The Yeti, Co-Starring William Sadler & Cobin Bernsen

Honestly, it is far better when a film calls that mythical snow-beast a yeti rather than an “abominable snowman.” The former is much quicker to type and easier to pronounce, so this film already has points in its favor. In the late 1940s, Alaska wasn’t even a state yet. Largely seen as a wild and snowy frontier, there could have been anything up there, as far as most Americans were concerned—and in this film, they weren’t wrong. Oil man Merriell Sunday Sr. went there looking for oil, but he found something else instead. Cartographer Ellie Bannister agrees to guide the search party looking for him and her explorer father, Hollis Bannister, in director-screenwriters Gene Gallerano & William Pisciotta’s The Yeti, which releases this coming Tuesday on DVD and BluRay.

Supposedly old man Sunday was scouting for oil, but Bannister knows her eccentric old man wouldn’t waste his time on that, no matter how much money the tycoon offered. Nevertheless, they have been out of contact for far too long, so she agrees to join the rescue operation organized by Merriell Sunday Jr. (who definitely displays deep-seated father issues).

Somehow, they land in the middle of a massive storm that even interferes with Bannister’s compass. Consequntly, they get lost, quickly and badly. Viewers definitely wouldn’t enjoy getting lost with the entitled Junior Sunday or the abrasive good old boy demolition specialist Daniel “Dynamite” Hewitt—and neither does Bannister. However, comms specialist Booker (who was the Enola Gay’s radio man) is a good guy and scarred war hero Leander Coates has her back too, despite his mildly psychotic tendencies. Of course, when the yeti (or yetis) attack, all bets are off.

Gallerano & Pisciotta serve up several hat-tips to the Indiana Jones movies that are rather endearing. However, some of the deliberately retro practical effects are a little too successful, looking more like genuine cheesiness rather than loving homages. Frankly, the film shows symptoms of an identity crisis, because the blood-spurting gore clashes with the nostalgia.

However, the two old pros, William Sadler and Corbin Bernsen, elevate all their scenes as Hollis Bannister and Sunday Senior, respectively. They are both entertainingly flinty and grizzled. Playing against his usual over-the-top type, Jim Cummings is a surprisingly steadying presence as salt-of-the-earth Booker. Plus, Linc Hand delivers truly withering death stares as brooding Coates.

While many of the colorful supporting players overshadow Brittany Allen, she credibly anchors the film as Ellie Bannister. She and Gallerano & Pisciotta also deserve credit for the way they forthrightly acknowledge Bannister’s status as a leg-brace-wearing polio survivor, without condescendingly taking bows for self-perceived “inclusivity.” The way to represent “under-represented” characters is by acting like their presence is no big deal.

The Yeti is messy and inconsistent but it has likable underdog energy. It is sufficiently goofy and gory to keep genre fans hooked. For those wanting a yeti fix, Gallerano & Pisciotta’s film is more satisfying than Abominable, but not as wildly fun as The Primevals. Recommended for the snowy, bloody mayhem, The Yeti DVD/BluRay goes on-sale this Tuesday (5/19).