Russian Yeti: The Killer Lives

Contrary to a previous review, this IS a documentary of events that took place in 1959.* There are numerous references on various Internet sites with the same storyline. The photos in this documentary are compelling as to what was evidently a gruesome tragedy in the Ural Mountains in Siberia. Events are presented in chronological order of a multi-party expedition of experienced hikers, with a number of photos preserved from cameras retrieved at the destroyed campsite. As the title indicates, the director takes great steps to present his speculation that the nine hikers were confronted and killed by a Russian Yeti (known as a Menk in Russia). A tenth hiker was the sole survivor; he had fallen ill and turned back on the fifth day of the expedition that ended on day seven. Documents are presented that indicate there was government involvement prior to the actual reporting of the missing hikers. The director also includes photos, videos and interviews of sightings in the same region in recent years to support his view that the hikers did indeed lose their lives by a Yeti. I had recorded the show so to zip through all the commercials and the inevitable, and frequent, recapping. Since the events occurred in Russia, a good amount of the interviews required caption-reading. I watched the 2-hour show in a little over an hour.

*BUT, there are also bits and pieces of blurry "reenactments" (and sound effects) that are obviously meant to strictly give the viewer an idea what horrors the victims must have experienced. Toward the end of the program, there is footage taken when the director and crew traveled to the site and had their own "experience"!

Another pseudo-documentary from the same file cabinet as the program that "explored" the question about mermaids (and mermen) being real. At the end of the program people are running around a forest at night, using flares to cast shadows, hearing "mysterious" sounds. Very atmospheric, but it tells us bupkis about whether such a thing as a yeti actually exists.

Note the IMDB info - this is all staged, "with actors, not real people."

Why does Animal Planet exploit the credulousness of an audience by presenting these pseudo-documentaries without disclaimers? Even Orson Welles told the radio audience that his broadcast of The War of the Worlds was a dramatization, although many people missed the intro and thought they were hearing a news broadcast.

So, approach anything done by Animal Planet with caution...

In this era of overwhelming fake news, this production is just adding its lot to an already huge pile of badly misleading movies, with potentially devastating consequences on the lesser educated viewers. The problem is not so much that it builds its storyline/narrative on a collection of totally unscientific approaches, but rather that some viewers will actually believe all this crap!! I bet that some will take it for granted that a "brilliant" reporter actually came across some hard evidence that the Russian Yeti not only actually lives, but that it also kills people "when cornered or threatened". The movie itself is pretty well made, with all the stereotypes of what you would expect from a real documentary, but the succession of pseudo-evidence and the numerous shortcuts taken to reaching conclusions are just a pure insult to science and intelligence. I would strongly recommend that a big headline be put in the opening credits to warn the audience that it is a FICTIONAL DOCUMENTARY. This would at least prove the director's willingness to stay true to his/her own intent.

I,am watching this today on travel channel 1-26-20 I find this really interesting. I think it's cool they have Kevin Conroy who is the voice of batman doing the narrating of the documentary. I think it's interesting that the hikers that went missing in Russia that the documentary is about had close birthday's it's not mentioned in the documentary but if you look up the deotlov pass you will see it

It was an interesting and often nerve-tingling video, but is not a documentary. A documentary is simple. It's right there in the word...DOCUMENTary..... A film production team DOCUMENTS the facts and the history concerning whatever subject they wish to share on film. They do not CREATE drama that is not real. They do not manipulate facts and history to help the sale of their documentary. They do not pretend to have frightening aural encounters with their subject to heighten the intrigue and tension in their film. Unexplained noises must mean the Yeti is on the prowl, right?! NOT !! This is a fairly well made dramatic thriller posing as a documentary. Docu-fallacy might have been a better description of this video. Oiiii, I mean, C.MON !!!! For the hundredth time, a video documentary crew has the amazing luck of walking right into an aural encounter with their sought after mythical creature. A creature that has never been proven to exist, alive or dead, ever !!! I am betting these documentarians could find a needle in a football stadium-sized haystack, in under two hours ! WHY NOT !!! They just did it on film !!!!