A different way of telling a story

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Bigfoot movies tend to be bad, so I'm not inclined to watch them. However, there were some good commercials on The Sci-Fi Channel, so I decided to watch. A climbing expedition heads into the Pacific northwest to find a a fallen airplane carrying the daughter of the expedition's leader (played by Lance Hendrickson), and have brought a revolutionary DNA detector that could be used to prove the sasquatch's existence. And it actually generates some suspense at first. The sasquatch is unseen, but sees the mountain climbers' body heat (like the alien in "Predator"), and I did wonder when it was going to strike. The acting is passable, as is the background music. The dense wooded location is well-used. And when the creature is finally seen, the costume is not bad, though nothing great. But as the film grinds on, it becomes increasingly annoying and absurd. Most of the characters are unpleasant people, rude to each other and only in the expedition for money and publicity (except for Lance Hendrickson's character), so that it's impossible to care about what happens to them. And their behavior become increasingly stupid. One man shoots the creature (not fatally), then gets drunk and sits alone in the dark. One female camper puts on a slinky silk negligee before crawling into her sleeping bag, then barely escapes being dragged into the woods by the sasquatch, without getting her hair and make-up messed up. Then, the survivors conclude that the sasquatch is really after the DNA detecting machine and will let them live if they leave it behind ("a creature knows what threatens it"). Obviously, the instinct doesn't apply to these actors, or they wouldn't have appeared in this movie. And the ending is so stupid, you'll want to kick the TV screen. If it weren't for the script, it would have been a decent horror film.

OK, first off, I gotta say, I am disappointed with the lack of Sasquatch movies available out there. The existence of a Bigfoot/Sasquatch is a really compelling issue, and really don't get why there haven't been more films out there about them.OK, enough putting this off. I was expecting a low budget movie with low quality acting (except for Lance, he did OK, considering). I was pretty much right on the money.The fade to black, stupid lines that reminded me of a Junior High play, and that stupid spinning camera circus performance were annoying as hell. If you're looking for high quality film making at it's best, do not pass go, and do not collect $200.BUT! If you are looking for a great story line that could have been something great with the right amount of money, and actors, here it is.The story line itself is a great thought, and if there had been more budget, it could have been a great movie. Not necessarily a blockbuster, but at least something that people wouldn't have slammed.Anyhoo, I liked it. It's waayyyy better than "Open Water" Just goes to show, Different Strokes.

Developing movies that are based on actual events involving cryptozoology or the supernatural has always been a challenge for directors and screenwriters. You have to mainly reconcile reported testimonies, conflicting info sources, and Hollywood creativity to produce something the audience can get into. Unfortunately, for SASQUATCH, none of these things seem to take place.The movie starts out in typical film noir when a research team crash lands somewhere in the Cascades via airplane. From there the research team disappears, and despite attempts from law enforcement officials and local rescue parties they remain missing for some time. While one of the passengers is walking, infra-red-like images are splashed on the screen (a la Predator) which subtly hint that the legendary Sasquatch is the cause of the passengers' fates.Cue Harlan Knowles (Henriksen), CEO of BioComp Industries and father of one of the crash victims. Knowles puts together his own search & rescue team with the explicit mission of finding his daughter and the rest of the research crew, along with the invaluable technology lost during the crash.After Knowles' tailor-made rescue team is put together, the entire movie traverses down the path of uncolorful characters, dizzying cinematography, and a totally unoriginal plot line. I literally had to keep myself from falling asleep during this movie as it attempted to frighten me out of my wits. The only member of the cast that held his own was Henriksen, which doesn't make up for the lack of depth presented in all of the other characters. The over-done sound effects were annoying as well; basically, I didn't know if I was watching a movie about Bigfoot or grizzly bears.Neither was the plot line all that great. It was too underdeveloped as the viewer is mainly subjected to typical fright music found in anything similar of the genre. Obviously you didn't have to be a genius to figure out who would be pulling off all their clothes by the middle of the movie, or who'd be the first unlucky soul to get mauled by Mr. Sasquatch. As far as good points, there are none, and therefore I gave this movie a 2 out of 10.

"Sasquatch" plays just like any regular Sci-Fi channel original feature.**SPOILERS**A plane crashes in the mountains of Northern Washington. Since his daughter Tara (Erica Durance) was on board, Harlan Knowles, (Lance Henriksen) heads up an expedition to go find her, but since he only knows his way around a board room, he hires experienced tracker Clayton Tyne (Russell Ferrier) and animal expert Winston Burg (Philip Granger) to help him. Guided along by Marla Lawson, (Andrea Roth) Nikki Simmons, (Mary Mancini) and Plazz (Jeremy Radick), they search in the area where she may have been lost. The forest starts playing tricks on the group, as they start to suspect that something may be after them. Hiking on with no luck, they seek shelter in a cave when a storm sets in. after it passes through, they head off again. Locating the plane but none of the passengers aboard, Marla discovers evidence that a Sasquatch may be responsible for the disappearances. Soon, they are picked off one by one, and only Harlan, Clayton, Plazz and Nikki are left. Even though they have proof of the animals' existence, they leave it so that they have a chance to escape unharmed.The Good News: One of the things I really enjoy about this movie is its really suspenseful attacks. The first one is really the highlight in the film. With one of the characters trapped inside a sleeping bad, they feel something brush up against them outside. Playfully thinking it's the crew-member who likes her, she gives him the cold shoulder, then is suddenly dragged out of her tent and pulled along for a short distance until it finally lets go. She looks up and doesn't see anything that could be dragging her. One of the good creepy moments in the film, as well as this tape that is used to verify that the daughter is missing. Also creepy was the handful of scenes where you could hear something in the jungle pretty away, and the reactions of the people to the noises. Even still, the creepier moments of the film take center-stage, as only two people are shown to be killed on-screen. The film also provides tons of clues as too what exactly is following them. From cave-paintings to pieces of debris found lying on the floor of the jungle to blood found on trees, there were plenty of clues needed for even Watson to deduce that it was a Sasquatch hunting the few people it kills. After all that, we do get some nudity to help smooth things over for all of us. They even kept the appearance of the creature a secret until the very end, so it wouldn't be considered a letdown when it shows up on screen.The Bad News: This really needed to let some of the cast members to die. Two on-screen kills aren't nearly enough to satisfy even a third grader. It had the stereotyped characters to kill off, yet it never even introduced them to danger in meeting the creature. That would've made their situation all the creepier. Had they actually been in a dangerous environment, I would've cared if they survived the trip, but as it stands, none of the characters are really that special.The Final Verdict: This really reads a lot like the "Creature Features" the Sci-Fi channel loves to showcase almost every week. The main difference is that the creature isn't shown a whole lot in the film. It has a lot more riding for it than against it, and is at least worth a look for those who are interested in the legend of the creature, as it is mentioned a few times in the movie.Rated R: Graphic Language, Violence, and Brief Nudity