Valley of the Sasquatch (2015)

Who payed the critics

A Disappointing Continuation

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

They taught us that if you're going out into the wilderness, you'd best bring everything you need to survive with you. And that still holds true today. I thought this flick was pretty good for a monster movie. About what you'd expect, maybe better than the average Big Foot story. I didn't 'get' the Sergio character, though. He seemed to me to be unnecessary and kind of annoying.

This film could have been good if they would have left out the first 45 minutes of the film which was nothing more than a father and son drama... they dragged that on way to long. And the boy's uncle looked as if he was going to sit in the lotus position at any given seconded chanting the "OM" - lol he really didn't belong in the woods with the others. And the son was more like his uncle than his father - that's good and bad - the father was a piece of puckie, but the son wasn't any better towards his dad.The last 45 minutes we finally get to the "Bigfoot" or Sasquatch - that part was okay. I will say they tried to give a good film... it almost worked but it does have it's short comings.4/10

Before I begin reviewing this film, let me say I LOVE creature features. I am so tired of all the scary movies coming out these days that are focused on the paranormal. Those films are generally horribly boring and rely 100% on jump scares to try and make it 'scary.'Anyway, on to this film. The general premise is a widowed father and his son move up to a small cabin/shack in the woods. The dad is immediately portrayed as a jerk/loser because he can't relate to his son, doesn't want him to go to college, and invites his jerk Spanish friend up to get drunk. Anyway, we're introduced to these 4 characters and there's really no character we are rooting for with exception of maybe the Uncle who seems to relate to the son well enough and stick up for him. The 4 set out to go hunting and long story short discover big foot. Big foot chases them back to the cabin where they have to put up a final fight and try to escape. They are met by another survivor we are introduced to at the beginning. That's about it. Typical creature feature with a fairly predictable plot.That said, the movie has totally implausible and unconvincing acting/reactions by the characters. When David Saucedo's character (who acted terribly in this movie) goes to take a leak out hunting and sees a Big Foot coming after him (honestly looked more like a giant squirrel moving through the shrubs/ground cover) he fires off multiple shots. Then he falls down into a landing and sees blood and flesh all over the place. He meets back up with everyone and DOESN'T even bring it up or agree with the son/uncle they should go back to the Cabin!Then the son and David actually SEE Big Foot after being woken that night, one is like 2 feet away from the son's face. And their reaction is COMPLETELY nonchalant after. Like, "OMG big foot is real. Hmm well that's cool. I guess we should leave?" And then are running around the forest with seemingly zero concern for the thing.Lastly, the Uncle/Son/Mexican guy are all back in the cabin after the Dad gets taken by Big Foot, and the Uncle wants to get the keys to get the car and go get help. Seems COMPLETELY logical to me and these things are scared of guns. Yet the Mexican guy has a HUGE issue with this (why?) and then TWICE STABS and KILLS the Uncle right in front of his nephew. Then has the son help him haul him into the bedroom!? WHAT IN THE WORLD!? Are you kidding me? Who would act like this!? The creature effects are practical (no CGI) but not great. There is really no shot with suspense and the creature on the poster was what I was expecting. These honestly just look like a weird gorilla and obviously men in suits, they don't seem that big or threatening at all... The creature is also revealed way too often, something that Abominable got accurate (although the creature's face needed some work in that movie). The thing just didn't seem that scary, especially early in the film when one captured guy tricks it into eating tobacco chew and then bashes it's head in with a rock. Problem solved? Honestly a Grizzly bear seems more terrifying than this thing. The gore effects were pretty laughable - one guy gets his arm ripped off and they come apart like jello - see the lion scene from The Happening. Cinematography/Isolation just wasn't there. Some films are VERY good at creating an isolation feel to it, or danger to going outside. This film just didn't have it. Hell the Big Foot ran off after a couple shots were fired initially. The movie Exists (2014) did this very well IMO for a big foot movie. Other films like The Thing (re- make), Tremors, Alien, Jaws (ending), made VERY good use of this and made you afraid of the environment and lack of resources available to escape. This movie had that setting in the Forest/lack of tech but just didn't utilize it well. The score/sounds/music is basically non-existent. There is no uneasy tune or score to keep you on edge. Even Arachnophobia which was touted as a comedy/horror had some very unsettling musical scores. The light hearted music that quickly changed to a more creepy tone. This movie basically didn't have any music. Some of the monsters roars are heard early on but they didn't give me unease like the howl from the wolf in American Werewolf in London. That howl still gives me chills... that was a horror film that didn't really have a score but didn't need it with the creepy POV shots and lack of monster reveal (until the end). Overall not worth your time. The acting is TERRIBLE, the main scare feature (monster/environment) is not there, and the story is a recycled bland one that does NOTHING new to a genre that has tons of these films. I dunno why this has more than 5 stars. Either the producers family/friends came on here and all voted it a 10 or I am missing something HUGE here. And I know I'm mentioning some all time greats/classics, but it's just to compare and show that this movie didn't even come CLOSE to nailing on ONE of the aspects. For Sasquatch scare movies, Abominable and Exists are far better. The former has good gore, believable acting, and great pacing. The later sets up a scarier atmosphere and some great shots (namely when the Bigfoot is chasing the guy on the bike).

This film was the last to be screened at Horrible Imaginings Film Festival in San Diego where it won the award for Best Cinematography in a Feature Film.Monster movie by a local San Diego filmmaking team, this could be classified as a "B" monster movie with Bigfoot as the monster. The movie takes its time in developing its cast of characters and the circumstances which brings them to the setting where the monster mayhem is to take place. The cinematography is nice in making good use of the woods in the state of Washington, and the setting in the woods makes use of its own claustrophobia when out in the woods, especially at night. Scenes taking place in the cabin were oddly reminiscent of the original Night Of The Living Dead with the confined space that our humans have to deal with. The gore factor does increase after a time which creates uneasy laughs in the audience. Bigfoot itself looks rather poor at times, but since Bigfoot arguably doesn't exist (although the filmmaker would argue) we must accept what the movie presents. The tension is fun and the final confrontations with the family of Bigfoot is a good payoff for a monster movie of this type. If there is a downside to this movie is that the film's most likable character is the first to die. What breaks with cliché is how it happens. Other than that this is a fun late night/midnight monster flick.