Sasquatch Sunset releases April 12th, 2024.
Do Sasquatches really exist? The answer is almost certainly “no,” but if they did, what would their day-to-day life look like? That’s the question that the Zellner Bros. set out to answer with their offbeat feature-film following an unconventional family of bigfoots (or is it bigfeet?). If you’re not quite sure what to make of that premise, don’t worry. Neither was I. I would implore anybody curious about this film to enter it with an open mind and a willingness to experience it for what it is: a one-of-a-kind blend of potty humor and poignant reflection, delivered in a way you’ve never seen before.
Sasquatch Sunset Plot
Also Read: Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough Went Through an Absolute Nightmare For Their Bizarre Movie on Big Foots
Sasquatch Sunset follows a year in the life of a family of sasquatches. They travel the wilderness in search of food and pass the time by grooming one another.
The Critique
There is beauty and humor in the simplicity of mundane existence. It’s a fusion that the Zellner Bros. explore perfectly in the strangest movie of the year. Filled with grunts, screams and chest-beating, but absolutely zero dialogue and no subtitles, viewers are tasked with following along purely on observation. It’s a bold choice, but it’s one that makes the film significantly more effective. We learn to communicate in the manner they communicate, and as a result we relate to them more closely. 1981’s Quest For Fire utilized a similar strategy, although that film lacked — maybe to its detriment — the vomit and diarrhea of this one.
The film is like a teeter-totter, balancing back-and-forth between gross-out potty humor and small intimate moments. One scene in particular is especially harrowing and heart-wrenching. I won’t say that I cried; however, I also won’t deny that I came close. Keep in mind, I was (nearly) moved to tears moments after watching scenes involving poop, urine and green-vomit. I had the opportunity to speak with the Zellner Bros. and they explained that they didn’t want to shy away from the animalistic behaviors that we have all witnessed, either at the zoo or at home with our own pets.
Nathan Zellner — one half of the directing due “Zellner Bros.” — dons a full body fur suit to portray one of the bigfoot clan. He — along with other notable actors such as Jesse Eisenberg (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) and Riley Keough (Mad Max: Fury Road) — bring individual personalities and mannerisms to the primates that make them come alive on-screen. They don’t completely disappear into their characters; instead, they bring elements of themselves into their performance — as outrageous as it may be — and in doing so, help to merge the gap between man and beast.
Also Read: Sasquatch Sunset Interview – The Zellner Bros. Talk About Their Oddball Bigfoot Film
In Conclusion
We’ve seen sasquatch horror films and sasquatch family films, but we’ve never seen a sasquatch film like this. Sasquatch Sunset’s portrayal is unwavering and its depictions are shocking. Every choice is bold and effective. It’s a story completely void of dialogue, yet overflowing with character. I don’t believe in bigfoots; however, if they are real, I hope they are as charming as they’re depicted here.
9/10
Follow us for more entertainment coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
