This Hammer Horror Hunted a Legend Years Before ‘The Blair Witch Project’

For all the iconic images and titles to its name, early 20th-century horror is not exactly the most accessible of cinema eras. Vampires, werewolves, invisible jerks, and Frankenstein’s monster were but a few of the faces that haunted viewers’ dreams. While we all know of flagship, genre-defining releases like Dracula and Frankenstein, these movies also require a bit of patience. For the most part, they almost exclusively run on atmosphere. Crumbling castles, thick fog, and dense forests are all made doubly spooky with their crisp, warm black-and-white presentation. There’s also plenty of fun to be found in whatever glorious monster imagery that we’re served. Still, these moments are often few and far between — horror movies from this era didn’t mind making their audience wait. For gorehounds, exploitation junkies, and, honestly, most modern audiences, it’ll take a bit of easing in to enjoy this era in horror. Thankfully, we have Hammer Films to help with that.

To put it simply, Hammer kicks ass. 1968 stunners like Rosemary’s Baby and Night of the Living Dead often lead people to credit that year as one of the biggest steps toward modern horror. What those people are forgetting is that Hammer had been playing this game for over a decade already. This famed British production company put itself on the map by remaking all the classics between the 1950s and 1970s. Not only that, it was one of the first to bloody up their monster movies, get a little risqué, and do it all with genre stars at the forefront, the best of which were Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Hammer was always pushing the horror genre forward and 1957’s The Abominable Snowman is evidence of that. It might be lacking in violence and sensuality, but it more than makes up for that in its slow-burn sense of dread, modern setting (a rarity at the time), and proto-slasher structure. Hammer’s Dracula and Frankenstein series rule, but The Abominable Snowman proves that the company was innovating the horror genre in more ways than one.

The Abominable Snowman

Approved

A British expedition ventures into the Himalayan wilderness on a quest to prove the existence of a legendary creature. Led by a determined scientist, the team confronts not only the physical dangers of the mountainous terrain but also their own fears and the mystical lore surrounding the region. The deeper they go, the more they question what is real and what is myth.

Release Date

October 19, 1957

Director

Val Guest

Cast

Forrest Tucker , Peter Cushing , Maureen Connell , Richard Wattis , Robert Brown , Michael Brill

Runtime

85 Minutes

Main Genre

Adventure

Writers

Nigel Kneale , Val Guest

Tagline

Demon-prowler of the mountain shadows…Dreaded man-beast of Tibet…The terror of all that is human

‘The Abominable Snowman’ is Not a Normal Hammer Horror Film

The Abominable Snowman was first unleashed in August 1957, just a few months after Hammer released one of their defining pictures — The Curse of Frankenstein. That film has been called “the first really gory horror film, showing blood and guts in colour.” On the other hand, Snowman might feel like a step backward for the company. It’s black and white and is a creature feature on its face; but like many other Golden Age monster movies before it, it is incredibly sparing when it decides to show the titular beast. The Curse of Frankenstein made a huge horror splash by pushing the genre forward as hard as it did. The Abominable Snowman might have been released only a few months later, but audiences had already moved on from its classical face value. Ever since, it has remained almost entirely in obscurity.

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Don’t let this film’s lack of any reputation dissuade you from firing it up. You know that beautiful feeling when you find a fantastic, obscure movie that’s been sitting right under your nose for years? Get ready, because The Abominable Snowman is just that. It follows a British scientist, Dr. John Rollason (Peter Cushing), who joins an American team in their search throughout the Himalayas for the mythical Yeti. Leading the Americans is Tom Friend (Forrest Tucker), a John Wayne-like, total blow-hard who seeks to capture the beast and take it home, all for his own glory.

‘The Abominable Snowman’ Plays the Same Horrific Game as ‘The Blair Witch Project’

The Abominable Snowman advertises a Yeti-filled, rollicking horror ride, but it’s quite the opposite. Those looking for a movie with a high body count are bound to leave disappointed. Snowman is much more about the psychological terror found in isolation. Similarly, The Blair Witch Project isn’t that interested in the Blair Witch herself. It’s about getting lost in the woods, losing the people who kept you safe, and being unable to escape the feeling that something is always around the corner, ready to get you. For most of The Abominable Snowman, there are a few heavy hints at there being an actual Yeti running around. However, the real terror comes from this team of rowdy Americans who hold nothing sacred but their own glory — an approach that works until it gets them lost, all with nothing to show for it.

‘The Abominable Snowman’ is a Gorgeous, Suspenseful Exercise in Black-And-White Horror

Hammer’s most famous films excel in their pulpy, vibrant, blood-soaked horror set pieces. The Abominable Snowman, on the other hand, goes at its own speed and proves that the minds at Hammer had many more tricks up their sleeves than just violence and sexuality. The opening 20 minutes feature an Eastern hemisphere-tinged chiller structure. We follow Rollason and Friend as both of their respective parties arrive in the Himalayan monastery, where low, rumbling choirs fill out the soundtrack. Little whispers surrounding the Yeti are heard here and there, just enough to catch the audience’s ear and lay an ominous foundation.

Once the expedition ventures out to find the mythical beast, the tone shifts. We’re no longer subjected to the ominous, Gothicized monastery, but instead are led out into the great, claustrophobic wide-open that is the Himalayas. You would think that an enormous mountain range would be anything but suffocating. However, it quickly becomes apparent that this crew is in way over their heads. Like The Blair Witch Project, this team gets lost, loses one of their own after another, and comes to think that they’re being hunted by the very thing that they’re seeking out. One or two of their own ends up being able to find their way back to the monastery — but by and large, these guys have anywhere and nowhere to run. In the end, all they can do is keep looking for the Yeti. As soon as this gang leaves the monastery, Snowman does nothing but ratchet up the tension, all until the film comes to a uniquely somber conclusion. A strange-yet-welcoming ending for a film that reeks so heavily with dread.

Major props should be given to director Val Guest and cinematographer Arthur Grant‘s eyes for creating one eerie image after another. The Abominable Snowman is one of the last truly great feats in black-and-white horror filmmaking. If it’s not a desert-like snowscape, then Guest and Grant are sending moonlit mammoth clouds of fog over the tops of the Himalayas. There’s one shot in which the gang races to the crest of a mountain to see where a noise is coming from, silhouetted but their fear is as easy to read as ever. It’s scenes like this that beg the question — how has The Abominable Snowmanescaped the grip of horror fans after all these years?

If you’re looking for a deep-cut, atmospheric horror movie from the mid-20th Century, then you could do much worse than The Abominable Snowman. It might not be as great as the classics of the ’30s and ’40s, nor is it as widely acclaimed as other Hammer Horror pictures. Still, it’s a gorgeous, chilly, and dour proto-slasher that aims for the kinds of scares that many films would start shooting for over 50 years later. The Abominable Snowman is the definition of a horror gem.

The Abominable Snowman is available to purchase on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.

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