I’m sure primatologists and cryptozoologists will say Sasquatch Sunset has the facts wrong. And when there’s no conclusive study, to guess at how they survived for this long is anybody’s game. But if you ask writer/directors Nathan and David Zellner about how their society works, what they offer is a movie designed to gross out rather than provide a proper look at.
The type of movie they made is a comedy of errors. Unlike those looks at Bigfoot culture you see on YouTube or History Channel, where it often feels like a Blair Witch film, what’s presented is very South Park. And the fact that Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, and Christophe Zajac-Denek are convincing enough as hairy apes says something. There’s some humanity to be seen through the eyes, the only thing visible behind all that fur. But as for anything else, to understand this film requires a willingness to put up with these performers being very crude for the camera.
One positive thing I can mention is that it doesn’t intentionally try to scare. Had indigenous lore inspired this work and played more about the role between man and this culture, I’d enjoy this film more. After watching Kryptic (movie review), I’d put my money on this film than this one.
Some of their habits make little sense. And considering I’ve seen many attempts at a serious study of, not everything rings true. In some scenes, it’s clear these filmmakers have seen them. From banging sticks on trees and why they arrange branches in a certain order, What’s presented shows how they are very nomadic. They search for places where they can forage food, and I suspect they left the protective Olympic Mountains for Willow Creek because there is better hunting further south.
And the simple answer to how they managed to not be discovered is this: they avoid areas where no man can build bridges or roads while travelling. When they cross such a path, they’re baffled, and that’s where the suspension of belief falters.
As for those bits that are enduring, they’re almost as human as us. The series of rituals they perform when one of them dies is heart-wrenching. However, if they cannot recover the corpse, I think they’ll leave it to rot. I’m left to ask why haven’t we found those bodies? When this movie comes to a finale, at least the irony is used to significant effect. Just where the surviving Sasquatch family ends up is hilarious, and I just hope things go well for them and hopefully they don’t end up in a cage. It’d be sad, but appropriate.
3 Stars out of 5
Sasquatch Sunset Movie Trailer
Discover more from Otaku no Culture
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
