Sasquatch Mountain

Director: Steven MonroeWriter: Michael WorthRuntime: 90 minutesLocations: Williams, Flagstaff and Coconino Nat. Forest, ArizonaYear of TV Release: 2006THE PLOT: After an unfortunate auto accident, Cerina Vincent is taken captive by a gang of bank robbers who are forced to flee into the Arizona timber by foot. They are followed closely by a posse made up of policemen and old Vietnam vets. The two groups ultimately team-up (sort of) when they encounter a Bigfoot creature who is picking 'em off one by one.Although I highly doubt the creature exists, I'm fascinated by the Bigfoot legend and enjoy films on the subject. "Sasquatch Mountain" is one of the best, if not the best. It was originally titled "Devil on the Mountain" and, in fact, that's the title that appears on the dvd.To be expected, some people smugly laugh at the picture, calling it unintentionally funny and cheesy, but nothing could be further from the truth. This is actually a character study using the Bigfoot legend as a stage. The story and characters are taken seriously and there's no goofiness to be found. The reason some automatically laugh at it is because the idea of Sasquatch has become a big joke, which is understandable.I should point out that if you're expecting a mindless slasher flick with Bigfoot in the evil Jason role you'll be disappointed. The film "Abominable" (2006) is a film along these lines. It's a good film for what it is and there's nothing wrong with this approach, it's just that "Sasquatch Mountain" shoots for something deeper.The screenplay was written, believe it or not, by Michael Worth who stars in the picture as one of the bank robbers, Vin. The guy comes off as a 35-year-old adolescent who is more likable than scary, even though he has a slight dangerous edge.NOTEWORTHY ITEMS:- Although the film is a low-budget straight-to-video flick it's a very well-made film, unlike "Sasquatch Hunters" (2005) and "Sasquatch" (2002), which both had some amateurish qualities.- The score is great, sometimes even moving, giving the film a palpable reverent quality.- Although the set-up is a bit contrived (the way the bank robbers get a hostage and flee on foot), the story starts to pull you in at the half-hour mark when the posse pursues the gang in the woods. There are numerous well-written character-defining episodes that successfully capture the viewer's attention.- For instance, the lead bank robber, played by Craig Wasson, laments how his father never paid him any attention growing up. I know what you're thinking -- aw, poor baby -- but the film successfully shows the correlation between adult wellness and healthy parental relationships, in particularly with the father-figure. Often children from dysfunctional families spend their entire lives trying to make up for the damage done by clueless parents.- I also like the way Wasson and others are shown not totally poisoned by evil, despite being bank robbers, e.g. Wasson does a really selfless deed without hesitation later in the film. It's a good scene. Not to mention (as already noted) Michael Worth comes off as more misguided than malevolent; though Lance Henriksen doesn't give in to his charm one bit.- To be expected in a character study, the screenplay has some great dialogue and lines. For instance, Wasson states: "No matter how hard you try or how high you get there's always some devil on the mountain waiting to knock you back down" or the Asian girl to Cerina: "Everyone has scars, but not everyone has the option of hiding behind a pretty smile."- The film features no less than three beautiful women -- a Brunette (Cerina Vincent), a redhead (Lance's daughter in the story, played by Melanie Monroe) and the Asian bank Robber (Karen Kim) who comes off unattractive only because she's so bitter. Both Cerina and Melanie are magnificent. Melanie is the definition of spirituality.- There's a good subplot about Lance Henriksen being a laughingstock for the past 15 years or so. His wife had recorded a vague video of the creature on the day she was killed by a hit-and-run. The video put the town on the map as a tourist attraction but made him an object of ridicule. Will he ever be redeemed?- Although the Sasquatch kills in the story, he is shown in a sympathetic light (unlike "Abominable" and "Sasquatch Hunters").- The dvd features a worthwhile 20-minute "Making Of" Documentary.FINAL ANALYSIS: I love "Sasquatch Mountain" and give it a weak 5/5 Stars or A-. It may not be "Apocalypse Now" but for a straight-to-video Bigfoot film it's quite good for all the above reasons. It should be given credit for not being another mindless monster flick; the Bigfoot legend is simply a frame for something deeper. Not everyone can look beyond the Sasquatch trappings; I understand this. I could and found it quite entertaining and even moving.

Arrived quickly and played great. Thanks.

As a hardcore Bigfoot enthusiast (though not a believer) and a HUGE fan of monster movies for the past 30 something years, I've seen most of the Bigfoot films out there. Some, like "The Curse of Bigfoot" used to be shown on creature features in the '70s and I ate them up as a kiddo. Ditto "The Legend of Boggy Creek" and "Snowbeast." The monsters were blood-thirsty, the actors were fairly amateur at best, and the action was just enough to keep the flick from gettin gboring.The latest crop of Bigfoot films have been a fairly mixed bag. Some (like "Sasuqtch" and "Yeti") are so bad, that even as a deyed in the wool B-movie afficianado, I simply can't sit through them without a half gallon of cheap whiskey. And even then, I'd rather go put my head in a bread mixer for 90 minutes. Others like "Abominable," "Sasquatch Hunters," and this movie, are damned entertaining in that '70's and '80's bad movie way. Plenty of action, hardcore monsters, and no shortage of blood and guts. "Sasquatch Mountain" starts as a bank heist movie. There's cops, robbers, shooting, and a porn star-looking hostage to boot. From there, it goes on to resemble (to me at least) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Firday the 13th movies. Namely, a group of people is caught in unfamiliar territory, being pursued by a huge, scary, angry, and homicidal monster that simlpy wants them dead. They run, it follows. They hole up in a cabin, it follows. Turns out the guy who owns the cabin is dead on the can "like Elvis" as one of the characters points out. Also just so happens the dead guy has been feeding the monster with horse grain, and the monster's a mom to boot. Seems momma monster's simply been protecting her territory from the intruders. The kills are pretty good (not great) and the characters are prone to incredibly akward and stilted expository dialogue, the likes of which you only ever see in bad WB teeny bopper shows (at least from what I can tell by seeing the previews of them in commercials). BUT, there's action, Lance Henriksen doing his thing as only he can, a leading lady with huge, bouncy silicone boobs, and best of all, at the end of the movie, they play an actual 911 recording of a guy calling to report a "real" Bigfoot encounter. The geek in me jumped for joy and nearly dropped his inhaler.The "making of" featurette is pretty good as well. I wasn't expecting something like this on a straight to DVD flick, but there's a brief, though informative bit on the makeup fx design of the creature, interviews with the actors, and a set visit. An excellent surprise, and endeared the film even more to me.All in all, well worth the $2.50 I paid for it. Heck, I'd have paid $10.00 for it since I'll be watching it again for sure. If you're a fan of Bigfoot horror movies and are on the fence about this one, just go ahead and buy it. You'll be really glad you did.

Incredibly well done for such a pitiful budget. Both the cinematography and script are shaky sometimes but there's an underlying story there that makes the whole thing work. I love the beginning and Lance is such a strong actor that I fall right into the story. But then the second act starts and I can only guess this was done by a second unit because there's a terrible "blue" hue to the whole picture and looks to be over-exposed. There's also a delay between the audio and video where the audio run slightly ahead of the video. Kinda like watching a dubbed foreign movie, very distracting! This movie also suffers from uneven acting. Some of the actor are a little weak and unconvincing, it's unfortunate. It gets better once they're in the woods and the sun finally goes down. The horrible blue hue goes away. Now all the actors are finally in one spot playing off each other and it works. One thing this film really has going for it is the man in the Squatch suit. A real person interacting with the other actors is almost always better than low budget CGI monster peril! The ending was a bit of a downer though. What I really enjoyed were the little details like Lance sitting on his porch reading the book: Bigfoot; The Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality available here on Amazon.https://www.amazon.com/Bigfoot-Yeti-Sasquatch-Myth-Reality/dp/0525066586If there's ever a sequel, let Lance Henriksen, Rance Howard and Tim Thomerson carry the whole movie. Just a thought.Despite all the negatives, it's still one of the better Bigfoot/Action movies out there.

This is an alright movie, could’ve been better in the acting department and more action, still worth watching

Movie is what I wanted. Want to get SASQUATCH now.

Only got this to round out my Lance Henriksen Bigfoot trilogy. The movie was as bad as i thought it was. Not sure what was less believable the bigfoot costume which had nothing but black paint on the face and hands or that Lance Henriksen was married to someone half his age.Not the worst bigfoot movie by far, i've seen Cry Wilderness, but sometime the dialog did not match up with the mouths and the movie was heavily saturated to hide stuff in the background im guessing or to give it a more slick look.The dvd is also that type of widescreen that is boxed, so you have to zoom in and crop it.

Ce film est une daube complète, fuyez !!!Et ce n'est surement pas la présence de Lance Henriksen qui sauve les meubles.Casting insipide, dialogues nuls réalisation minimaliste.Une plaie à voir.La véritable horreur, est celle du spectateur qui doit supporter la vision de cette chose cinématographique indigne...FF

I enjoyed this movie. Was alot better then I had expected. Good acting and the "bigfoot" was pretty realistic. Great addition to my bigfoot dvd collection

A bigfoot collector.

A good movie!