I caught this movie for free On-Demand a few nights ago. I went into it with very low expectations, because, in general, I find the whole Bigfoot/Sasquatch sub genre of horror movies to be rather tired and predictable. And worst of all, they often end up being boring. I mean, what can you say about a genre whose most entertaining example up until now has been the amusing series of "Messin' With Sasquatch" TV commercials?
How wrong I was where this surprising little flick is concerned! From the opening scene it grabbed me and didn't let go for nearly its entire 84 minute running time (Amazon's DVD info says 98 minutes, but the version I saw On-Demand ran for about 84. IMDB states a running time of 87, so what I saw may have been an edited version). The increasingly tense and horrific events taking place in and around a small Ohio town near the shores of Lake Erie are interspersed with a number of humorous, more laid back types of interludes, featuring the local townsfolk. Some of the dialog in the film was priceless. Overall, I found it to be more or less a perfect blend of horror and humor, something many films have tried for over the years, but very few have managed to achieve, in my opinion.
The plot, while fairly predictable, unfolds at a brisk pace. It's very well photographed, with most of the Bigfoot attacks either taking place in broad daylight, or during very well lit nighttime scenes. There's a fair amount of gore, with the effects being quite good for such a low budget movie. The monster costume, while nothing out of the ordinary, is also quite effective. The creature's physical movements ranged from stealthy to threatening, to downright terrifying! The characters are well written, and well acted, for the most part. I found the role of the sheriff, played by the film's director, Bob Gray, to be particularly likeable and well portrayed. And the female lead, Lisa Foster, was engaging and attractive. Perhaps the only let down in the acting department was from the male lead, Todd Cox, whom I found to be rather bland and boring. But when it came time for the final showdown with the creature, his stoic manner fit the bill well. In fact, I thought that entire scene easily rivaled Arnold Schwarznegger's final confrontation with the creature in the first Predator movie. Plus, the expected outcome managed to come about in a most unexpected way.
All in all, a really fun little horror movie. Major props to everyone involved. If I had a limited budget with which to make a movie (not to mention the talent to do so), this is the sort of result I could only dream of achieving. The writer (again, Bob Gray), actors and director managed to do something pretty darn special with such a limited budget. I would definitely consider giving any sort of film project in which Bob Gray is involved a try, whether he's acting, writing or directing, or in the case of Bigfoot, all three. I think he's a talented guy, and deserves to do well in an industry he so obviously loves.