THE YETI -- Eye Candy for Gore Hounds, Sleep Medicine for Others

Review by Steve Barton II

Monster movies have been a staple of the filmmaking industry since the creation of the artform as a whole. Even during the silent film era, monsters like Nosferatu were ripping their way through screens, shocking folks and having audiences shaking in their seats. With the commercial success of King Kong and the Universal Monster franchise, monsters cemented their place in film history and The Yeti attempts to pay tribute to those trailblazers. The Yeti takes place post World War II and follows an oil tycoon’s son, Merriell Sunday Jr. (Eric Nelsen) and a world famous adventurer’s daughter, Ellie (Brittany Allen) as they create a rescue team in an attempt to save their fathers. The only thing they don’t know is why their fathers never made it home and what kind of “obstacles” await.

The highest compliment The Yeti has earned is the incredible use of practical effects. They waste no time in getting the crimson gold on the screen and gets the audience excited for what’s to come. It was pleasantly shocking to find The Yeti itself to be practical, rather than a cheap digital mess. When you see Ellie and the others interacting with the monster, the scenes are where the movie shines and pays homage to the campy creature features that preceded it. The main leading cast with Brittany Allen and Jim Cummings command the scenes whenever they are present, while the supporting cast isn’t too great. Jim brings a seasoned presence to his character with his clean-cut, silent demeanor, which is almost polar opposite from his previous work on Thunder Road. Eric Nelson as the oil tycoon’s son is practically playing a caricature of an annoying rich kid and it doesn’t come across as funny nor entertaining. The remainder of the cast was so forgettable, that it's hard to even recall them. 

The other major disappointment with The Yeti was the story itself and how it moves at a snail’s pace. When the incredible monster effects and gore leave the silver screen to do more character and plot development, it kills the momentum and none of the characters are interesting. The characters are so one-dimensional and basic that you find yourself counting the minutes until the titular Yeti graces us with his presence again and rips one of them in half. While some may make the argument that poor character work is nothing new in the monster movie sub-genre, The Yeti makes Friday the 13th seem Academy Award worthy. 

In the end, The Yeti is a classic example of an interesting idea poorly executed. A post-World War II period piece within a monster movie sounds cool on paper, but the rookie writing/directing duo fumbled the bag. The monster itself and the effects were executed well, but it’s not worth sitting through the 90 minute runtime for any payoff. A short film with this idea may have worked much better, but this film will live in infamy as a kill count on YouTube. If you’re in the mood for a dumb, low budget creature feature with a few familiar faces and gnarly carnage, The Yeti may be the perfect choice (if you’ve ran through the rest of the genre). 

The Yeti is available on VOD starting April 10th! ! 

Rating: 2/5