Sightings delivers a new direction of exploration of aliens, UFOs and Bigfoot, that will likely have conspiracy theorists spinning other worldly concepts. Therefore, what starts with stories and rumors about Bigfoot becomes a backstory for a murder-mystery movie directed and written by Dallas Morgan repeat it’s not a horror film, rather adventure and mystery. However, the inclusion of the cryptozoology beasts, makes for interesting story combining the reasoning why no physical evidence ever location, because aliens retrieve the carcass for their own scientific research, all very different and receiving distribution from High Octane Pictures.
It all starts with a local Sheriff Tom Mayfield (Boo Arnold) on his last day before retiring from the force to spend more time with his daughter due to his wife Lillian (Tiffany Heath) vanishing years ago, finds a grouping of butchered women on his property. The following days the case only leads back to one place and person, Tom, however to protect himself and ranch he enlisted a security motion fence company headed by Akiro Nagi (Dante Basco). Soon afterwards Tom meets a cryptozoologist named Rebecca Otis (Stephanie Drapeau) who believes the killer is more monster than human, suggesting and hinting to both Bigfoot and aliens (not the E.T. version), however Tom dismisses them both. As the number of victims grow, but with little evidence, an out of town Detective Brendan Pitney (Kevin Sizemore) hoping to solve this case gets him accepted into the FBI, while working Deputy LeMoine (Jason J. Lewis) both do a fine job with their performances. Meanwhile Tom’s daughter Hannah (Tahlia Morgan), the nosey want-to-be reporter tries to investigate the crime and track down leads. Those hoping for a monster creature feature, won’t find pleasure herein, rather the story takes a character approach with actors providing the motivation for the story proceed at a steady pace. Now one character to watch for, Rickey, Tom’s brother, a conspiracy enthusiast who tries telling everyone about his theories and warnings, he’s likely the closest to the doomsayer in the film.
The effects all work fine, just the absence of the full creature, becomes the letdown for the audience, when dealing with tiny budgets, the ideal angle to wait to the very last minute to show the beast. Otherwise, a solid movie, with a fresh angle to the cryptozoology flicks dealing with Bigfoot and making an original standpoint by incorporating it as the backstory to slaughtered victims, which again one doesn’t see the grisly effects on the camera. Still, there’s interest for horror fans, seeking something unusual, but the movie leans heavily on drama setting, in fact the film appears very bright, taking place mainly during the day. The cast reacts well to situations occurring in front of them, off screen, as the hulking Bigfoot never truly gets to interact with the actors, except for a moment near the end of the third act, and even then, it mostly occurs off screen, leaving the viewer to imagine the horror. Put your tin foil hats on to conjurer the beasty feeding and killing victims.
This movie definitely may not be for everyone, maybe something for a family night with young teens, nothing seems too outrageous, so that likely loses a core of horror fans. However, if you seek new evidence or theories then enjoy your Sightings.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4765870/
https://www.facebook.com/SightingsMovie/
https://www.highoctanepictures.com/
IMDb Rating: 5.4/10
Baron’s Rating: 5/10