WILLOW CREEK

US, 2013, 80 minutes, Colour.
Alexie Gilmore, Bryce Johnson, Bucky Sinister, Peter Jason, Timmy Red.
Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait.

This is another example of “found footage� filmmaking, more than a decade after it was inaugurated with the Blair Witch Project. Audiences know what to expect. Fixed camera for many sequences, hand-held for action sequences.

The premise of this story is a couple going in search of a 1966-7 journey search for discovering the Bigfoot. Bryce Johnson plays Jim, the force behind the search. Alexie Gilmore plays Kelly his girlfriend who does a lot of the filming.

For those wanting some action, the film goes into immediate delay, more than 30 minutes of Jim explaining what he is doing, Kelly rehearsing him, their driving into the National Park, their wanting to get all kinds of testimonies about the Bigfoot, the lady at the store, a singer with his song, a Ranger, some believing, some not. There are also some warnings about the dangers.

When the couple finally get going, they are accosted by a sinister man warning them off. However, they continue, set up camp, are frightened by a raccoon fearing Bigfoot. A lot of the film, possibly too much, is spent with a fixed camera on the couple, in the dark in their tent, becoming more frightened, sinister sounds, movements. Most of the action takes place in the last 10 minutes, their packing up, getting lost, fearful of sounds, running in terror, a glimpse of a Bigfoot – and, of course, the disappearance and the camera footage left so that somebody can find it, edited it, and make the film Willow Creek.