The Capture of Bigfoot

From Box office magazine 6/18/79: "The Capture of Bigfoot", the Bill Rebane production from Studio Film Corp., will be delayed for an unknown amount of time, due to the recent disappearance of 400 feet of film negative. According to Rebane, the disappearance of the footage, out of which 200 feet was to be used in the actual movie, will delay the mid-July openings previously scheduled for Arkansas and Memphis . . .How long that delay will be depends on the results of laboratory tests currently taking place in Denver. Insurance adjustors have made a duplicate negative from the work print, and the results of the lab tests will determine whether it is commercially feasible to use it in place of the missing footage...

Its a sin how these things are made, but then again we wouldn't get to see the best "Dummy scene" ever filmed. Ahhh the beauty of low budget Bigfoot flicks, you lean to see the beauty the more you watch them, thats if your brain doesn't melt first. As I said before, this has the best dummy scene ever! Words cant express it, you have to see it for yourself. Wonderful lines such as "Smells like decain flesh", "Thems human..."(You will know this one when you see it) The creature makes a Blah, Blah! sound and the scene where the baby gets shot will make you cry(with laughter) you will be rewinding it. Has a car chase, snowmobile chase, a Bigfoot folk song as well as a Disco song. It dosn't end there, while watching the credits a friend noticed "Wardrobe provided by K-Mart". You ask, how could you even get as far as the credits and then watch them? I could only explain this as a sort of shock to the brain, you are so mentally exhausted you cant move and also I guess you have to know who was behind the mess. All that being said, this is a must see especially if you want to punish yourself mentally. Its a keeper!

Bill Rebane's "The Capture of Bigfoot" is one of the most awful horror movies ever made.A greedy sawmill owner Harvey Olsen(Richard Kennedy)decides that he wants Bigfoot captured at all costs.However local game ranger Dave Garrett(Stafford Morgan)learns that the Bigfoot used to live in peace upset by a geological expedition,and sets out to protect the creature.There is nothing even remotely interesting in this piece of crap.The film is extremely dull and filled with horrible songs and cheap special effects.No gore,no suspense-just gigantic boredom.Avoid this horrible junk like the plague.

When I bought this DVD (also containing "The Alpha Incident") I was hoping for some good campy sci-fi. I was not disappointed with "Capture of Bigfoot". It had a few moments of really nice photography, filmed in some snowy northern area. I appreciated the fact that it was real snow in real cold (plumes of car/truck exhaust and lots of steaming breath as people talked). Any high budget film would have created plastic snow on a set. The only downsides for me were that 1 - almost anybody could have done a better voice for the creature, and 2 - the Olson character was unbelievably mean, but in the movie's defense, he was supposed to be as mad as Ahab. But these did not detract too much from the movie for me.

Also, I disagree with all those who liked "The Alpha Incident" better. For me, this film was much more enjoyable.

Hard to find but if you can get a copy, you're in for a real treat. Years before ANACONDA "terrorized" us with a giant rubber snake, there was THE CAPTURE OF BIGFOOT. If you like outrageously bad special effects and over-the-top acting, this one's for you. A real campy funfest.

Some highlights: * The guy who plays the rich old miser (I believe his name in the film is "Olsen") recites his lines with such vigor and energy, each scene necessitates at least one press of the "rewind" button on your VCR remote. Watch for the scene where he interrogates a hospitalized employee of his. He shakes him vigourously, demanding he answer "Who was it? Was it Arak?!" * The special effects and sound effects are a hoot. Hard to do justice in words, they have to been seen to be appreciated. * And listen closely to the lyrics of the closing credits song. It sounds like a Harry Chapin record but the words must've been written by Ozzy Ozbourne: "You'll never find freedom, you'll only find lies/ You'll only find freedom the day that you die". Yikes. And just what the hell does that have to do with Bigfoot?

Also recommended: STARCRASH (1979)