Clawed: The Legend of Sasquatch/The Unknown (2005)

- written October 2008

Summary: Big Foot is alive and well and not very happy about strangers in his woods!           Overall: It’s fascinating but think of all the supposedly “real” monsters that exist out there. Bigfoot, Loch-Ness Monster, Chupacabra. I think our relatives and neighbors tell better stories than our esteemed movie makers on these subjects. In fact, its better when the filmmakers create their own monsters: because they control the rules. These “real-life” monsters, are hampered by the fact some people do believe they exist and worse yet, everyone, including non-horror movie fans have some baseline of knowledge about the creatures. You can’t just take the Loch-Ness monster and put it anywhere else but a lake in the UK. And to do it right, you pretty much gotta address all the rumors and stories already existing. Which makes for a very rigid and frankly not very unique film.           And so, same rules apply with the Yeti/Bigfoot/Sasquatch genre. We all have an idea in our heads of the monster, who he is, what he does, where he’s located. It limits your moviemakers quite a bit. And to be sure, I’m not saying it’s a great film. In fact, outside of a few quick shots here and there of some blood or a claw, the monster is absent for a good 45-50 minutes. But the film actually builds in a nice little plot of these 4 high-schoolers. They’re not friends at first and thrown together via circumstance, but they grow on each other and such. Tiny amount of nudity but nothing too over the top. Now I think at times the plot focuses on our 4 heroes and the group of bad guy poachers a little too long. You almost forget about the “Sasquatch.” And it also is trying to build in some plot lines via “Jaws” about the town needing tourists and quieting their “problem” so it doesn’t scare away business, but this vanishes so early, made you forget what the town’s business even was.           But the film was trying for a story about nature, about saving “extinct species”, about unlikely friends and also trying to incorporate the monster. It’s an average film but worth a viewing, if you so choose. As for films about “Bigfoot,” it’s probably the best there is, and that’s saying something!           Comparison: None

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