Sunday, February 28, 2016

Willow Creek (2013)

Bigfoot enthusiast Jim decides to make a documentary about the mysterious creature, and brings his extremely patient girlfriend Kelly along for the ride.  What girl wouldn't want a vacation with a Bigfoot believer  who's chasing after an elusive creature that she doesn't believe even exists?

They head to Willow Creek, the Bigfoot capital of the world, where they stay at the Bigfoot Motel, indulge in a Bigfoot Burger at the Bigfoot Cafe, visit Bigfoot Books to learn local lore, and talk to various town folks.  When a local overhears them talking about heading out to the spot where the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot footage was captured, he warns them not to go there.

There is also a warning from a ranger who says not only are bears in the woods, but so are people doing illegal activities, such as pot farming.  But believers in bigfoot will not be be dissuaded by something as trivial as armed men protecting their precious crop of weed or ravenous bears.  So Jim and Kelly drive up into the woods and run into a creepy guy who threatens them and tells them to go back to town. Surely our Bigfoot lover has enough sense to reconsider his or his girlfriends safety before traipsing further into the woods.... no, of course he doesn't

Jim finds another access road, and the pair wander off into the woods.  Not a terribly bright idea, especially since they are not on a trail and don't seem to understand it won't be easy to find their way back to the car in an unfamiliar forrest.

While Kelly worries about such things as who messed with our campsite, Jim's singleminded pursuit of documenting their Bigfoot adventures makes him ignore all warnings that it may not be a good idea to stay overnight in the woods.

Be prepared for a long, long scene of two people sitting in a tent straining to hear what is going on outside.  Depending on your viewpoint, it could either be really tense, or really tedious.  Since it's a found footage movie, you know things don't go well for the participants. I'd heard good things about this and really wanted to like it, but ultimately, it didn't really grab me.

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