Director: Joy Houck Jr.
Year: 1976
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Bigfoot/Sasquatch
Plot:
Following a series of animal sightings, a pair of students from a college university arrive in a small Louisiana town to investigate the strange sightings where they eventually come to realize that a local legend about a hairy ape-like beast in the swamps might be more real than they thought.
Review:
This was a pretty solid old-school genre effort. One of the better elements present is the general atmosphere of the small-town, close-knit community in which the whole thing takes place. Fiercely loyal and protective of anything related to the creature yet utterly reluctant to do anything about it in fear of being ridiculed for their beliefs, the idea portrayed here of the backwoods town that they inhabit is incredibly realistic while also setting the stage for the believable touch that they're reluctant to do anything about the creature. Insistant on passing it off as the constant ravings of the crazy and unbalanced, the backstory about it haunting the locals and seeing the effect it has on others gives this a solid grounding for the later scenes knowing that their intentions on proving it flies in the face of their attitude towards it.
That all provides the groundwork required for the genuinely chilling approach taken to the creature when it finally appears. Keeping everything to a basic, realistic approach rather than relying on fancy encounters or spectacle-driven scenarios, the sporadic confrontations are far more impactful due to this approach as the opening ambush on the fishermen, a flashback detailing a survivor’s encounter with the creature, and the later appearance at the farmhouse where its screams are recorded offer some incredibly atmospheric and chilling scenes. The finale, featuring them tracking the creature deep in the swamp-filled woods by themselves, has some fun with the various encounters as the creature stalks them both and ends with a darker conclusion than what was expected, all of which gives this a lot to hold it up for the most part.
There are a few minor problems with this one. Among its biggest drawbacks is the overlong running time featuring a series of unnecessary moments meant to stretch out the running time but otherwise not providing much use for the film. The main part of this is the highly underwhelming storyline about the sheriff’s daughters trying to get with them because of their outsider nature that only serves to get the sheriff on their case that could’ve been accomplished in several other methods than a go-nowhere romance angle. Other scenes including their attempts at placating the farmer family who takes them in or the bonding attempt to get the information from the town trapper are much the same, and with the creature’s lack of screentime potentially being an issue for some, serve as the main detriments here.
Overview: ****/5
A highly effective creature feature with a lot to like about it, the few flaws here only prove to be a minor nuisance to a generally effective creature feature that’s quite worthwhile. Give this a look if you’re a fan of this style or are curious about this one in particular, while only those who don’t like this type of creature feature won’t enjoy this one and should heed caution.
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