The Sasquatch Hunters (1999)
Written by Marc Messenger & William Mertz with Jeff Ferreri
Co-Producer Brian Fujii
Produced and Directed by Marc Messenger
Synopsis
The Sasquatch Hunters is about a filmaker named Frank Burns (played by David Richmond) who becomes intrigued by Sasquatch when he sees video of the creature on a newscast one day. So, he grabs his cameraman and heads out to make a Bigfoot documentary. But sadly, he is lost in the woods while making the film and is never seen again. His unfinished movie is presented to show us the last days in the life of Frank Burns.
Burns heads out to the site where the newscast was shot and examines the evidence and offers a few silly explanations and rediculous theories about the creature.
Next, he meets with College Professor Dr. Howard Prick (played by the real-life Professor Ron Thronson). Dr. Prick seems to be either a tribute to or mockery of the famous Cryptozoologist Dr. Krantz, who is always showing off his crippled Bigfoot plaster casts. (If you don't know who Dr. Grover Krantz is, see the movie "Bigfoot: Man or Beast", "The Mysterious Monsters", or just about every Bigfoot special ever aired on TV).
He then meets a group of Bigfoot enthusiasts who call themselves the Bigfoot Society. The leader of the group is Steve Wysocki (played by a very talented Courtney Hall). Also in the group are the happily married couple Jim and Debbie Tamer (played by John McDermott and Melinda Messenger), and the long-haired rocker Arrow (played by Paul Anthony Reasbeck). Burns hangs out with them in their "offices" which looks a lot it's Steve's bedroom. Lots of silly drawings of Bigfoot and Nessie adorn the walls in the tiny room, all the while Jim and Debbie search through AOL for good Bigfoot sighting reports. Oh man, Bigfoot Hunters on AOL!
After a few more investigations into sightings and more silly interviews with wacked out witnesses, they meet up with another group of individuals who hope to find Sasquatch, "Americanize" him, and bring him into society. The leader of this group of is Rick Fields, (played by Jeff Ferreri, who kinda looks like that guy from Short Circuit and Early Edition) who is a wacked out triangle scheming, money hungry, Bigfoot nut. He offers Bigfoot training to his followers who wish to protect the beast from the hunters and other nasties in the world.
After seeing what Rick has to offer, Burns and the Bigfoot Society head out and search for more clues. Then it all falls into place when some tracks are found, the media comes to town, and they all become famous. But how long will it last?
At the conclusion of the movie, Frank Burns' lost Bigfoot footage is shown in its raw, uncut form, the way it was found in the woods, which I thought was the most hilarious part of the movie.
More Thoughts on the movie
Although many of the Bigfoot movies I've seen, whether they were documentaries or horror flicks, were unintentionally funny, The Sasquatch Hunters was the only one I've seen so far that was trying to be funny, and it did indeed accomplish that goal. And although the movie is not without its faults, I think it would be greatly enjoyed by any fan of the Bigfoot genre.
Some scenes were a bit overlong though. For example, the opening scene of the newscast with the Sasquatch in the background being attacked by killer bees was funny for the first couple moments, but I think it was dragged out a bit. Also, I found the whole Bigfoot training camp scene a bit long and very strange, but Rick Fields did do a good job of keeping my interest.
Aside from that though, there are plenty of laughs in this one. Some of the bad edits are hilarious, like when they show Burns nodding his head during interviews with differnet clothes on and in totally different locations than his interviewee. And the wacked out interview with Arrow is deliciously cut to shreds and pieced together.
Also, the set decoration is great in many scenes. I especially liked the Symbol of the Bigfoot Protection Group hanging on the walls of the complex. And the Giant Pike Beer mascot is another example of the great visuals you get from the movie. And who can forget the great clips of Burns' other films in the movie. They're you're basic Z-Grade movies that one might see on Mystery Science Theatre 3000, and I just love bad movies.
Like I said, this movie would be a welcome addition to the collections of all you Bigfoot fans, and will provide hours of entertainment in front of the TV. (Let's just hope it comes out on tape soon, or better yet, comes to theaters soon.)
Related Links
The Sasquatch Hunters official movie site - for more info on the movie, it's cast and crew, and much more.
My Bigfoot movie page filled with tons of info about all the movies in the Bigfoot genre.
Review posted on July 14, 1999.