Valley of the Sasquatch (2015)
Ari Drew
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Starring Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, Jason Vail, D’Angelo Midili
Directed by John Portanova
In the last few years, we have seen a surprising resurgence of films in the Bigfoot subgenre, ranging from efforts that twist the mythology in interesting ways (Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes) to those that scale back for a less-is-more atmosphere (Willow Creek) to others that opt for high-tension scares (Exists).
Recently making the festival rounds is filmmaker John Portanova’s directorial debut, Valley of the Sasquatch, a film that treads much of the same ground as the aforementioned works, while also calling back to the style of such subgenre efforts from 1970’s, the heyday of Bigfoot films. A properly independent effort, Portanova’s film is a modest entry that presents a straightforward creature feature peppered with emotional drama that works to varying degrees, though it does not quite bring anything new to the table.
The film centers on Roger Crew (Vail) and his son, Michael (Joris-Peyrafitte), who fall on hard times after the death of the family matriarch. Left broke and downtrodden, the two Crew men move into an old cabin in the woods in an attempt to regroup. When two of Roger’s old friends come to visit, the four men set off into the woods for a day of hunting and drinking. As the day progresses, Michael’s strained relationship with his father grows more tense, though this is ultimately the least of the group’s worries as they all begin seeing strange things moving about in the woods. Before long, the men discover that they are being stalked by a family of Sasquatch, and as night falls, they realize they must put their differences aside in order to survive.
Valley of the Sasquatch is billed as a character-centric creature feature, which promises far more substance than the genre tends to steer towards. This begins promisingly enough with our introduction to the perpetually frustrated Michael and the stoic Roger, who are struggling just to get by, though Roger still somehow finds money for beer. Michael is the voice of reason between the two, questioning his father’s irresponsibility while expressing a desire to further his own life by returning to school, though Roger disapproves. As it is revealed that Michael’s mother passed in an accident seemingly related to alcohol, we get a sense for why his relationship with Roger is so tense in their early scenes. However, the issue is addressed in a rather expository way and there is not much nuance in any further exploration of this dynamic as the film progresses. Disappointingly, Portanova’s initial focus on what could have been much more rich emotional land to mine between the father and son seems to fall to the wayside, as we instead come to find Roger to be quite the unsympathetic party, a two-dimensional neglectful father when all is said and done.
Contrarily, what is more successfully explored later in the film is Michael’s latent pain and frustration with the state of his life. This is particularly conveyed in a notably moving chat with Will (Midili), his inexplicably youthful uncle who accompanies the family on the hunting trip. In this scene, Michael’s pain over the state of his family is expressed in a very honest way, and the rapport between him and Will, who supports Michael’s decision to make something of himself, fast makes the relationship one of the stronger emotional foundations of the movie. Unfortunately, Will is not present for nearly enough of the film, and we are ultimately left with a hollow and disconnected drama between Michael and Roger as the latter pals around with his loud-mouthed friend Sergio (David Saucedo). This pointed focus on less developed characters at times hinders the film’s emotional core–namely, when it comes down to Sergio, who is quite the insufferable character as he berates Michael in front of a frustratingly indifferent Roger. You do feel for Michael quite a bit after a while, but mostly because he has to be around such a grating and ignorant person. To its credit, the film is ultimately upheld by a lively finale that will pull viewers back in even if they momentarily checked out in the midst of the unfulfilling character drama.
Once the family of Sasquatch descend upon the men, the film transitions to a very standard creature feature effort, albeit one that is relatively engaging and infuses humor into the script in a refreshing way. Once again, Midili proves to be one of the film’s shining players, wielding Will’s quick wit with perfect comedic timing in the face of some very questionable commentary and decisions from other characters; he speaks for us all when he retorts, “That’s the only explanation that makes sense?” after another character is quick to deduce that a strange figure he spotted must be Bigfoot. The appearance of genre favorite Bill Oberst, Jr., is also a breath of fresh air as he assumes the role of the eccentric Bauman, a survivor of his own encounter with the Sasquatch tribe. While the script at times requires a great amount of suspension of disbelief and is not always sharp, Portanova makes up for this by showcasing a researched hand in regard to the subject matter, including more than a few notable call-outs for followers of cryptozoology and fans of the Bigfoot lore.
As an independent effort, Valley of the Sasquatch does wear its technical limitations a bit obviously at points, sometimes trying to do more than is convincingly feasible with the given resources. The creature design for the Sasquatch tribe is much less threatening when we see them clearly revealed all at once, and the film would likely have been more tense had it opted for a slower reveal approach. Additionally, while Portanova’s forest setting works wonders all on its own in creating an atmosphere of shadowy fear once night falls, some shots are indeed a bit too dimly lit and make it difficult to discern some of the action in latter scenes. Though the editing admittedly dips into amateur territory here and there, Portanova does deserve kudos for the practical gore and sound design, which are ultimately quite impressive here; one scene that involves an arm being ripped off elicited a squeal of enjoyment from a gore hound like myself.
While Valley of the Sasquatch does not necessarily bring on the horror in a major or fresh way, it is at times a very effectively atmospheric film with some interesting ideas behind it. Additionally, there is much here that feels refreshingly unassuming, as Portanova’s genuine conviction and passion for his subject matter is felt in the greater story he aims to tell. While the emotional aspects of the movie do not always come across as significantly as they are intended to, they are also never insultingly ironic or terribly hokey, to Portanova’s credit. At its core, Valley of the Sasquatch is a very straightforward film that recalls the simplicity of many Bigfoot films from decades past, and when viewed through such a lens, it mostly succeeds. I have no doubt that it will surely become a favorite among the subgenre’s bigger fans looking for a more classic take on the Bigfoot legend.
Have you had a chance to catch Valley of the Sasquatch? Sound off in the comments below or tweet me (@TheAriDrew) and share your thoughts!
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Film
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