COLLECTOR'S CRYPT - THE ABOMINATION (VISUAL VENGEANCE BLU RAY)
What makes a good SOV film? It is kind of a loaded question since the presumption in the ask is that there is such a thing as a “good” SOV movie. While this may seem hyperbolic to some, true fans of the form will be quick to tell you that SOV movies are often the most imaginative and daring films because they are often created without any interference. Sure, the budgets may limit their ability to create certain effects, but you won’t find producers giving notes to filmmakers here since the stakes are low and the crews are often small. Perhaps a “good” SOV movie is found by removing the typical parameters we use to assess film and tweaking them to suit their limitations. A good SOV film won’t have the best special effects and makeup, but it very often tries to bring outrageous ideas to life regardless. A good SOV film understands that the competition isn’t Academy Award-winning films, but rather the low-effort higher-budget genre fare that studios pump out to satiate fans. Labels like Visual Vengeance understand this and continue their run of stellar releases with Bret McCormick’s The Abomination. Is this one of the “good” SOV releases, or is it just another example that proves the SOV haters right?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Deep in the heart of rural Texas, a TV evangelist exorcises a tumor from the body of a loyal worshipper, who soon coughs up the growth. Unknown to her, the cancer is actually a carnivorous life form that slithers its way into her son Cody while he sleeps, growing inside him until he is completely under its control. Now Cody must feed the beast fresh victims to keep them both alive, as the monster grows larger and larger, threatening to feast on everyone in its path.
HOW IS IT?
Let’s cut to the chase here, The Abomination is not a great film. That doesn’t mean it is without merit, but it is worth noting that this is a film that isn’t going to change your stance on SOV cinema anytime soon. In many ways, it is the epitome of the genre as it uses redundant shots to fill the runtime and is very clearly made on a shoestring budget by filmmakers trying to find their groove. That aside, The Abomination can be highly entertaining to the right audience. It has a plot that is absurd as it is incoherent, and the “acting” is at best, amateur. Still, there is something charming and weird about The Abomination that makes it the kind of film you can recommend to some, but not many.
The story here is about a guy who inherits an exorcised tumor from his mother and has an uncontrollable desire for flesh. Once the tumor takes control of Cody, he becomes enslaved to its murderous hunger opting to kill others and feed their bodies to the growing beast. It is the kind of story you might get from Troma or Frank Hennenlotter, albeit on a shoestring budget shot on Super 8 film. As ludicrous as the story is, the first third of the film may have you wondering if you have the wrong disc in your player. To say the first act is a slog would be an understatement, but if you stick with it the last two acts are filled to the brim with ideas that are hilarious and vile. Most of the first act is there to familiarize us with this strange slice of Texas where the film takes place. A place where televangelists are essentially gods, and the devout a mere vessel for them to siphon cash from. Once we get exposed to the titular “abomination” things start to pick up significantly as the body count grows alongside the size of the abomination.
What makes The Abomination endearing is that it doesn’t let the low budget interfere with some really grand ideas. Once the abomination starts to feed and grow, it becomes almost untenable as it takes over the nooks, crannies, and cabinets of the home Cody and his mother live in. The gore gags are excessive and cheap, but that is also what makes them so much fun. In particular, the scene where the mom is being devoured in the kitchen and a scene involving a toilet and a priest are some of the standouts that must be seen to be believed. The shlocky gore carries the film until the last 10-15 minutes when things start to break down. Perhaps it was the lack of funds or possibly even the quickness to which this production was made, more on that later, but the final moments of the film are mostly incoherent psychedelia that feels more like filler than anything else. In spite of not sticking the landing, those who enjoy the aesthetic and insanity of SOV cinema are sure to find a lot to enjoy about The Abomination. On the other hand, there is nothing in here that would sway the naysayers into changing their stance since The Abomination commits all of the worst (or best) sins that dissenters of SOV films abhor.
HOW DOES IT LOOK?
Given this is a Visual Vengeance release, expectations of quality should always be rightly set. The team over at Visual Vengeance always does their best to provide the highest quality releases of material that is often filmed on some of the lowest quality formats. The Abomination being a product of Super 8 film means that there is a pretty low ceiling for how good something like this can look. Nevertheless, this standard definition master was created from the original tape source and as such retains the same fullscreen aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The film looks as good as it probably ever will considering how old and low-fi the original elements are, and the only real distractions occur in scenes with overexposed light sources. Images from the disc are used throughout this review and can be seen below:
HOW DOES IT SOUND?
Similar to the visual aspects of the film, the sound here is in 2.0 stereo, but it isn’t going to give your speakers a workout. The audio comes through clearly enough and is only occasionally muddled in scenes where there is a lot of yelling. Thankfully, the folks at Visual Vengeance have provided English subtitles so you don’t have to miss a word of this wondrous dialogue!
ANYTHING SPECIAL?
The kind of care and attention that Visual Vengeance puts into these releases is not only admirable, it is world-class. These releases are not only exciting because of the films they contain, but even more so because of the kinds of supplemental features that are newly produced for them. The one feature we took in for this review also happens to be the longest clocking in at 72 minutes. Monster Kid Movie Maverick is a retrospective interview with filmmaker Bret McCormick that covers his entire career from childhood to today. Similar to the Repligator release, Bret is a great interviewee who shares a wealth of information while also embedding a lot of interesting stories about the personalities and business of filmmaking. Throughout the course of this interview, Bret speaks to how they filmed The Abomination in 10 days as a sort of challenge, and how that in many ways opened the door for him to work with studios like AIP and producers such as Fred Olen Ray and Roger Corman. Bret shares the truth behind filmmaking as a workman director who would take almost any job as long as he got to create. His passion for film was ultimately stifled by the harsh realities of the business side of filmmaking, and in many ways, it may have been for the best. The biggest takeaway from this feature-length interview is that Bret worked on a lot of films, and truly loves the industry even though it hasn’t always been kind to him.
A full list of special features from this release is listed below:
Region Free Blu-ray
New producer-supervised SD master from an original tape source
Commentary with Director Bret McCormick, Rob Hauschild and Matt Desiderio of Visual Vengeance
Commentary with Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine
“Monster Kid Movie Maverick” – Brand New, Feature-Length Bret McCormick Interview (2022)
Actress Blue Thompson Interview (2022)
Actress Victoria Chaney Interview (2022)
Interview with The Abomination’s Original VHS distributor: Michael Jack Shoel (Donna Michelle Productions) (2022)
The Abomination – Filming Locations Tour (2022)
Super 8 Outtakes and Raw Footage – Reel 1
Super 8 Outtakes and Raw Footage – Reel 2
Behind The Scenes “The Stairway”
Behind The Scenes “Tumor Test”
Image Gallery
Interview with “The Abomination”
Bret McCormick – Original Super 8 Films
Visual Vengeance Trailer
Bret McCormick Trailer Archive
6-page Booklet with an Essay by Tony Strauss
‘Stick Your Own’ VHS Sticker Set
Reversible Sleeve Featuring Original VHS Art
Optional English subtitles
LAST RITES
The Abomination is sure to be a hit for fans of SOV cinema, even if it isn’t going to garner any new fans of the format. With a combination of gritty special effects and a really weird premise, The Abomination is something that must be seen to be believed, and as usual, the fine folks at Visual Vengeance give collectors the most bang for their buck with stellar supplemental features and premium packaging.
THE GORY DETAILS
Thank you to the fine fiends over at MVD ENTERTAINMENT for providing a review copy for the crypt! The Abomination is available NOW and can be purchased via MVD DIRECT!
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