My quick rating – 4.4/10. I was quite leery when I saw this title, and the poster didn’t do it any favors. But my tagline says it all, so I hit play. The Yeti wastes absolutely no time reminding us that being indoors is a great life choice. We kick things off in 1947 Alaska with a group of guys playing cards, one random woman whose job description seems to be “stand there,” and, boom – someone gets yanked through a roof like the cabin just unsubscribed from having a ceiling. Blood rains down, screaming ensues, and just like that, the movie promises something wild.
Then it immediately gets lost. Literally and narratively.
We jump to a press conference with Merriell Jr. (Eric Nelsen), who promises to rescue his father, and introduces us to his elite team to do so. Then we cut to Ellie (Brittany Allen) giving a lecture before being recruited into said rescue mission to find her missing father. This should feel important. Instead, the film treats it like a casual side note you’re expected to remember 90 minutes later when it suddenly matters. The early structure is all over the place. Jumping timelines, dropping characters, and holding back key motivations like it’s guarding state secrets.
Once the expedition heads into the wilderness, the movie actually makes a few smart moves. For a while, The Yeti keeps its creature mostly hidden. Growls, quick cuts, blurry glimpses – the classic “we don’t have the budget, so let’s build suspense” approach. I’d say it works.
When the Yeti finally shows up in full, it’s surprisingly decent. Practical, furry, and not an obvious CGI disaster. You almost want to applaud it. But then the movie remembers it’s allergic to showing anything cool. The creature attacks? Cut away. Someone dies? Cut away. Need proof something happened? Don’t worry, the Yeti will hold up a random limb afterward like a trophy. Every. Single. Time.
For a monster movie, it’s impressively committed to not showing the monster doing monster things.
The human side doesn’t help much either. Most of the cast falls into “generic expedition member #3” territory, but when the missing fathers, Corbin Bernsen and William Sadler, finally appear, they bring some much-needed presence. No surprise. They’re professionals dropped into a movie that mostly forgot to write characters. However, Leander Coates (Linc Hand) did have an interesting wrinkle to him.
And then there’s the logic. There is a lack of it. By the time we reach the finale, the last survivor is desperately trying to escape…by dragging a rowboat to the water. No oars. Just vibes. Maybe the Yeti wasn’t the biggest threat after all. Poor planning clearly has a higher body count.
What’s frustrating is that The Yeti had the bones of a fun, campy throwback creature feature. Instead, it plays everything weirdly serious, as if it’s aiming for prestige horror while actively avoiding the fun parts. Less restraint and more ridiculousness might’ve actually saved it.
As it stands, The Yeti is a decent-looking monster trapped in a movie that refuses to let it shine. Equal parts missed opportunity and accidental comedy, with a rowboat finale that actually made me LOL.
