Rage of the Yeti (2011 TV Movie) User Reviews

"Welcome to monster island".

[lost-in-limbo · 3/10 · 15 March 2013]

An expedition team on an Arctic island are terrorised by some sort of legendary Yeti creatures, so a rescue team is sent to locate them while also completing the task of retrieving a valuable artifact. Talk about a snoozer! After watching a Syfy original ("Black Forest"), I decided to watch another; "Rage of the Yeti". Downright lacklustre and plodding. Not much to stare at and a lot repetitive action. Outside the silly combination between the leads David Chokachi and Matthew Kevin Anderson, not much fun occurs. Still I got to hand it credit because the acting (the likes of Yancy Butler) was acceptable and it never took itself seriously, but everything else less so. The underwhelming CGI quality was expected; lazy and terrible with hokey monster designs and poorly staged action. The clichéd plot was inconsistent and uninspired with many stupid and bland inclusions. It was very much a stop and go affair despite its tendency to rush through things with poor explanations. The structure just doesn't come alight and the script is beyond tawdry. Lame, dull Syfy original.

"Can you capture one for a million dollars?"

Yeti and Arctic Facts (learned from watching this movie)

[boo288 · 4/10 · 30 June 2012]

My wife and I had a great time with this movie. We knew ahead it was a SyFy special, so we had popcorn and notepad in hand. Here's some interesting facts we learned by simply watching "Rage of the Yeti:"

1) Yeti's explode when you shoot them

(2) Yeti's don't look part man, but they are partly invisible

(3) Four people can be in a vehicle without seatbelts, get rammed by a giant Yeti, roll multiple times down a hill, and come out without a scratch

(4) Yeti's get even grouchier if you catch one and put it in a helicopter (a big safety issue for helicopter pilots!)

(5) Hundreds of people are killed by the Yeti's (and they have major weapons), but two main stars can hit one with a hatchet and stab it ....result...dead Yeti

(5) You can be in "the Arctic" with as much cold weather clothing as I wear during winter in the deep south.

You too can learn all these fascinating facts by watching this movie. We had more fun watching and writing down all the ridiculous things that happened.

I would love to read YOUR new movie facts. Just remember....You have to watch this movie.

More bad SyFy Channel creature feature crap.

[poolandrews · 3/10 · 16 September 2012]

Rage of the Yeti is set on an island called Mercy in the Artic which has suffered a sudden heatwave which has melted lots of ice & snow & an old ship called the HMS Victoria which contains an ancient & priceless Codex that eccentric billionaire Mills (director David Hewlett) wants, unfortunately his first team lead by a chick named Villiers (Yancy Butler) has been wiped out by huge snow monsters that resemble mutant Yeti Polar Bears. Villiers & a couple of other's from the first team manage to make it to an abandoned Canadian research outpost while Mills hires treasure hunting brother's Jonas (David Chokachi) & Jake (Matthew Kevin Anderson) to be part of a rescue team to save the survivors & get the valuable Codex. However this team is unprepared for the Yeti snow monsters & also head for the outpost where they find Villiers, coming under constant attack from the Yeti monsters & with ammo & supplies running out fast the survivors have to figure out a way to stay alive until help arrives...

Directed by & featuring actor David Hewlett who is probably best know for his recurring role on the various Stargate television series this is yet another SyFy Channel original monster film that throw's together all the usual clichés & ends up more or less as bad as all the other's. After having seen countless numbers of these SyFy Channel monster films I am asking myself why I even bother anymore, I can't really answer that question but there's always the hope that the next one will be half good & at least they are free to watch so it only feels like I have wasted my time rather than my hard earned money. The routine script has over familiar elements slung together like a couple of wisecracking heroes, the isolated location, a few monsters that are always enraged (hence Rage of the Yeti) & want to kill everyone, stupid plans to make money & plenty of dull & poorly staged attack scenes. There's the usual goofs here as well like where was that huge plane going to land exactly? I'm not even going to ask how it was going to take off again either. These Yeti seem to have slightly suicidal tendencies as one throw's itself into a plane engine, one throw's itself off a huge cliff, one throw's itself under a snowmobile & another just stands there while a guy burns it with a flamethrower so I am not sure what that is all about. The double cross twist about half way through is meaningless & only there to kill a few more people off, the idea that one moment someone has a punctured lung & the next they can fight Yeti & trek through snowstorms just about sums up the level Rage of the Yeti is aiming for.

From a technical point Rage of the Yeti is pretty poor as well, from the utterly abysmal CGI computer effects which are bad even by SyFy Channel standards to the bland attack scenes that have zero build-up or tension to the way several character's just totally disappear supposedly lost in the snowstorm never to be seen or heard of again. Then there's the supposed snowstorm that can't even blow a plastic bag away it's so weak (the moment when the guy removes that orange plastic bag from the hole at the end & it doesn't even flap) & there's virtually no gore whatsoever as every kill is off-screen & except for a tiny bit of blood splatter Rage of the Yeti is disappointing dry.

Filmed on what was probably a next to nothing budget I find it hard to believe the $1,800,000 quoted by the IMDb. The production values aren't too bad & the sets & costumes are alright but the really bad CGI effects just kill it dead & turn what could have been an good horror film into a bit of an embarrassment. The acting is OK, the two leads play off each nicely enough with a few good one-liners & Yancy Butler does alright as well.

Rage of the Yeti isn't the worst SyFy Channel creature feature monster film out there & it had potential but the rubbish CGI & all the usual goofs & plot holes ruin it. I can't even recommend this if you can catch it on SyFy for free, I mean there's bound to be something better on another channel.

The other reviewer was too harsh.

[mumblermemnar · 14 November 2011]

As far as SyFy original movies go, this one isn't too bad. Sure the acting is bad, but I have seen worse, sure the cgi is bad, but again, I have seen worse. I found the two main characters entertainingly ridiculous, and the whole movie had a very lighthearted feel to it that made it better than some others that try to be too serious for what they are. This movie knows it is a SyFy original and just has fun with it. The monster was interesting rather than just being another snake or crocodile, and the characters were entertaining rather than overly dramatic. Sure, it is a SyFy original, so it isn't some great blockbuster movie, but it is better than most of its kind. If you like SyFy originals, I recommend this one, if you don't, then yes, steer clear.

And to the other reviewer's comment on David Hewlett just doing a few scenes to add his name to the movie, maybe you should look at the director listed for the movie before you comment next time.

So lousy that it's funny...

[vmxgroove · 1/10 · 23 May 2013]

This movie is steaming pile of Yeti dung. The computer generated Yeti are hilarious. They look so fake that I laughed through every attack. The acting is even worse. None of these folks seem to be too upset as each of their friends get gobbled up by the Yeti. They wander off one at a time in a state complete stupidity. Flat dialog and poor effects add to the laughs. I actually enjoyed this film because it was so silly. If you have nothing better to do and are looking for some completely mindless entertainment then you'll find this to be a really funny funny movie. The female characters are all pretty cute so at least it has that going for it.

Watch It Once

[HeadMMoid · 1/10 · 12 November 2011]

As this is being written it is just over twenty minutes into the movie (including commercials). So far there have been numerous technical errors, an utterly stupefying plot, poor CGI, and a complete lack of acting ability; and those are the high points.

The movie does have three notable things about it.

• First, it is a well advertised SyFy movie feature on Saturday evening, so you know before it starts that it can't be very good, and you can keep your expectations low.

• Second, it took well less than ten minutes to confirm that the previous point was correct.

• Third, David Hewlett did not exactly repeat his Dr. Rodney McKay character from the Stargate series. What he did provide were a few scenes shot in a day or two so that his name could be included in the movie.

The only reason to watch this movie - once - when you have absolutely nothing else to do, is so that you never have to watch it again in your life.

And, for those who think that twenty minutes is not sufficient time to form an opinion about this garbage; the rest of the movie was, if anything, worse.

Not a good movie, but not a complete and utter waste of time like other SyFy features

[TheLittleSongbird · 3/10 · 13 March 2012]

I do dislike most of SyFy's movies, but I do get some novelty value out of watching them and I also see if they actually do make something worthwhile. Although a vast majority of SyFy's movies range from bad to bottom-of-the-barrel, they have made a small handful that are tolerable if still flawed, with The Lost Future being the best they've done. I do agree to some extent that the previous negative reviewer was too harsh, especially with only judging its quality after just 20 minutes, as it wasn't as diabolical as all that.

However, I didn't think it was a good movie, SyFy have certainly done worse, you're lucky this wasn't another Titanic II, Quantum Apocalypse, Camel Spiders or Alien vs. Hunter, but that is excusing the many flaws I feel this movie has. The photography and such are not as dull or as slipshod as SyFy can be with their production values, but there is nothing exceptional either. I admit I liked the monster, it was an attempt at an original thought and it was interesting with some menace. The special effects are not great, with the yetis more reminiscent of mutant polar bears.

By all means, they(the effects) are not as crude as the ones in Mega Piranha for instance, but they have a tendency to have a rushed look to them in the big set pieces, such as in the helicopter explosion. The script has one too many cheesy lines and ones that flow awkwardly, and the story is structurally thin, ridiculous at times, never really thrilling and feels like snippets of their previous movies strung together going at a very frantic pace. Plus anybody interested in animals and geography will bang their heads on the wall once they hear the film's explanation for the yetis being in the Arctic rather than in China.

Consequently I didn't feel anything for the characters, they felt in general bland and like the typical stereotypes that are frequently in SyFy's movies. The acting has been worse before and since, but it is still not good. Jonas Armstrong is a nice presence and the leads are quite earnest, but Yancy Butler(though she looks beautiful) and David Hewlett can't make up for the fact that they don't have much to work with. In fact, that could be true of the whole cast, it's pretty much running in snow, trying to battle off the yetis and "rescue the chopper" mumbling. All in all, a bad movie in my opinion, but I can think of worse ways to waste my time. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Not Yeti

[wes-connors · 3/10 · 16 March 2014]

In the remote Arctic, animated-looking monsters attack people. The white, toothy creatures are called "Yeti" in the movie's title and what sounds like "Yeren" during the story. Possibly, they are not really Yeti. Syfy TV movie filmmakers send a team into the region, led by muscular David Chokachi (as Jonas) and his likewise handsome brother Matthew Kevin Anderson (as Jace). The good-looking men are to hook up with the previous team, led by attractively tough Yancy Butler (as Villers). She has some funny lines. The expeditions were supposed to bring back, for some reason, an ancient book from a shipwreck. What the book, shipwreck and Yeti have in common is mysterious; not alluring, but confusing. Viewing this movie once could put you to sleep and repeated airings could put you in a sleep-like coma, so watch "Rage of the Yeti" at your own risk.

*** Rage of the Yeti (11/12/11) David Hewlett ~ David Chokachi, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Yancy Butler, Laura Haddock

Not bad acting or anything, but incredibly boring

[SusieSalmonLikeTheFish · 2/10 · 1 January 2015]

I watched Rage of the Yeti last night and found it really boring. All it was was a bunch of people standing around in the snow waving pretend guns around, along with a "yeti" made from the worst CGI I've ever seen. The soundtrack was dull and and the acting wasn't bad but some of the actors just didn't look right for the roles they were in. It was obvious that the movie wasn't even filmed in Canada; the actors were extremely under-dressed for the type of weather Northern Canada gets. Rage of the Yeti is a movie I'll probably never watch again, it was so boring that I'll be really surprised if it doesn't just fade away from TV in the next year or so.

Best Film Ever Made????

[ChristianSlater4000 · 10/10 · 1 October 2019]

Well, someone's got to say it. This film is a flawless work of art, the likes of which has never been seen before in American cinema. The CGI is beautifully done, and looks almost lifelike. The acting is on point, giving shame to even some of the best performers of today. I honestly can't believe this film isn't rated 10/10, probably because of mindless trolls. Ignore the haters, if you like a gripping drama and romance, in a harrowing tale for survival, this is a MUST WATCH. Ignore the hater drones

excellent, not pretentious and a cracking good laugh

[wabartlett · 7/10 · 1 January 2012]

I was frustrated by another critics review given only 20 minutes into this great flick. Perhaps we really are the victims of high budget films losing our ability to appreciate anything with a budget under $100M.

As a low budget movie made on a shoestring this movie is great, the acting is sufficiently tongue in cheek for you to see the "ham i ness" as really a spoof on the high budget/ entirely CGI films.

The storyline mimics the feel of the early generation of scifi and is a great reminder of the originals in this space, "lost in space", "doctor who" and even "the day the earth stood still".

If you a movie that is clearly trying to be a very real movie, made by very real people then this is a movie for you. Also take a look at another one of David Hewletts home grown greats. "A dogs breakfast" then you will truly get an insight into this movie makers great ability to deliver a great product while gently tweaking the nose hairs of the movie making establishment.

Exceptionally enjoyable Sci-Fi Channel entry

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 8/10 · 11 March 2013]

Upon arriving at an Arctic research station looking for the reason for the previous' crews disappearance, a team of hunters find the few survivors claiming a legendary creature is responsible and try to stop them from getting loose in order to get away from the base alive.

This one was overall pretty enjoyable. One of the better features is it's rather interesting take on a Sasquatch film, as this one decides to incorporate a little-known aspect of the legend about the Chinese variation being to live in the snow allowing this one to really play around with some new environments. The ability to blend into the snow and during the heavy storm going on at the same time makes these pretty threatening creature since this one has them popping out whenever they're not expected, which is definitely a great plus here and makes the film a lot more exciting. There's also some rather fun action scenes later on that that are plenty enjoyable, and the blood and gore are what's to be expected in a Sci-Fi Channel film. The main problem with this one, as mentioned earlier it's a Sci-Fi Channel film so expect the usual level of CGI, is that despite being billed as a Sasquatch film and mentioned within the dialog of the creatures' true identity, the decision to remove the humanoid basis and turn them into more like mutated polar boars is a curious one, as they move and act like so rather than of the more human-like variations that should've populated the film. Otherwise, this one was pretty enjoyable.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Language.

Works for me!

[jongleur · 6/10 · 20 February 2014]

Another low-budget Syfy feature, better than most due to some humorous interplay between the leads; David Chakochi and Matthew Kevin Anderson. Face it, like most Syfy feature movies, it suffers from a lack of money, so the CGI is primitive, the cast is made up of lesser-known actors, and the story isn't the strongest.

I'm a big fan of low-budget productions, they test and hone the skills of the entire crew. When they manage to overcome the limitations and produce something that is entertaining enough to sit through an hour and half, I consider that a credit to their abilities. This movie passed that test, maybe not with flying colors, but good enough so that nobody associated with this movie should be ashamed to have it on their resume.

Along the way, they managed to pay homage to other, bigger successes in the genre, notably references to the Stargate franchise and Farscape. Good enough!