Willow Creek

Year of Release:  2013

Director:  Bobcat Goldthwaite

Screenplay:  Bobcat Goldthwaite

Starring:  Bryce Johnson, Alexie Gilmour

Running Time:  79 minutes

Genre:  Horror

This found-footage horror film revolves around a young couple: Jim (Johnson) and Kelly (Gilmour), who are on a trip into the Six Rivers National Forest in California to make a documentary about the legendary Bigfoot.  Jim is an enthusiastic believer in the creature, but Kelly is a sceptic.  Needless to say, they soon discover the truth.

Written and directed by comedian turned filmmaker Bobcat Goldthwaite (possibly best known for his recurring appearances in the Police Academy films), this is similar in style to The Blair Witch Project (1999) if the opening scenes of the Blair Witch extended for over half the film, and the wandering around in the forest only lasts for the last half hour or so.  For much of the film it's like a satirical look at the Bigfoot tourist industry, and pop culture impact.  They travel through towns where everything seems to revolve around Bigfoot, and visit a Bigfoot diner, bookstore, and eccentric local folksinger who sings Bigfoot-themed songs.  Jim and Kelly are searching for the location of the famous Patterson-Gimlin Film, which purportedly shows a female Sasquatch walking, and you have probably seen a still from it if you have ever looked up Bigfoot.  Aside from a disturbing encounter with a aggressive local, the scares don't come in until late in the film, in an extended scene where Jim and Kelly are in a tent and we hear strange noises and something thrown against the tent.  It all ends very abruptly.  It does have some very effective moments, and Jim and Kelly are likeable and engaging characters who, unusually for a found footage film, actually do have character and personality. It's not really scary enough to work as a horror film, but it is an entertaining diversion.

Kelly (Alexie Gilmour) meets a new friend in Willow Creek