Himalaya

I got to see this movie at a preview in Los Angeles. This is a fun, low-budget creature feature that combines footage from a live internet broadcast with POV footage captured by a helmet cam attached to an explorer called Dr. Sato. This man who is supposedly an expert in his field, crawls deeper into an ice cave looking for a Himalayan yeti called the Snow Ghost. Along the way there are some morbid discoveries and many strange occurrences that seem more paranormal than physical. Oxygen starts running low in the cave and the explorer seems to be losing his mind on what looks like a potential suicide mission. Tensions are also rising between the broadcasters who are debating about what is real, what is obviously superstition, and what they can do to help Dr Sato survive inside the cave. The movie comes to a boiling point as it becomes evident that this is no longer a quest to discover a mythical beast, but a life and death struggle to survive the elements and other malevolent forces lurking inside the cave.

Overall, this movie is a bit like BBC's Ghostwatch or other live investigation movies. It was fun to learn that the entire film was made with a phone camera inside a warehouse filled with artificial snow. There are some comedic moments, some action and some creature horror for those who like beasts and monsters. This is fun movie made for pennies obviously. It's a campy good time and it has a nice cast including the star of The Human Centipede.

In an era dominated by big-budget blockbusters and predictable storylines, "Himalaya" emerges as a breath of fresh air, reminding us of the true magic that indie cinema can create. Released in 2024, this remarkable film takes us on an unforgettable journey through the majestic Himalayas, captivating our hearts and souls with its mesmerizing visuals, poignant storytelling, and unforgettable characters. Among them, the character of Doctor Sato shines as a beacon of compassion and strength, while the spine-chilling yeti sequence at the end leaves an indelible mark of fear in our minds. Please nominate Doctor Sato for an Oscar award or something similar fantastic movie would definitely watch again.

Ok, so found footage isn't my thing, but this is more like a live broadcast to investigate the possibility of a yeti hiding inside of an ice cave. I particularly liked the intro to the "live" show format because it reminded me of the ghost hunting shows I grew up with and still watch as comfort TV. We initially learn a lot about the legend of this mysterious creature and why Dr. Sato is going into this cave to try to prove that the yeti creature exists. As you can probably imagine, things don't go as planned and the situation becomes extremely risky inside the crumbling cave. This movie is actually pretty funny at times and an easy watch because it feels a lot like a tv broadcast. The actor that plays the host keeps the story going by constantly teasing the possibility of seeing something scary and we eventually do. This is a no budget indie film and it really shows at times. But the story is good and the actors are interesting enough. There are a few interesting twists that make it much better than other recent low budget Bigfoot movies like Tahoe Joe which was also recommended to me.

Confession. I love monster movies! Especially low-budget cheesy ones! But lately, I've struggled to watch titles from companies like Wild Eye Releasing because of a lack of creativity. Fortunately, this indie snow beast/snow ghost movie features a fresh concept, an interesting story, and the actor from Human Centipede. There's a campy feel that reminds me of 'Ghost Watch' and the mock broadcast found footage movie 'Halloween Special'. I actually enjoyed this more than expected and got caught up in the illusion that the events were unfolding in real time during a live broadcast. This is a very low-budget movie and if you enjoy the guilty pleasure of watching a fun story unfold with a little less than realistic creature, I can definitely recommend it!

Searching for the legendary Yeti, a famous paranormal researcher conducts a livestream of a colleague scaling an ice cave for the creature in its Himalayan home, but the longer they conduct the search they come to find the creature might not be the most dangerous entity on the mountain.

This was a fairly fun and likable found-footage creature feature. Among the better features here is the strong setup that allows the film to go for a fine overall storyline with some fun elements present. The setup of the livestreaming event taking place at the location on the mountain while the host takes up residence at a friends' house to host a special show with pre-programmed segments that help to explain their interest in the subject and his past shows on the subject features a far more professional setup than a person simply broadcasting an expedition searching for the creature. The cut-ins to the doctor on the mission to the cave where it's supposedly located take on a more impressive quality as they come off as intermittent breaks in the more controlled conversations monitoring the search or talking with his wife about what's going on, making this appear far more intriguing as time goes on. The longer the search continues and the series of hardships about the journey start to become more frequent and prominent, the film picks up in excitement and energy considerably. Due to the prominent presence of the emergency systems discussing the expedition he faces, the continued monitoring of the decreasing oxygen supply and the side effects he'll face due to that even before taking into account the environmental elements offers the kind of intriguing starting point that makes the later encounters come off quite intriguing. Once the cave is breached and the action turns into fra more of a potential psychological breakdown with the elements here bringing along a supernatural bent with the way the systems keep breaking down and the visions get more intense and freakier, there's a fun dynamic to the way this sets up a wholly chilling series of encounters throughout here which give the film a lot to like about it. There isn't much to dislike here but it does have some drawbacks to be had with it. The main detriment with this one is the seemingly lackadaisical encounters with the wife and scientist at the house watching everything unfold. A dynamic between the two of them designed for some combative scenarios to pop up is instead wasted as the low-key nature of what's going on with the two of them tends to be far more restrained than they should be as some more dynamics between them would've livened up the pacing a bit more during this section which tends to be a bit more sluggish until the later section of this one. The other issue here is the film's decision to keep the creature so isolated and off-screen until the last moments that it might disappoint those looking for more of a traditional genre effort with how it's presented here. Alongside some of the low-budget origins being apparent, these are what hold this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.