Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103035 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-05-23
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Black & White, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com
Made the same year as the gory gothic hit The Curse of Frankenstein, this smartly written, philosophically grounded Hammer studios adventure written by Nigel Kneale (who also wrote the excellent science fiction thriller Quatermass and its two sequels) was lost in the flesh and blood of Hammer's new vein of horror. Peter Cushing, best known for his ruthless portrayals of Dr. Frankenstein and his more tempered rationalist skew on vampire hunter Van Helsing, plays another scientist driven to prove his unpopular theories. Against the advice of his wife and a kindly but firm Tibetan monk, he leads blustery American showman Forrest Tucker and his party of explorers up the frozen peaks (the Pyrenees standing in quite spectacularly for the Himalayas) to track the fabled Yeti. When he discovers that this is no scientific expedition but a hunting party he starts to have second thoughts, which are only reinforced by Tucker's mercenary behavior when he kills one of the creatures. Director Val Guest keeps the "monsters" hidden until the final showdown, where their hulking silhouettes loom over the cave entrance, but their mournful cries haunt the camp like wailing ghosts, slowly driving the party members mad. While it lacks the edgy desperation and inventiveness of Kneale's Quatermass features, The Abominable Snowman is a taut thriller that contrasts the gorgeous aerial mountain photography with the claustrophobic atmosphere of the tents and caves of the base camp. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Ice Screams!!
"THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN"

This is an unexpectedly involving movie with a great look.

Forrest Tucker is greedy Tom Friend looking for a new side show attraction in this pristine black and white widescreen transfer of a gripping, thoughtful, artistic Hammer Films classic from the 1950s.

Tucker, aided by Peter Cushing's sensitive scientist Dr. Rollason, set off into the Himalayas to find the legendary eponymous creature in a surprisingly intelligent adventure.

Vast, lonely mountain vistas and a large, finely detailed monastery make a believable setting in which the hunters ponder life, their dilemma and the great yeti - who apparently has the ability to play mind games until the hunters become the hunted!

The sound design, including the hair-raising, echoing, whale-like moans of the yeti and the oriental music score add considerably to the authentic atmosphere.

In the entertaining bonus audio track, Droll director Val Guest and writer Nigel Kneale make reference to the similar adventures of millionaire Tom Slick as a source of inspiration.

When it's all over, you will long remember the sad, wise eyes of the snow beast and will have no doubts about who the real monsters are. This is the best of the sub genre of bigfoot/abominable snowman films. And yes, there are others. (DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment, no regional code restrictions, not rated, 88 minutes)

The Call of the Wild.
Before Frankenstein cursed, before Dracula horrified, Hammer Studios found the Abominable Snowman. This is an intelligent sci-fi/horror flick that poses probing questions of man vs. nature. The austere tone of the film is enhanced by the bleak B&W photography, and captures the grim atmosphere of remote Tibet. Peter Cushing and Forrest Tucker disagree over what to do with the creature, even before capture. Tucker is American Tom Friend, and his interest is strictly commercial. Cushing is John Rollason, a dedicated scientist. Rollason is more interested in solving the scientific conundrum than gaining a profitable circus attraction. As their expedition reaches distant heights and snowy peaks, strange cries in the night presage tragedy. The script takes an unusual perspective as it suggests that the yeti are not missing-link predators, but intelligent, superior beings. Questions of man's relevance vs. nature's inevitability rank this film well above the more common sci-fi/horror schlock of pseudo-science and cheesy special effects. Soul-searching aside, goosefelsh rises when the men realize that killing one yeti caused a chorus of plaintive wailing across the mountains. Whatever they are, they are communicating with each other, and they are coming this way. Darkness and howling winds add to the eerie atmosphere as the expedition succumbs to madness and death. Ironically, the yeti are passive, and standby as the feeble men self-destruct. The director suggests terror without overt display. You may feel compelled to quickly turn and see what lurks behind you. The film ends on an enigmatic note. This movie is fine for collectors of classic horror flicks, and for the ranks of HammerHeads assembled. ;-)

An Unknown Gem
(These comments refer to the film, not to the DVD or VHS editions perse)

Vasquez Rocks is quickly being circled by the communities in the Santa Clarita Valley. In 1940's Hollywood, a caravan of panel trucks and cars would depart around two o'clock in the morning for the long and arduous drive to shoot there on location. From Hollywood proper and the studios one used to take Cahuenga thru the pass, out to Balboa, past the dam, and out (now "old") Balboa up into the mountains and thence into the desert. It gets both raging hot (therefore the early departure, to arrive before the sun rose) and terribly cold. Get as far as Vasquez Rocks, and it snows in the winter sometimes.

There is no raging beast, no graphic violence. This black-and-white film may be considered slow-paced for those with a taste only to MTV-quick-cuts films. The trick here is to get into the mood of the characters, and the solid acting allows this to happen with ease. Let it not be the cold of winter in a southern California desert, but the rarified air of the Himalayas, with a deadly mystery growing even as the storms build that you explore.

It's a good old film. Not many DVDs are going to be sold at ..., but this will be a popular collector's item once the price drops to the appropriate ... range for this type of film. And pay close attention to the ending - it happens quickly. -M.