Bigfoot

When mutilated deer are repeatedly discovered with their kidneys removed in Mentor, Ohio, the rumor increases that it's due to a Sasquatch creature in the area.

Made in 2005, the creatively titled "Bigfoot" isn't a 'B' movie, as some have called it; it's a 'C' movie being that it's a spare-change Indie that only cost $40,000. But it's pretty good for what it is. As long as you can appreciate micro-budget affairs, it delivers; except for the showdown with the creature at the climax, which has some problems. Director/writer Bob Gray also co-stars as likable Sheriff Bob. He knows how to do drama and gore, but action is not his forte.

Other than that, I felt like I knew the main characters and cared about them and their relationships. While obviously not professional actors, the cast is quite serviceable. The creature looks formidable and is decidedly malevolent; not to mention the gore is well done. There's even a quality brunette respectfully spotlighted in the parade scene.

The film runs 1 hour, 23 minutes; and was shot in Mentor & Grand River, Ohio.

GRADE: C+/B- (keeping in mind that it's a mircro-budget flick)

I have seen Disaster movie, I have seen Manos: hands of fate, Return of the living dead: rave to the grave, The return of the Texas chainsaw massacre, Troll 2 and many other B movies, but I have NEVER seen such a compilation of bad plotting, directing and acting. Every subplot in this movie is idiotic at such level that you wanna ram your head into the wall, directing feels like it came straight from some kind of dull 60-s TV show, acting is terrible beyond believe, seriously the worst I have ever seen, in Troll 2 none of the actor knew a word in English and their dialogs felt miles better and more lively and realistic than here. Yes, like most of the B flicks it has "it's so bad it's good" thing going on for it, but this movie takes itself too seriously, so it doesn't really work, the funniest thing here is Bigfoot costume they used and seeing it first time will probably give you few minutes of joyful laughter, but I don't really think it's worth it. Skip it.

Bigfoot (2006)

** (out of 4)

This low-budget horror film isn't going to be mistaken for a masterpiece but it's certainly much better than you'd expect it to be. The story is pretty simple as a man gets thrown out of the Army so he returns to his hometown where his father just recently died. The man strikes it up with his old friend who just happens to be the Sheriff now and soon they're thrown into a mystery surrounding several mutilated deers. When humans start showing up ripped apart they soon realize that it's not a bear doing the damage but instead Bigfoot. Is BIGFOOT a good movie? Not at all. What it is however is a pretty impressive "B" movie that really tries to be a throwback to the 80s direct-to-video titles and on this level the film works pretty well. Director Bob Gray does a very good job directing this film as he does the one thing great that usually kills these types of films and that's the pacing. A lot of these movies appear to have just been slung together and the pacing is all over the map but that's not the case here. I was really impressed with the way Gray kept the film moving at a good pace and even more impressive is that he actually tries to build up a story to go along with the horror elements. There's a backstory dealing with the main character's discharge from the Army and we even get a few bits and pieces from the other characters. Not all of these backstory works too well but at the same time at least the director shows he could add this stuff and work it into the material. The performances are another plus with Todd Cox doing a good job in the lead role and Gray himself is good playing the buddy/Sheriff. I've seen countless low-budget Bigfoot movies as the monster is without question my favorite "myth" character. The outfit design here of Bigfoot is without question the best I've seen. I really liked the wrinkled-up face and even the hair on the outfit looked believable. Just compare the outfit here to any other Bigfoot movie and I'll think even the most jaded person will be impressed. As is the case with a lot of these type of movies, the film eventually runs out of gas around the one hour mark and the final showdown with the creature isn't nearly as good as some of the earlier moments in the film. With that said, if you're a fan of this type of picture then it's certainly worth checking out.

This is not a good movie, although by low budget monster movie standards I would say it is far from the worst. The plot and the dialogue are no worse than average for such movies. One thing I liked was this: Usually in monster movies set in a small town, a significant percentage of the population are ignorant blockheads continually running off halfcocked and doing stupid, and usually trigger-happy, things. This movie had a few of those, but most of the major characters were actually decent, reasonable people. That was a pleasant enough change that in spite of the two star rating, I'm actually not sorry I watched this.

I came across this one late night on a digital streaming service and gave it a try after watching one bad Bigfoot movie after another. I was pleasantly surprised with this one even though it is obviously a low budget production. The monster is actually pretty well done in terms of creature effects and costume. Some of the extras seem to be just residents of the town they shot this in but Bob Gray, who plays the sheriff was actually very good and the story is decent as well. The main actors playing the lead and leading lady are okay but its a good enough acting job to be watchable. Overall a good view if you can find it. I wouldn't pay the $80 bucks I've seen it advertised at for the DVD but a digital download or rental is worth the price.