5. Exists (2014)
Most Bigfoot movies go through the same motions: people go into the woods, the woods wind up having Bigfoot in them, chaos ensues. Exists doesn’t break any new ground (in either the found footage genre or the Sasquatch department), but, for what it is, it’s a pretty good time if you know what you’re getting into! Which is to say: ninety minutes of dumb-dumbs getting absolutely wrecked by Bigfoot. What Exists does bring to the table is something resembling suspense. Which is more than some of its peers can say. Exists is the answer to the question of what if the titular witch of The Blair Witch Project was Bigfoot? And if you’re down for a certain flavor of silliness, it’s a pretty rad bait and switch. And with one half of the Blair Witch brain trust behind the camera, you know what you’re paying for. Of all the found footage Bigfoot movies (and I’m told there are a lot of them), Exists is…shockingly decent. So, if you like found footage and you like Bigfoot, congrats they made a movie just for you! (Meg Shields)
4. Cry Wilderness (1987)
Much like the road to hell, Cry Wilderness is paved with good intentions. Predating Harry and the Hendersons by a few months, this deliriously watchable take on the Bigfoot legend is an unapologetic riff on Amblin Entertainment’s whimsical 1980s fare, despite sharing more similarities to an E. T. clone like Juan Piquer Simón’s The Pod People than anything Steven Spielberg produced. Despite its hammy acting and B-movie aesthete, what works about Cry Wilderness is that it has a true sense of style, however unintentional. It’s gorgeously photographed in and around state parks across central California, with extensive usage of wildlife that makes the film’s budget feel ten times as large. There’s a dreamy Italian Horror softness to some of these striking images, especially when Bigfoot is backlit by neon pink lights calling out to our protag Paul in the middle of the night. Sure the mythical beast’s voice may be incredibly uninspired, but it’s part of the splendor of this unconventionally fun film. It has the quirky, sleepy charm of an ‘80s paperback Bigfoot novel for the YA crowd — an acquired taste that’ll be delicious to those who crave it. (Jacob Trussell)
3. Night of the Demon (1980)
For my money, Night of the Demon remains the most purely entertaining of the Bigfoot horror movies for one simple reason: it is gloriously and gorily bonkers. Like Demonwarp above, this absolute goddamn gem of a film unleashes a plot that starts as a straightforward Bigfoot thriller before shifting into an utterly absurd and massively fun back half. The story takes some turns that are as silly as they are nasty, but the main thrill here is the carnage unloaded on human flesh by Bigfoot. There’s so much to love here, but if the scene of Bigfoot slaughtering two Girl Scouts while effectively growling “Why you stabbing yourself? Why you stabbing yourself?” as he forces them to do just that, doesn’t move you, then I don’t know what to say. It’s magic, shaven-chest Bigfoot and all. (Rob Hunter)
2. Abominable (2006)
Genre cinema has seen all manner of riffs on Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, but this is the only one to feature Bigfoot. That’s really all you need to know, but just in case, please trust me when I say this tale of a wheelchair-bound witness to Bigfoot’s rampage delivers the goods. It’s bloody as hell, makes time for some silly T&A, and affords ’80s/’90s staple Matt McCoy a rare lead role. The monster looks pretty great, too, which isn’t something that can be said about most Bigfoot horror movies. (Rob Hunter)
1. Willow Creek (2013)
There are plenty of lackluster found-footage horror films, and there are more than a few dud Bigfoot films, too, but somehow, in combination, the two subgenres are capable of creating the perfect movie cocktail. Willow Creek is not only a prime example of a Sasquatch found footage film that delivers on both counts, but it’s also a treasure trove of fun for true fans of the cryptid. In it, Sasquatch enthusiast Jim (Bryce Johnson) takes his skeptical girlfriend, Kelly (Alexie Gilmore), to the small Northern California town where the real-life famed Patterson-Gimlin footage was filmed. Relationship issues are realistically hashed out, a real-life tourist spot is lovingly portrayed, and when nighttime rolls around, the ‘squatch hits the fan. Willow Creek lands as the best of the Bigfoot horror movies because it is as interested in the myth-making aspect of Bigfoot as the reality. It builds a foundation of intensity upon first-person accounts and warnings from spooked townsfolk, then drives it home with an unrelenting real-time finale. (Valerie Ettenhofer)
Bigfoot may or may not be real, but we can guarantee the existence of more 31 Days of Horror Lists!
Related Topics: 31 Days of Horror Lists, Horror
