what would be the fun of that? And even if one doesn't find the
film's inherent silliness endearing, Abominable boasts some
spectacularly violent death scenes, including one that should impress
even the most jaded gorehound.
Of
all the MVD Rewind releases so far, this one arguably has the best
batch of supplemental features (outlined below). In addition to a 2K
restoration, the film itself has also been given a bit of an upgrade.
In a new introduction, director Ryan Schiflrin explains a few
additional visual enhancements. But don't worry...the monster is
just as delightfully daffy as ever. For those who don't go in for
that sort tweaking, the original DVD transfer is also included.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
"BACK
TO GENRE: MAKING ABOMINABLE" - A comprehensive
behind-the-scenes documentary, featuring numerous interviews with the
cast & crew.
2
SHORTS - "Shadows" & "Basil & Mobius: No Rest
for the Wicked" - Two early films by director Ryan Schifrin.
DIRECTOR
INTRO TO NEW VERSION
ORIGINAL
2005 VERSION OF THE FILM
AUDIO
COMMENTARY - By Matt McCoy, Jeffrey Combs and writer/director Ryan
Schifrin.
BLOOPERS
DELETED/EXTENDED
SCENES
POSTER
& STILL GALLERY
STORYBOARD
GALLERY
COLLECTIBLE
POSTER
DVD
COPY
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS
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