Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes (2012) Reviews

• Not bad, but definitely not good!

  Michael-Hallows-Eve2012-09-21

  Now this film started off pretty good, the acting was pretty good too, but the movie took a good 50 minutes or so before anything really started to happen. Then when it did happen it was either out of focus or something was in the way or the camera was pointed in the wrong direction. I was actually hoping for more out of this film as I'm a 'found-footage' fan, and I'm kind of a Bigfoot fan too, but this movie (although well done in parts) failed in it's delivery. Just when you think you might see something, you're soon disappointed by the camera missing most of the action, or you only see some feet. It isn't the worst 'found-footage' movie out there, but it's definitely not one of the better ones. So I give this a 4 out of 10, only because it actually had potential, if only the makers had of done it better.

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• It's a Bigfoot film but don't run away or you'll be missing something good!

  Thrill_KillZ2012-08-31

  The Found Footage sub-genre, yea I think it's time it got it's own genre. Just when I was thinking that it (F.F.) was only a fad & on it's way out, film makers are refining how to make this type of film rise in interest & the subtle ways to creep you out. When I read the word "Bigfoot" my mind went to that place of stupidity & a whole bunch of very bad attempts that the SyFy Channel has churned out over the years. Then I made sure this was not a TV movie which it was not and I actually became interested. Anyone that happened to catch TrollHunter(2010)and really liked it will undoubtedly like this as well. I don't know the inspirations of the film or any details behind the making of or script writing but I continuously got that great Trollhunter vibe and it was fantastic. It was like an American re-make to a foreign film but with switched up local legends. The acting of Drybeck(FrankAshmore) was perfection & paralleled the man in T.H. in the subtle ways he makes the scene frantic by saying less & always seeming to be preoccupied with something dangerous. Some of the other film crew actors got annoying at times with their over the top panic & fear but it wasn't bad enough to hurt the film any. It's not perfect by any means but I absolutely admit to having fun watching it and if it's offered on PPV or digital rental I do recommend it as long as you know what you're in store for. This studio managed to take a ridiculed subject like "Bigfoot" and freak the viewer out with it. So I think it deserves a solid 7/10 for the fun & creepy sides it displayed to a theme that hasn't had a respectable take done on it in what seems like forever.

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• No Teddy Bear's picnic!

  doorsscorpywag2012-09-01

  Sean used to have a big time paranormal reality show but when it was revealed to be a series of hoaxes he ended up in a psych ward and his career in tatters. Now he wants one more shot at the big time by revealing the Bigfoot to be a hoax after being contacted by Drybeck who claims to have a dead one deep in the woods along the California Lost Coast. He recruits two of his old team, old girlfriend and psychic Robyn and Darryl his camera man along with Kevin who was recommended by his old sound man who refuses to return. Along the road to the woods we see a glimpse of each of the characters and they are a reasonably likable bunch with a mixture of scepticism and belief. New boy Kevin is the hapless comedy turn and provides a few laughs along the way. Then we meet the mysterious Drybeck who asks them to don hoods, and leave their jeep as he drives them deeper into the woods to the compound he shares with LaRoche a Canadian trapper. Drybeck reveals than the compound is protected by an electric fence as there have been several incursions from the woods as Bigfoot attempts to reclaim it's territory. Sean just laughs and is convinced the whole thing is a sham perpetrated by the two woodsmen. After the exchange of 75 grand for full access to Drybeck and his dead Bigfoot we discover that the body is hidden off site somewhere in the woods. In good old Blair Witch style we go into the woods and encounter strange noises and various clues as to what is going on. All dismissed by sceptic Sean as the figments of Drybeck's delusional mind. Then it starts to get interesting and more deadly. It reminds me in part of the excellent Norwegian movie Troll Hunter and has some truly inventive ideas to the tried and tested found footage genre with Sean insisting that camera's should record everything if not just for their own protection. The acting is pretty decent and the build up of tension from the initial jovial first half of the movie is well done. We finally begin to get a reveal of what is actually going on and as the tension rises Sean begins to question his scepticism. The final scenes are really well done and really well acted and the last few minutes especially so. Unlike the lamentable Tape 407 this one really does have an ending that will stay with you a while. Probably wanting more. The poster for the film is quite brilliant. 'Bigfoot is hiding......but not from us!' And draws you in to the film. But the limitations of a decent budget is where the film falls down. Some really interesting areas are hinted at but not expanded upon. Sean's breakdown due to the collapse of his reality show and the story in the woods would have been great if they could have had the cash to explore them. But giving the film maker credit he does an outstanding job within the limitations of his budget due more than in part to the actors he employed who make a believable stab at the parts they are employed to create. Overall this is a more than decent little indie film adding a few new strokes to the 'found footage' palate. Well worth a watch in my view although don't expect TOO much as the budget was just not there. This is one of those movies that actually could do with a part II as long as it was well written and did not go into 'daft' territory like many do.

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• Not a bad movie, but not a masterclass of the genre, somewhere in between...

  chubbalubbadingdong2012-10-07

  Now, I've seen a lot of people completely trash this movie since it's come out, so it made me very wary about buying it on DVD. But, the trailer enticed me and the film looked interesting. What are those lights in the trees? Is the old man telling the truth? Will it just another Blair Witch clone without any substance? Well, I got my answer in an average, but still good 'Found Footage' Horror movie (Which recently has become a staple of Horror Cinema) The story concerns a group of TV documentary crewmen going out into the woods on a call that an old mountain man has the body of a baby Bigfoot and is willing to show them the evidence for a hefty (but reasonable) $75,000 dollars. Some members of the crew are less than willing to take his word as fact, while the others are finding strange, other worldly things are happening to them. One begins getting strange, psychic vibes (Because every good Paranormal investigation group need a psychic)and the other (a sound man) begins hearing strange things through his headphones and begins to freak out. From then on, the group begins splitting apart and after a terrifying encounter with something out in the woods, the psychic girl is injured and left in the cabin while the other members of the team go with the mountain man to the dead body. This kicks us off to the finale of the film which, in my opinion, had me tensed up, butt clenched, until the final frames. Now, from my brief and uneducated summary of the film, I'd like to say, since watching this a few hours ago, names have slipped out my mind, and some scenes drowned out by a haze of pub banter and alcohol. But, myself being a person who enjoys horror films and has sat through the best and worst of the genre, I have never been more terrified of the walk home from the pub and car headlights through my windows, ever. Something about this movie really got under my skin. Maybe it's the whole idea that it's something more than a simple Bigfoot hunt, something further viewed/explored in the films final moments. Bright lights and hoofed feet seem to point towards something more demonic. For the good points, I liked the characters. They seemed light hearted, and while not entirely without cliché, never dull. The actors did a decent job with the obvious limited resources they had for the film. The only part where I feel they faultier is near the end, when they are being killed off or disappearing. It turns into a scream at each other/swear fest, and comes off as slightly immature. But still,I enjoyed them, and generally wanted them to try and get through the film. The special effects are a point of interest. There's very little of it. The odd bloody person, a very well done shot the woodsman impaled on a pine tree. One of the more ambitious attempts is the suicide of one of the members. They tried, that's all I'll say, but, no one could be recognised after taking a shotgun buck to the face at close range. Another interesting thing is we never see the monster in question, but it is implied there are two out there. Large, furry, humanoid monsters that are trying to help the group, and a large, hoofed monster that is hell bent on murdering them all. They're all done in quick flashes of CGI or shown as shadows fleeting through the background, giving them an ever present feeling and a sense that there is no escape form here because they are everywhere. As a man who enjoys monster movies and seeing some of the creative decisions made in making the monster, it was better not showing anything at all, it added to the more supernatural element of the film. Overall, this had me curled up, shoulder tense and frozen to the spot until the credits rolled. While not the best of the bunch, I turned the lights on and left my room for the pub and for the first time in a while got that childhood sense of the fear of the dark; one that I haven't had for a while, and that sense that someone was watching and I just saw something move in the trees in the park up ahead. It's an interesting concept that never gets too big for it's boots and handles the paranormal side quite well (although predictably). The characters are enjoyable clichés without getting to boring and the pace is always going forward, never looking back. It's very action packed for a hand held film and handles the shots well, never letting too much away while never putting too much into frame. With just a change or cut of the final line 'It's not Bigfoot, IT'S NOT BIGFOOT!' The film would of left me with a bit more of an impact. Anyhow: A for effort C+ for execution and a big fat FU for making me terrified of the dark unknown again.

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• The Lost Coast Tapes (2012)

  SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain2012-09-08

  Like found footage movies, love Bigfoot. In The Lost Coast Tapes a TV journalist decides to give a man $75,000 to see a Bigfoot corpse and prove it's a fake. Quite why he thinks making yet another show proving Bigfoot is a fake is worth his life savings is anyone's guess. They get out to the woods and of course start to hear noises and see trees rustling. It plays its found footage premise pretty well. There are no real contradictions in sound or shots, however the cast try far too hard to be quick and witty. The dialogue is also constantly riddled with references to the show they are making. The obsession of Sean, the lead. Is enough to convince us that they would continue to keep the cameras rolling, as he is in fear of being made to look the fool at the hands of someone's prank. Unfortunately, towards the end, the film adds a very interesting spin to the Bigfoot myth, but fails to elaborate on it. This wouldn't be so bad, bu it brings it in in the last few minutes and seems to use it at an excuse to not show anything. I'm all for leaving some things to the imagination, but sometimes a film's ideas do warrant further exploration. Up until the end you can kind of guess everything that happens, and apart from the actual violence all of these things can be seen in a show like Finding Bigfoot, which is a lot more fun because it tries so hard to convince you of what's real. Not the worst found footage film or Sasquatch film, but that isn't saying much.

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