Sasquatch (2002)

"Unseen. Unknown. Unthinkable."

Plot

Billionaire Harlan Knowles leads a rescue mission into the mountains and forests of the Pacific Northwest to look for his daughter who went down in a plane crash, along with a top secret project known only as the Huxley Project. As the team heads into the mountains, they come to realise that they are not alone and that something is watching them. Something intelligent and which doesn't want the top secret project being found.

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Bigfoot - one of the big mysteries of the unexplained which man has yet to really answer and one which film makers have seemingly done little with over the years, especially when you think of how many killer shark or crocodile films there are out there. It's a great idea for a horror film just waiting to break free. The possibility that they do/did exist in the world and the possibility that they may be angry with what we're doing to the planet and hungry for human flesh is too good for a horror buff to think about! It's an idea which has seen a sudden emergence in the Noughties thanks to a spate of Bigfoot-themed horror films.

The first thing that I should tell you about Sasquatch is that it is the victim of another director-studio feud which has resulted in the original vision of the film being skewered by the studio's desire for cheap shocks. The re-titling to Sasquatch (it was previously named The Untold) for the video market and the addition of more shots of the creature were not what Jonas Quastel had in mind. It's unfortunate because no matter how bad a film may be, I always prefer to see the director's vision on screen because that is usually the vision that was intended from the start, not one that has been tailored for money-making purposes by some slimy suits in an office. The director is the man calling the shots throughout filming and he should be the one calling the shots on how the film turns out. When studios start messing with the films they make, they might as well have directors done away with and get some second unit directors to film loads of random scenes to be put together. Having said all of that, I was one of those lured by the title Sasquatch - I probably wouldn't have given it a second glance with the named of The Untold. So I guess the studio has won after all.

However, the flip side to this is that the film really blows and I can't really see anything that Quastel could have removed or changed that would make me change my mind. The thing that really strikes you when you sit and watch this is how hard Jonas Quastel has tried to stamp his own mark on the film. He has tried to mark his own directing style with his use of editing and fades to black. After all, even if the film sucks, at least producers can see the talents of the director shining through and then offer them better budgets for future films. However here you know there's a scene change coming because it fades to black. Time and time again. It gets so annoying after the first ten times. Fade to black is usually a device to indicate that a longer period of time has taken place between scenes but here characters only have to step outside their tents for the fades to black to hit before the next shot shows them standing outside said tent.

The constant fades to black are probably the least of the film's worries though. There's a distinct lack of anything happening apart from a group of characters trawling through the woods. Bigfoot is out there but you wouldn't guess it. The creature doesn't have a whole lot to during the film other than rustle trees and ogle the gorgeous Andrea Roth taking a naked dip into a hot water spring in the middle of the woods (how else we were going to get our T & A quota?). It's also got some Predator-style vision (not the only Bigfoot film to do this I might add) and when it is finally revealed, it's bald! I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing but it just looks downright silly as if it's had an accident in the barber shop. The final reveal of the pathetic creature (there's me not caring about spoilers with the image above) is a total contrast to the snarling, brutish monster of the artwork.

At a slim eighty-six minutes, Sasquatch has no right to be a slow and uneventful as it is. But the wafer-thin plot doesn't even keep us going for sixty minutes let alone eighty-two. Not only do you have the mystery of Bigfoot to toy with, you've also got the mystery as to why Lance Henriksen has starred in more terrible films than he gets good roles. As usual, Henriksen turns up, pulls his performance out of his rear end and then walks off with another payday which should last him another month until his next low budget feature. Does this guy have an addiction or owe a producer a ton of money? He's a great actor and deserves so much better. Andrea Roth adds the glamour when she gives us the teasing moment in the jacuzzi but does little else barring that. I guess her character serves her purpose and hey, I'm not complaining. I guess the guy in the gorilla suit did a good job too, simply because he was the only guy who wouldn't see how ridiculous he looked in the costume.

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Final Verdict

Watching Sasquatch serves as a reminder that anyone whose inspiration comes from a pathetic Bigfoot costume and having Lance Henriksen's services for a few days and then thinking they can mould that into a decent film really needs to re-evaluate their career choices.

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Sasquatch Also Known As: The Untold Director(s): Jonas Quastel Writer(s): Jonas Quastel, Chris Lanning Actor(s): Lance Henriksen, Andrea Roth, Russell Ferrier, Philip Granger, Mary Mancini, Taras Kostyuk, Erica Durance, Jeremy Radick Duration: 86 mins