Himalaya (2024) (USA)

⭐️⭐️1/2

A live investigation of a newly discovered Himalayan ice cave was supposedly purged from the Internet. Luckily for us garbage consuming found footage fans (idiots), this footage has survived. The host of a paranormal show tags along (kind of, they have remote cameras going, communication set up and are working from a Himalayan research-station/home/museum) with cryptozoologist Dr. Yuma Sato as he tracks down the area’s infamous “Snow Ghost”. He believes the ice cave is the home of the beast. The host speaks with Sato’s wife, various other experts, witnesses and shares the history of the beast purportedly roaming the area. The natural causes of death and danger are lurking in the background of Sato’s solo trip but there’s also something beyond the realm of known science skulking in the shadows. It’s a neat setup that works well for the sub-genre. I’ve watched enough of these shows to be impressed by how well it apes them. The exploration footage has Dr. Sato overacting his heart out and it’s a little distracting but not insulting or anything. The attempts at humor aren’t that great and the dramatic story about 9/11 is a bizarre choice but to each their own, I suppose. Things get goofy as shit slides off the rails and I’m pretty damn happy about it. It’s not perfect or anything but it’s more than a little fun in how it treats things on a budget that can’t really sustain the plot and a team that can’t really deliver the necessary dramatics. Still, respect it for trying.