By Christopher Houtz
Man do I love me some Bigfoot. Yep, self avowed fan of all things big and feety. The problem has been a lack of descent Sasquatch films. Oh sure, there has always been The Legend of Boggy Creek, but even that was, well….a steaming pile of Biggie’s scat.
Now comes the recent mini trend of Bigfoot movies. Coming out faster that you can say “What was that”? I’ve seen a bunch of ’em and I gotta tell you, not a one has grabbed me by the short hairs like the Bobcat Goldthwait (yes, that Bobcat) directed “Willow Creek”.
I bought in to this thing right away. We have a dude, Jim (Bryce Johnson) and his charming gal pal Kelly (Alexie Gilmore) on an adventure to trace the path of the famed Patterson/Gimlin film of 1967. These two come off completely natural as a real couple. Their banter is funny, endearing, and totally believable. He is the unabashed believer looking for some proof, and she is the Scully to his Mulder, not in on the Bigfoot razzle dazzle, but good naturedly along to support and spend time with her man as he fulfills one of his dreams.
He is shooting a documentary about his little expedition, and the couple do a few interviews, stop by the local diner to have themselves a Bigfoot burger (god gawd that thing looks yummy), and eventually head off into the woods to locate Bluff Creek, their desired destination. As anyone in these situations will do, even warned off by a few locals, they keep on keepin’ on (I mean…wouldn’t you?).
By the time we get to the third act, the tension has slowly risen (it just creeps up on you), the couple have an awkward moment or two lost in the woods, we get a little Blair Witchery action in a tent, and then the big poo hits the fan. It’s great fun, and boy does Alexie do a great job showing her actress chops as she changes from the easy breezy lady we knew to a scared for her life girl, who just wants to go home. Big kudos on that.
While “Willow Creek” is not a perfect film (lack of blood and gore, not a single boobie to be seen), it is a fun, endearing, tension building, little film, with an absolutely whacko ending that you just have see for yourself. If you don’t mind found footage and you are looking for a really well done “Squatch” movie, you could a lot worse than this one. Highly recommended.
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