HORROR MOVIES 101

Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Ape Man

So my girlfriend and I have this fascination with Bigfoot, thus I rented a compilation of Bigfoot themed films from Netflix.  They were all really bad as we had expected, but had some amusing moments.

Here's the rundown of what we saw:

The Capture of Bigfoot - the first one on the DVD.  This establishes a lot of common themes in you average Bigfoot movie.  The villain of the film wants to kill or capture Bigfoot for his own noteriety and riches.  The good guys of the film want Bigfoot to stay free.  The authorities want the problem of Bigfoot killing people to be solved so that it doesn't scare away tourists (kind of a Jaws theme).  There's a pointless party.   And Bigfoot likes to attack couples who have sex in the woods.  The only thing here you probably wouldn't see in any other Bigfoot movie is a sheriff who likes to do impressions of famous Hollywood actors for no aparent reason.  There's a sweet snowmobile stunt, but also some horrible snowmobile work too.  The most interesting thing was that it was filmed very close to where my girlfriend would go camping every year growing up in Wisconsin.  You can hear a lot of the Wisconsin accents.

Shriek of the Mutilated - The goriest, most famous, and most exciting of all of the movies on this disc, but it's still horrible.  Horrible acting, filming, pacing, and editing.  But some amusingly bad characters.  And an amusing and unexpected piece of violence near the beginning of the film before we even see the beast.  The ending is very strange and kind of a disappointment.

Search for the Beast - The most recent of all of the films on this disc and also by far the worst.  Actually probbly the worst movie I've ever seen.  Apparently shot on VHS or some other horrible video media from the 90s.  As bad as the other films on this disc were, this one was so bad I couldn't even believe it was paired with the rest.  Again, having sex in the woods means Bigfoot will come for you to kill you and **** you.  But this is the fakest looking Bigfoot EVER.  There are a lot of tropes in this film mentioned earlier as well.  The acting is worse here than ever!!  Also like Shriek of the Mutilated, the ending would have been a disappointment if I hadn't stopped caring after the first two minutes!  I challenge you to watch this film all the way without considering it torture!!  You are allowed to drink like I did though.

Legend of Bigfoot - I was kind of worn out by the time we got to this one.  This is presented as if it were a documentary but was clearly fake.  Not really a horror movie either, although there are some times I think you are supposed to feel a little scared.  Nothing would make sense if it weren't for the extensive and goofy narration.  It was probably just made to capitalize on the topic (well actually that's proably the reason for all of these movies).

So has anyone here seen any good Bigfoot movies that they would like to recommend?

Re:Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Ape Man

Risselada:

So has anyone here seen any good Bigfoot movies that they would like to recommend?

   Is this a trick question?  

Re:Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Ape Man

Dr_Gor:

Risselada:

So has anyone here seen any good Bigfoot movies that they would like to recommend?

   Is this a trick question?  

Not really.  But the fact that you asked that makes me wonder if I'm missing something obvious here...

Re:Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Ape Man

Risselada:

Not really.  But the fact that you asked that makes me wonder if I'm missing something obvious here...

   "Bigfoot" movies are few and far between.   To my knowledge, there has NEVER been a "big-budget" , "super-deluxe"  movie about  "Bigfoot-like-creatures" ...  (I do not count  "Harry and the Hendersons"!) ...    There have been several B-grade movie versions but most were not very good to say the least.   I have seen all of the movies on your list except for the 1997 one...   The problem with those was that the last time I saw them was at the Drive-In during their initial release...   it was a few years ago...   There IS one of those that I still have in my collection...   Shreik of the Mutilated ...   As you said, a very poorly made movie but with a few moments of good gore and a lot of fun.

   As far as "good" Bigfoot movies I can think of two off the bat.   These are both still "low-budget-bad-movies" but they are stand-outs as the best of the worst...   if that makes any sense...

     Creature from Black Lake (1976) Is a true stand-out about Florida's "ape-man" and featureing the legendary Jack Elam in a starring role!

     The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)  is a "semi-documentary" about another Southern ape-like creature.

   Honestly, folks, I have visited Florida's Everglades and swamps and I am telling you that ANYTHING could be living there!

   I live near the foothills of Denver and we have our own version of Bigfoot called "The Snowbeast" ...It has been seen mostly on Pike's Peak.   There is a sign at the bottom of the Pike's Peak Highway that says  "DANGER : BIGFOOT CROSSING" ...   I kid you not.

                                                                                              < GOR >

Re:Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Ape Man

Dr_Gor:

     The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)  is a "semi-documentary" about another Southern ape-like creature.

  

   This "re-enactment of a true story" is actually a very good and scary movie about a murderous "ape-like" creature roaming the swamps of Arkansas.   The director of this movie, Charles Pierce, also directed another "semi-documentary" in 1976 called  The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976) .   This is a great movie that is "based on a true story" about a hooded serial killer in the town of Texarkana, Arkansas in the 1940's.   The look of the killer in this movie was "borrowed"  for the look of  "Jason"  in  "Friday the 13th: Part II" ...   Starring the great Ben Johnson and Andrew Prine and featuring a GEM of a performance by Dawn Wells (yes, THAT Dawn Wells) as a victim, this is actually a very good movie!

                                                                             < GOR >

Re:Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Ape Man

Those were fun and not-so-bad movies.  Now the Legend of Boggy Creek 2 was pretty awful.  I think it was so awful that MST 3000 did their little commentary on it. 

There are some pretty interesting and cool documentaries and TV shows on Bigfoot.  I think Destination Truth might have gone on a couple of quests to see what they could find.  It is amazing at how many eyewitnesses there are.  There is this extremely tiny paranormal museum in Seattle with a whole book-case dedicated to big foot w/pictures and plaster castings of Big Feet, stories from eyewitness accounts.  IT's kind of cool.  I don't know how I feel.  I do believe there are probably millions of creatures that are allusive that humans have not documented yet.  BUT I wish someone would find a skeleton of one.  My friend says they probably have some intelligence and if one of their own dies, the others would take the body to a secret burial chamber in a cave somewhere.  It is fascinating and I love cryptozoology.

Dr_Gor:

Dr_Gor:

     The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)  is a "semi-documentary" about another Southern ape-like creature.

  

   This "re-enactment of a true story" is actually a very good and scary movie about a murderous "ape-like" creature roaming the swamps of Arkansas.   The director of this movie, Charles Pierce, also directed another "semi-documentary" in 1976 called  The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976) .   This is a great movie that is "based on a true story" about a hooded serial killer in the town of Texarkana, Arkansas in the 1940's.   The look of the killer in this movie was "borrowed"  for the look of  "Jason"  in  "Friday the 13th: Part II" ...   Starring the great Ben Johnson and Andrew Prine and featuring a GEM of a performance by Dawn Wells (yes, THAT Dawn Wells) as a victim, this is actually a very good movie!

                                                                             < GOR >

Re:Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Ape Man

Dr_Gor:

Risselada:

Not really.  But the fact that you asked that makes me wonder if I'm missing something obvious here...

   "Bigfoot" movies are few and far between.   To my knowledge, there has NEVER been a "big-budget" , "super-deluxe"  movie about  "Bigfoot-like-creatures" ...  (I do not count  "Harry and the Hendersons"!) ...    There have been several B-grade movie versions but most were not very good to say the least.   I have seen all of the movies on your list except for the 1997 one...   The problem with those was that the last time I saw them was at the Drive-In during their initial release...   it was a few years ago...   There IS one of those that I still have in my collection...   Shreik of the Mutilated ...   As you said, a very poorly made movie but with a few moments of good gore and a lot of fun.

   As far as "good" Bigfoot movies I can think of two off the bat.   These are both still "low-budget-bad-movies" but they are stand-outs as the best of the worst...   if that makes any sense...

     Creature from Black Lake (1976) Is a true stand-out about Florida's "ape-man" and featureing the legendary Jack Elam in a starring role!

     The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)  is a "semi-documentary" about another Southern ape-like creature.

   Honestly, folks, I have visited Florida's Everglades and swamps and I am telling you that ANYTHING could be living there!

   I live near the foothills of Denver and we have our own version of Bigfoot called "The Snowbeast" ...It has been seen mostly on Pike's Peak.   There is a sign at the bottom of the Pike's Peak Highway that says  "DANGER : BIGFOOT CROSSING" ...   I kid you not.

                                                                                              < GOR >

Thanks for the suggestions!  It's too bad that there hasn't been a really great Bigfoot horror movie, don't you think?  I think it's great fodder for a fantastic horror film.  Any speculations as to why one hasn't been made?  Maybe the mainstream prefers to think of Bigfoot as the nice guy as portrayed in Harry and the Hendersons.

Re:Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Ape Man

divinemsjunebug:

Those were fun and not-so-bad movies.  Now the Legend of Boggy Creek 2 was pretty awful.  I think it was so awful that MST 3000 did their little commentary on it. 

There are some pretty interesting and cool documentaries and TV shows on Bigfoot.  I think Destination Truth might have gone on a couple of quests to see what they could find.  It is amazing at how many eyewitnesses there are.  There is this extremely tiny paranormal museum in Seattle with a whole book-case dedicated to big foot w/pictures and plaster castings of Big Feet, stories from eyewitness accounts.  IT's kind of cool.  I don't know how I feel.  I do believe there are probably millions of creatures that are allusive that humans have not documented yet.  BUT I wish someone would find a skeleton of one.  My friend says they probably have some intelligence and if one of their own dies, the others would take the body to a secret burial chamber in a cave somewhere.  It is fascinating and I love cryptozoology.

Yes, cryptozoology is really interesting.  The really strange, mythic, and creepy stuff at least!  If you find any cool links, or resources, or movies on the topic, please feel free to post them here!

Re:Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Ape Man

Risselada:

Thanks for the suggestions!  It's too bad that there hasn't been a really great Bigfoot horror movie, don't you think?  I think it's great fodder for a fantastic horror film.  Any speculations as to why one hasn't been made?  Maybe the mainstream prefers to think of Bigfoot as the nice guy as portrayed in Harry and the Hendersons.

   Actually, I have been working on an original story for the past several years that involves the Bigfoot legend to some degree...

Re:Bigfoot / Sasquatch / Ape Man

Dr_Gor:

Risselada:

Thanks for the suggestions!  It's too bad that there hasn't been a really great Bigfoot horror movie, don't you think?  I think it's great fodder for a fantastic horror film.  Any speculations as to why one hasn't been made?  Maybe the mainstream prefers to think of Bigfoot as the nice guy as portrayed in Harry and the Hendersons.

   Actually, I have been working on an original story for the past several years that involves the Bigfoot legend to some degree...

Is Bigfoot actually in it!!?