Exists

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Exists" (2014) is a not the best not the worst horror flick out there. Shoot in a "found footage" style it tells a story of a group of teen who found them self in the pursuit from Bigfoot. The acting was just OK for this material, but overall movie is quickly forgettable nor really intriguing. At the running time 1 h 17 min (it's kinda short movie) it barely drags, but there is no character development, so we don't really care who dies who lives.

Overall, "Exists" is just OK horror flick, quickly forgettable one, but kinda enjoyable while it lasts. The director is Eduardo Sánchez, who created the legendary horror flick "The Blair Witch Project" (and one of the most successful horror flicks ever). Here he comes back to the formula, but the result is not very successful.

This film comes from the director of the Blair With Project, who pioneered the found footage format, and uses it here once again to make a horror movie involving none other than Bigfoot. I think the Blair Witch was genuinely scary and absolutely innovative so I was expecting this one to be good, and I must say I enjoyed it.

The director was wise to make a shorter running time for this movie as it makes it gloriously fast paced so it never becomes dull for a moment. The tension builds rather quickly and carries on doing so.

The faults in this movie are in the decisions the characters make, some of which are absolutely idiotic and unforgivable. (Slight spoiler ahead) Lets say you have a shotgun for protection and you have 5 cartridges but you waste most of them giving your (hidden) location away shooting into the air... Unforgivable.

If it wasn't for some of the idiocy of the characters I may have actually given this a 7/10 or an 8/10. It was actually pretty good, and extra kudos for the makeup and stunts which were surprisingly very good.

Overall opinion: Fast paced and enjoyable (mostly)

Recommendation: Willow Creek (2013) by Bobcat Goldthwait is another found footage Bigfoot horror which I also enjoyed..

I've seen several big foot movies. The best of them all was The Lost Coast Tapes. Exists is a good big foot movie, and unlike The Lost Coast Tapes, this actually shows the monster. That could be a good or a bad thing, depending on the costumes and special effects used. The Lost Coast Tapes did a great job while not showing the creature, and Exists does a good job showing it. There's not really much imagination needed when you think of what big foot looks like; tall, hairy, ape or man-like.

I gave this movie a 5-star rating. The acting was pretty good, as were the big foot costumes. When the camper is thrown down the hill, it looks like the people were really inside.

Some things annoyed me, such as in the cabin, there was a perfectly good cellar that the people didn't use until they had absolutely no choice. With a monster that is huge and powerful and looking to kill, I think they all would've moved down there immediately after finding the cellar.

Also, when going through the woods, trying to be undetected, Todd kept talking, and Dora wouldn't stop calling for Matt. Morons. One last complaint. I am so sick of the camcorder POV for these movies. Virtually the entire movie was through the camcorder. They could've done this movie just fine without doing that. Still, all-in-all, I was entertained watching it.

The movie left me more confused than entertained. Sanchez has proved himself not once, but three times as a master of the horror genre. When he announced he would tackle Bigfoot, I thought for sure he would bring his usual flair to a "been there done that" premise. What makes his films great are the emotional weight and deep characters that give purpose to the surrounding action. That is exactly what is missing in Exists. It isn't necessarily a bad film, but its generic, an almost worse crime. The characters are not only "by the numbers," they are badly written "by the numbers" characters. For the first half hour, the characters act so stereotypical that I wanted them all to die, and fast. Girls whimpering "OMG what is that?" as they huddle underneath their man's fully toned arm. "GET AT ME BRO" the man cries with defiance. Seriously? Luckily, once Bigfoot does show up and the film sees some casualties, it does pick up some speed. The characters react alright to what is happening around them, and you could tell it was Sanchez by the haunting music and emotionality brought to the film when a character does die. We don't care about who dies, but these people sure do, and that makes me feel for them a little more. It's not enough, though. The film still lacks that raw ingredient that every film needs. The found footage only works in spots, and is glaringly misguided in others. I have a feeling it wasn't originally written to be found footage and was only morphed into that during the development process. Some cameras magically appear out of nowhere in the woods. Where did it come from? Whose camera was it? It's not logical, and it brings the film down. I actually found the style to be degrading to the quality of the movie. Sanchez has style and I wish he upped his game. Now, let me talk about Bigfoot. Well, he's awesome. I haven't seen a film where he is so terrifying. He moves and looks just like he does in all those photographs you see. When he howls and rampages, you just want to curl up in a ball. He's that scary. I expect more from Sanchez, and this was a disappointment overall.

This tells you what it is going on. Get chased by Bigfoot. Directed by the godfather of found footage.

There's seriously zero wrong with this. I'm giving it a seven because I wanted some twists.

But if you want what it says on box then it's perfect.