David Hewlett talks Syfy creature feature Rage of the Yeti

Stargate Atlantis‘s David Hewlett is unleashing his Rage this Saturday night.  The Syfy Channel creature feature Rage of the Yeti (Saturday, 9/8c) is Hewlett’s lovechild: he directed the film in the snowy mountains of Bulgaria last year (nicknaming it his “evil snow monkies” movie).

“Nobody knew what the Yeren [Yeti] were going to look like!” he told GateWorld. “It walks this line where they have this power of invisibility, which I joked they were not terribly good at … because you can see them. The idea is their fur reflects the show. The reality is, when you actually see the movie — I joke that maybe they’re not very smart because they think they’re invisible! But they’re not.”

Hewlett played Dr. Rodney McKay on Stargate.  He also has a role on screen in Yeti, alongside stars David Chokachi, Yancey Butler, and Matthew Anderson.

“It’s a great role,” Hewlett said of his part. “It’s this character called Mills.  Basically, the idea is he’s a dot-com billionaire and he runs around the world buying technology that he shouldn’t have, like giant military planes and Soviet submarines and Chinook helicopters … and then searching for random treasures that he thinks sound interesting.”

Though some fans of great science fiction roll their eyes at Syfy’s (high-rating) monster movies, Hewlett suggests that they can be a lot of good fun.

“I call it ‘awful fun,'” he joked.  “They are what they are. The nature of these things is that you’re supposed to revel in the over-the-top gore and the somewhat suspect effects (at times).  I think that’s part of their charm. They’re the stuff I grew up with. And sure, they can be a bit ‘Ed Wood’ at times … but if I wasn’t making these movies, I’d be watching them.”

“They’re a specific type of movie, and I think you come into them with a sense of humor, you come into them and suspend your disbelief.  They become about the characters and about the whole ludicriousness of the whole situation. I mean, these guys are being chased by giant snow orangutans!”

Hewlett said that the Bulgaria experience was like “boot camp” for directors, and that he made new friends he’s hoping to work with again.

“It was an absolutely amazing experience,” Hewlett said. “I feel like I’m earning my stripes here. I’m stepping way out of my comfort zone and learning how to work. It’s amazing. I would do it again in a second.”

Rage of the Yeti makes its world premiere this Saturday (November 12) at 9/8c on Syfy!  Stay tuned this week to hear our full-length audio interview with David, in which he also talks about projects he has in development, the current state of science fiction, and the future of Stargate.

Follow David on Twitter @dhewlett!