Sasquatch (2003)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

The greatest movie ever!

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Sasquatch (2002) * (out of 4) A plane crashes into the Northwestern mountains but after the search is called off one of the victim's rich CEO father (Lance Henriksen) puts together a search team. The team heads off into the mountains to look for the plane as well as a few secret items but soon run into the title creature. I really love watching Bigfoot movies of all types but this one here is probably the worst one I've seen. This film was originally known as The Untold but no matter the title this one is a real stinker. There are countless issues with this film but the most annoying item is the really bad editing, which also features countless fade to black sequences, which get tiresome very quickly. Another issue are the point of view shots of Bigfoot, which are nothing more than the screen going to various colors. I could mention the bad acting, weak story or poor Bigfoot outfit but all of this is to be expected. Even Henriksen comes off looking very bored and bland. This film is apparently based on a true story where a group went out looking for a plane and when they returned they said many members were lost to a Sasquatch attack. That angle of the story might have been a lot more interesting in the right hands but this film just kills any attempt at a good movie.

I would have sworn I had already reviewed this one. I saw it a couple of years ago and thought it was quite solid. It ranks in there with Deadly Species & Below Loch Ness, as good, meaty, if predictable horror fare.Yes, many of the seemingly required "group stalked by predator in woods" techniques are present. Yes, the ending seems just a tad contrived. Still, it is unlikely that anyone who thinks movies begin with Citizen Cain and end with Wild Strawberries would be watching a Bigfoot film, anyway! The drunken author is great as he slowly comes unraveled & the sexy ingénue is nicely cunning. The video camera scenes from the crashed plane are both horror-invoking and heart-wrenching. They add much to the film.So what if this is basically the Congo plot with the Deadly Species & Curse of the Kamodo characters recycled? It's a fun way to spend an evening.

Developing movies that are based on actual events involving cryptozoology or the supernatural has always been a challenge for directors and screenwriters. You have to mainly reconcile reported testimonies, conflicting info sources, and Hollywood creativity to produce something the audience can get into. Unfortunately, for SASQUATCH, none of these things seem to take place.The movie starts out in typical film noir when a research team crash lands somewhere in the Cascades via airplane. From there the research team disappears, and despite attempts from law enforcement officials and local rescue parties they remain missing for some time. While one of the passengers is walking, infra-red-like images are splashed on the screen (a la Predator) which subtly hint that the legendary Sasquatch is the cause of the passengers' fates.Cue Harlan Knowles (Henriksen), CEO of BioComp Industries and father of one of the crash victims. Knowles puts together his own search & rescue team with the explicit mission of finding his daughter and the rest of the research crew, along with the invaluable technology lost during the crash.After Knowles' tailor-made rescue team is put together, the entire movie traverses down the path of uncolorful characters, dizzying cinematography, and a totally unoriginal plot line. I literally had to keep myself from falling asleep during this movie as it attempted to frighten me out of my wits. The only member of the cast that held his own was Henriksen, which doesn't make up for the lack of depth presented in all of the other characters. The over-done sound effects were annoying as well; basically, I didn't know if I was watching a movie about Bigfoot or grizzly bears.Neither was the plot line all that great. It was too underdeveloped as the viewer is mainly subjected to typical fright music found in anything similar of the genre. Obviously you didn't have to be a genius to figure out who would be pulling off all their clothes by the middle of the movie, or who'd be the first unlucky soul to get mauled by Mr. Sasquatch. As far as good points, there are none, and therefore I gave this movie a 2 out of 10.

"Sasquatch" plays just like any regular Sci-Fi channel original feature.**SPOILERS**A plane crashes in the mountains of Northern Washington. Since his daughter Tara (Erica Durance) was on board, Harlan Knowles, (Lance Henriksen) heads up an expedition to go find her, but since he only knows his way around a board room, he hires experienced tracker Clayton Tyne (Russell Ferrier) and animal expert Winston Burg (Philip Granger) to help him. Guided along by Marla Lawson, (Andrea Roth) Nikki Simmons, (Mary Mancini) and Plazz (Jeremy Radick), they search in the area where she may have been lost. The forest starts playing tricks on the group, as they start to suspect that something may be after them. Hiking on with no luck, they seek shelter in a cave when a storm sets in. after it passes through, they head off again. Locating the plane but none of the passengers aboard, Marla discovers evidence that a Sasquatch may be responsible for the disappearances. Soon, they are picked off one by one, and only Harlan, Clayton, Plazz and Nikki are left. Even though they have proof of the animals' existence, they leave it so that they have a chance to escape unharmed.The Good News: One of the things I really enjoy about this movie is its really suspenseful attacks. The first one is really the highlight in the film. With one of the characters trapped inside a sleeping bad, they feel something brush up against them outside. Playfully thinking it's the crew-member who likes her, she gives him the cold shoulder, then is suddenly dragged out of her tent and pulled along for a short distance until it finally lets go. She looks up and doesn't see anything that could be dragging her. One of the good creepy moments in the film, as well as this tape that is used to verify that the daughter is missing. Also creepy was the handful of scenes where you could hear something in the jungle pretty away, and the reactions of the people to the noises. Even still, the creepier moments of the film take center-stage, as only two people are shown to be killed on-screen. The film also provides tons of clues as too what exactly is following them. From cave-paintings to pieces of debris found lying on the floor of the jungle to blood found on trees, there were plenty of clues needed for even Watson to deduce that it was a Sasquatch hunting the few people it kills. After all that, we do get some nudity to help smooth things over for all of us. They even kept the appearance of the creature a secret until the very end, so it wouldn't be considered a letdown when it shows up on screen.The Bad News: This really needed to let some of the cast members to die. Two on-screen kills aren't nearly enough to satisfy even a third grader. It had the stereotyped characters to kill off, yet it never even introduced them to danger in meeting the creature. That would've made their situation all the creepier. Had they actually been in a dangerous environment, I would've cared if they survived the trip, but as it stands, none of the characters are really that special.The Final Verdict: This really reads a lot like the "Creature Features" the Sci-Fi channel loves to showcase almost every week. The main difference is that the creature isn't shown a whole lot in the film. It has a lot more riding for it than against it, and is at least worth a look for those who are interested in the legend of the creature, as it is mentioned a few times in the movie.Rated R: Graphic Language, Violence, and Brief Nudity