Eduardo Sanchez, a talented filmmaker, brings to life screenwriter Jamie Nash’s creation, (they both previously worked on Altered [2006]) which strangely adds more into the found footage market which he long ago helped to advance greatly with his movie The Blair Witch Project. Herein another film dealing the existence of Bigfoot and claiming on the screen over 3,000 encounters with the creature and experts state attack only when provoked. This is actually true for any animal in the wilderness with people invading their territory. Filmed in just 21-days and resulting in a quickly paced 81-minute runtime, Sanchez likely is the best to return to the genre he made famous, but this building on the cryptozoology, achieved distribution with Lionsgate Home Entertainment.
The topic of Bigfoot, a popular one again in the year of 2014, even though this movie tried to generate some eerie moments, most of it becomes random screaming in pitch blackness. Eight feature films released in 2014 on the legend of Bigfoot, as opposed to popular belief it was only two, the other Willow Creek, slightly incorrect made in 2013 and started the fest circuit that year. In fact up to year of 2014, only 50-titles concerning themselves with the topic of Bigfoot in horror, with at least another eleven- coming afterwards.
The story follows a handful of friends to an uncle’s cabin and the clichés start, along the way as they are recording their car ride, they strike something in the darkness only to hear it crying in the wilderness. They’re going to spend a weekend partying, but the story already ramped up continues to go at full-throttle pace. Brian (Chris Osborn (Chastity Bites [2013])) the nerd and huge film aficionado, is the one insistent on filming everything, like in the movie Diary of the Dead (2007) if you don’t film it, it never happened. Brian sits and preps with a Go Pro camera readying everything to make the all YouTube stars, while discussing the Bigfoot phenomenon. His brother Matt (Samuel Davis (Cabin Fever [2016])), the driver to hit something at night just wants to enjoy himself, not caring too much about the nonsense around him, though by night all hell breaks loose. In the footage the audience see a large beast oh my a Bigfoot, which leads to all their problems, but Sanchez builds a layered story, keeping this hidden until ready to unleash them on the audience, but when he does, he shows the monster quickly and often, especially since it looks very good. Soon the battle of man versus beast ensues, and everyone knows clearly which contains the winning hand. As for Bigfoot portrayed by Brian Steele, he gives it some wonderful personality, all thanks to the creature design by Mike Elizalde, though not Brian’s first time playing a Bigfoot role, recall him from the tv-series Harry and the Hendersons, he was Harry. In fact, Brian became an actor accustomed to portraying monsters, from Kothoga in The Relic (1997) to Berserker Predator in Predators (2010), definitely the one to pull it off and terrorize everyone.
A quick series of events give great looks to the creature, able to hold the audience’s attention. This adds positively to the story which gives a good script but in lies the problem, if really food footage then no script or director needed, and the cast would go on to start in other further productions. In addition, a found footage movie needs no crew details listing it just takes away for the reality of truthfulness, and while the score very nice indeed from Nima Dakhata just another element not needed, never news reports from a real camera using music to balance a scene correctly.
Exists is a movie you might want to see, if you’re a fan found footage features which try give real horror but contain the headaches of shaky camera filming and sometimes a tad too well edited, however a twist in the movie explains the way for it. It also involves another subgenre mixed into the film that of a slasher, for the setup and style of killing, along with a bit of advanced thinking for the monster while battling its prey. So either avoid or venture forth to see what Exists.
This review was originally posted in June 2017 on the now defunct Rogue Cinema website.
TAGLINE:
- The legend is real. So is the terror.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1988621/
IMDb Rating: 5.2/10
Baron’s Rating: 5.0/10