Why does The Abomination begin with a sizzle reel of the best bits of what’s about to come in the following 90 minutes?
Fucked if I know presently, but it does… but they try and claim it’s a nightmare our hero Cody (Scott Davis) is experiencing…
Following that we dive into the story proper… hahaha, just kidding… this time it’s another non sequitur (a lil’ stalk n’ slay number here featuring some of the footage we just experienced) as Cody details his grizzly actions to his doctor while quoting the bible and claiming to be controlled by a monster he dubs “The Abomination”.
Okay, now we start the story, as we learn Cody’s ailing, televangelist-addicted mother, Sarah (Jude Johnson) is suffering from a nasty lil’ tumor… which she barfs up. Well, that “tumor” goes right ahead and crawls inside of our hero… which makes his workday and non-stop country-fried fuckin’ around come to a full, and phlegmy, stop.
So after a bit of that, Cody barfs up the tumor and sticks it under his bed like an old piece of chewing gum… and that wicked wad quickly grows into a toothy, fleshy, maniacal monster that commands Cody to kill and kill again to provide sustenance for it and it’s offspring!
Who will become monster chow, and will the malicious meals be enough to stave off the beast’s unholy hunger?!!
First of all, let’s get my one qualm with this pic out in the open, and that’s issues with the film’s pacing… which will make it obvious why we opened with a “Greatest Hits” collection of grizzly goings-on.
It takes almost a full hour (out of a 90 minute runtime) to get to the real meat and potatoes of this fright flick; namely the creature feature action we payed our hard earned money to see… and while the wait is long, what filmmaker Bret McCormick achieved here with a miniscule budget is absolutely, jaw-droopingly impressive indeed!
The main man… err, mutant itself is a glorious, practical effect that’s a psychotronic kaleidoscope of raw, red flesh, tongue tentacles, and giant razor sharp teeth… and the gory results of it’s carnivorous proclivities is a stupendous display of DIY splatter!
There is also an unbelievable sequence where the televangelist mentioned above, Brother Fogg (Rex Morton) by name, takes a huge, noisy shit with the bathroom door open while Sarah waits and waits to speak to him… subtlety has never been McCormick’s stock and trade, and honestly that fact makes his films an absolute blast to experience… and the flashes of over-the-top humor featured here would only become more prevalent in his later sci-fi softcore skin-flick Repligator (which I reviewed right here).
Since we are mentioning that other film, The Abomination gets the same treatment as Repligator with it’s Blu-ray release (both from Visual Vengeance) and offers the viewer a whole sinister stew-pot of bonus features to expand their viewing pleasure!
Kicking things off, we have two audio commentaries; one with McCormick (along with Rob Hauschild and Matt Desiderio of Visual Vengeance) that takes us through the film’s production with first hand accounts provided by the writer/director… and the other featuring Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop magazine that provides a lively conversation filled with anecdotes from the fan’s perspective.
Following that we get a collection of new interviews featuring chats with McCormick (a feature-length conversation that takes us through the filmmaker’s entire career), actresses Blue Thompson and Victoria Chaney, and The Abomination‘s Original VHS distributor; Michael Jack Shoel of Donna Michele Productions.
Finally comes a modern look at the picture’s filming locations, a duo of reels featuring outtakes and raw footage, two glimpses behind-the-scenes, an image gallery, a printed write-up about the film, a collection of McCormick’s Super 8 films, the Visual Vengeance trailer for the flick, and an archive of trailers for McCormick’s other features.
Also included with this release are a 6 page booklet with new writing about the film, a sticker set, and a reversible sleeve featuring the original VHS art used to promote the film.
While uneven, The Abomination is well worth your time, especially if you dig on extreme gore realized with D.I.Y., practical effects wizardry… which this film features in abundance!
