FILM REVIEW: ‘HIMALAYA’ AN ICY SLICE OF FEAR!
By Elio Armes
Like a cold blast of fresh air, Himalaya delivers an unexpected twist on a well-worn subgenre. In recent years, there has been a flurry of low budget cryptid entries. Very few, however, approach the lore of the yeti, a mythical creature believed to stalk the icy slopes of Nepal. It’s obvious why filmmakers on a miniscule budget would steer clear of such a milieu, but underground filmmaker Brandon Walker challenges this notion with a novel storytelling approach. In the tradition of BBC’s Ghostwatch and the 2024 release Late Night With the Devil, Himalaya utilizes a pseudo-live broadcast to effectively propel the narrative.
Ensconced in a high elevation research center, a team of experts attempt to discover the truth behind the legend of the “Snow Ghost,” a mythical creature known more commonly as the yeti. This live investigation of the supernatural is hosted by Chase Daly (Jesse LeNoir), a smarmy but charismatic internet personality searching for ratings. He is joined by a no-nonsense skeptic Dr. Abigail Frost (Ashley Park), cryptozoologist Taka Sato (Shoko Rice), and communications expert JP Carter (Robert Palmer Watkins).
On the mountain high above, famed adventurer and anthropologist Dr. Yuma Sato (Akihiro Kitamura) climbs inside a newly discovered ice cave thought to be the secret nest of the “Snow Ghost.” Wearing an array of body cameras, Dr. Sato is poised to solve the greatest mystery of all time in front of an eager internet audience. As the broadcast team settles in for a night of light-hearted adventure and potential myth busting, Dr. Sato’s wife Taka is quick to remind us that the “Snow Ghost” is more than a legend. Artifacts and evidence are presented with white gloves and reverence. Could we be looking at the physical remains of a creature the locals worship and fear? Or is this part of a complex hoax perpetuated by a clever husband-and-wife team? While Dr. Frost disputes any notion of a supernatural creature, Chase is happy to stoke the debate before each live update from the cave.
As Dr. Sato crawls deeper into icy darkness, his body camera records the ghastly remains of the previous exploration team. This gruesome discovery raises disturbing questions about their death and bolsters the theory that something ominous lurks in the frozen catacombs.
Eager to satisfy a growing online audience, Chase encourages further exploration with little concern for the risks involved. With oxygen levels dangerously low, Dr. Sato presses on, driving the story toward its savage and shadowy conclusion. Altitude sickness, psychosis, and an ever-present roar from something hideously unseen plunges Himalaya over the edge and down the slippery slopes of terror. Without spoiling the finale, it can be said that the supernatural phenomenon in this film is more than a campfire story. Sometimes the cave you enter holds the monster you fear.
Himalaya is a movie that lulls you into a false sense of security before tearing apart the clichés of a low budget creature film. Instead of characters that wander aimlessly through the woods, Himalaya sends a man inside the icy heart of a mountain, allowing us to witness his descent into madness. Not unlike the Van Helsing character of vampire lore, Dr. Sato is a man driven by more than the pursuit of knowledge. He is compelled by an absolute obsession with the unknowable. Despite the film’s limited resources, Himalaya is buoyed by its standout cast members Jesse LeNoir and Akihiro Kitamura. These actors, while never together in the same place, create palpable tension as the story unfolds. LeNoir holds the rolling snowball together with deft comedic timing and ego-centric charm, while Kitamura plays the ill-fated Dr. Sato with relish, leading us down a frost-bitten hole to hell.
Dr. Sato (Akihiro Kitamura)
Not everything in Himalaya works, but a credible looking ice cave, an anthropologically rich story, good sound design (Thomas Burke) and a steady hand from writer/director Brandon Walker helps Himalaya skate through the pitfalls of no-budget horror.
Himalaya debuts on streaming platforms worldwide on April 28, 2024.