Bigfoot’s relationship with the horror genre is a strange one.
On its own, the idea of a towering woodland ape is pretty pants-shittingly scary, especially if you happen to be contemplating the legendary cryptid while in the middle of a deep dark forest. However, for some strange reason, that terror too often gets lost when it’s seen through the lens of a movie camera. Maybe it’s the aftermath of films like Harry and the Hendersons essentially turning the beast into an upright and trunkless Mr. Snuffleupagus. Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that it’s just too easy to make inappropriate jokes centered around its, ahem, big feet. Whatever the reason, the vast majority of cinematic representations of Sasquatch seen in horror just don’t hit the way other monsters do.
Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. One of them is seen (or rather, heard) in writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait’s Willow Creek. It’s a fascinating film. In addition to featuring one of the more panic-inducing climaxes of the 2010’s, it jettisons many of the defining elements of the subgenres it belongs to: it’s a creature feature where the monster doesn’t appear in a single frame of its 80-minute runtime but miraculously still feels disturbingly present, and it’s a found footage film that chooses to quietly build tension and dread instead of deploying funhouse-style jump scares. Besides helping to make the film stand out amongst its peers, these bold decisions also pulled off a miracle in that it gifted the horror genre a version of Bigfoot that is truly terrifying.
The film’s setup is simple but effective. It follows a young couple who travel to the location where the famous Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot footage was shot back in 1967. Along the way they interview various townspeople and folks who claim to have had some sort of interaction with the creature their region is known for. Eventually they reach their destination but very quickly realize that, not only is Bigfoot real, it’s also a far cry from the passive lumbering giant that was captured on film decades previous.
Initially, Willow Creek was going to be a different beast entirely. While visiting the real-life town located in northern California, Bobcat Goldthwait got the idea to make a Christopher Guest-syle mockumentary centered around the people attending a Bigfoot convention. However, being a true believer in the cryptid, the filmmaker and comedy legend ended up having a change of heart after realizing he would be poking fun at a group of people who are already the butt of too many jokes. The framework of the film then evolved from mockumentary to found footage, but Goldthwait once again had some reservations, this time worrying that the subgenre (which he wasn’t a huge fan of to begin with) was too played out. Thankfully, friend and fellow director Joe Lynch encouraged him to pursue the project, saying that Bobcat would undoubtedly bring his own unique spin to the storytelling technique.
Two weeks after that conversation, production on Willow Creek began. Alexie Gilmore and Bryce Johnson, who had both previously appeared in Bobcat’s pitch-black comedy God Bless America, were cast as the film’s two leads. Using a 25-page script outline, the two actors and their director fleshed out the characters of Kelly and Jim along with the nuances of the couple’s relationship. Then, with cast and crew in tow, it was off to Willow Creek for a five-day shoot.
The decision to film on location had many benefits. Obviously, incorporating so many of the town’s landmarks into the movie lent it a sense of authenticity (though seasoned Squatchers, and Goldthwait himself, are quick to point out that the Patterson-Gimlin footage was actually shot in nearby Bluff Creek). Furthermore, it also gave Gilmore and Johnson a more immersive experience which almost certainly helped their performances feel more lived in. Moreover, shooting in Willow Creek gave them the opportunity to use actual townspeople in most of the interviews that were featured, further enhancing the movie’s sense of realism.
On the topic of realism, it was one of Bobcat Goldthwait’s main concerns when deciding to use the found footage format to tell this story. As mentioned earlier, the director was not a devotee of the technique, with his main criticism having to do with the lack of logic that’s often prevalent in terms of both its execution and reason for existence in general (“I’m really sorry about your entire family getting murdered but I think if we recut this footage there’s a tremendous picture here,” is Goldthwait’s go-to joke when talking about this problem). One of the ways he combated this was by featuring as few edits as possible, with the final product sporting only 67 in total.
Not only did this decision help audiences lose themselves in Willow Creek, it also birthed the film’s (and arguably one of found footage’s) most frightening scenes. It comes in the movie’s third act when Kelly and Jim wake in the middle of the night to the sounds of strange knockings coming from somewhere in the woods. The scene (which is done in one 18 minute long take) represents so much of what makes the movie work: it’s patient, escalating slowly but deliberately, and forces the viewer to rely on their imagination when it comes to picturing the terror that’s lurking in the trees.
The performances of Alexie Gilmore and Bryce Johnson are another element of Willow Creek that makes it so memorable. The two have genuine chemistry together, and because Kelly and Jim feel like a real couple, it’s easier for the audience to invest themselves in their story. What’s more, there are moments where the characters display a depth that is uncommon in the subgenre. In particular, the wedding proposal scene shows a side of Jim that is completely unexpected and gives a character that at first seems one dimensional a surprising amount of nuance.
In a way, that moment is Willow Creek in a nutshell. At first glance, the movie appears to be just another found footage flick that you’ll forget about minutes after it’s over. But as the picture unwinds, its inventiveness, humanity, and intelligence makes you realize it’s so much more than that. So far, it’s been Bobcat Goldthwait’s only horror effort as a director, though he has a script written for a second outing about undead aborted fetuses called Ankle Biters. If it’s anything like his debut, it’ll definitely take the zombie subgenre into some new territories.
Let’s hope it graces our screens soon.
Willow Creek is now streaming on SCREAMBOX.
Sources:
Willow Creek Audio Commentary
Episode 50 of the Movie Crypt Podcast
Season 5, Episode 1 of The Last Drive-In
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