Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes

I came across Willow Creek the other day and was pleasantly surprised. Deciding to see what other bigfoot horror is out there, I came across this. I've watched more bigfoot films in the last few days than I can count and this one surprised me. I'm lukewarm on found footage films, and this one is a slow burn, but it does a great job of building tension and the characters aren't as awfully cliched as most are in these sorts of films. They definitely could have done more with a bigger budget, but they did well with what they had. They made the smart choice to go with "less is more" when it comes to effects. We dont get many shots of monsters, but there are some impressive death scenes. If you're looking for a monster heavy found footage gore fest, you may be disappointed, but since so many similiar films dont pull off their creatures well anyway, they made the smart choice to focus on suspense and universe building. It looks like there's another project listed. I'm interested to see it!

The Found Footage sub-genre, yea I think it's time it got it's own genre. Just when I was thinking that it (F.F.) was only a fad & on it's way out, film makers are refining how to make this type of film rise in interest & the subtle ways to creep you out. When I read the word "Bigfoot" my mind went to that place of stupidity & a whole bunch of very bad attempts that the SyFy Channel has churned out over the years. Then I made sure this was not a TV movie which it was not and I actually became interested. Anyone that happened to catch TrollHunter(2010)and really liked it will undoubtedly like this as well. I don't know the inspirations of the film or any details behind the making of or script writing but I continuously got that great Trollhunter vibe and it was fantastic. It was like an American re-make to a foreign film but with switched up local legends. The acting of Drybeck(FrankAshmore) was perfection & paralleled the man in T.H. in the subtle ways he makes the scene frantic by saying less & always seeming to be preoccupied with something dangerous. Some of the other film crew actors got annoying at times with their over the top panic & fear but it wasn't bad enough to hurt the film any. It's not perfect by any means but I absolutely admit to having fun watching it and if it's offered on PPV or digital rental I do recommend it as long as you know what you're in store for. This studio managed to take a ridiculed subject like "Bigfoot" and freak the viewer out with it. So I think it deserves a solid 7/10 for the fun & creepy sides it displayed to a theme that hasn't had a respectable take done on it in what seems like forever.

A group of filmmakers go to make a documentary about a man who claims to have body of a Bigfoot but they find themselves in real danger.

To director Corey Grant's credit Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes is one of the better made POV films, in the vain of Bigfoot County of the same year but even with its real life Bigfoot hoaxer Rick Dyer style element at the beginning it never manages to suck you in like REC, Exists, Devil Pass to name a few. It's not a budget issue either as similar films Grave Encounters and The Tunnel for example manage to pull it off it. For some unexplainable reason it just lacks that je ne sais quoi.

Writers Bryan O'Cain and Brian Kelsey have all the element there it just never feels the full package. Naturalistic Drew Rausch is notable as Sean Reynolds, the producer who'll do anything to get the money shot and the rest of the cast are pretty convincing including Rich McDonald along with Ashley Wood who deserve a mention. Energetic actor Japheth Gordon scree time is minimal as he has the oomph to put the much needed spark into the proceedings.

It's not a keeper but Grant's offering better than many of SYFy Bigfoot films, hopefully a sequel or remake would correct and inject that much needed Bigfoot magic.

Like found footage movies, love Bigfoot. In The Lost Coast Tapes a TV journalist decides to give a man $75,000 to see a Bigfoot corpse and prove it's a fake. Quite why he thinks making yet another show proving Bigfoot is a fake is worth his life savings is anyone's guess. They get out to the woods and of course start to hear noises and see trees rustling. It plays its found footage premise pretty well. There are no real contradictions in sound or shots, however the cast try far too hard to be quick and witty. The dialogue is also constantly riddled with references to the show they are making. The obsession of Sean, the lead. Is enough to convince us that they would continue to keep the cameras rolling, as he is in fear of being made to look the fool at the hands of someone's prank. Unfortunately, towards the end, the film adds a very interesting spin to the Bigfoot myth, but fails to elaborate on it. This wouldn't be so bad, bu it brings it in in the last few minutes and seems to use it at an excuse to not show anything. I'm all for leaving some things to the imagination, but sometimes a film's ideas do warrant further exploration. Up until the end you can kind of guess everything that happens, and apart from the actual violence all of these things can be seen in a show like Finding Bigfoot, which is a lot more fun because it tries so hard to convince you of what's real. Not the worst found footage film or Sasquatch film, but that isn't saying much.

A interesting take on the cliche big foot found footage style movie. Could have been way better than it was. A number of things that made it interesting are never explained. Worth a watch though. It's such shame so many these found footage flicks have such potential and then fall short. The biggest fail of this was the actors who put on a textbook display of overacting. It's really quite awful in a lot of scenes.