You could argue the two most noteworthy cinematic icons to have come out of Arkansas are actor/writer/director Billy Bob Thornton and the large hairy Sasquatch monster in Charles B. Pierce's 1972's pseudo horror documentary "The Legend of Boggy Creek."
I would like to talk about the latter, not only because I recently watched Hollywood's latest Bigfoot movie, David and Nathan Zellner's "Sasquatch Sunset," but also because a few weekends ago the small southwest Arkansas town of Fouke, where Boggy Creek was filmed, held their annual Bigfoot convention.
I'd been looking forward to the Zellner brothers' film since it was announced. I have a long history with the Fouke monster and have had numerous Bigfoot expeditions in Northwest Arkansas. So anytime a new Bigfoot flick pops up, be it a nuanced arthouse piece or a cheapo straight-to-DVD horror picture, I'm instantly drawn to them. "Sasquatch Sunset" falls into the former category, as it is a relatively low budget feature that follows a family of four Bigfoots as they live out their daily lives, isolated in the woods of the Pacific Northwest.
After I got out of the theater, I called up my old friend and Sasquatch researcher, Dr. Gabe McKean, to discuss the film. A few things you should know about Gabe. I'm fairly certain that that's not his real name. It's an alias that he uses for reasons unbeknownst to me. Secondly I'm pretty sure he does not hold a PhD, or at least not one from any accredited university as he claims to hold a doctorate in cryptozoology, the study of fake animals. But what he lacks in proper education, he makes up for in years of field research. He's one of the most knowledgeable folks I know on the subject of Bigfoot, and he has taken me out to the most desolate of places here in Arkansas to hunt for the evasive beast.
"Sasquatch Sunset" stars Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough, both in heavy, anatomically correct, Sasquatch makeup. There's no dialogue in the movie -- only Bigfoot characters. There's a focus on the societal and family structure of the creatures, while they occasionally stumble upon a few man-made structures that confuse them. The movie seemed really well-researched, as some of the techniques that Gabe has taught me over the years were implemented in the film. The Bigfoots make loud wooping sounds and use giant sticks to beat on the side of trees to communicate. I've watched Gabe do the very same wood knocking techniques.
At some point the movie loses focus, becoming less a pseudo-nature documentary as it delves into lame scatological humor. For example, the squad of Squatches stumble onto a patch of psychedelic mushrooms. This leads to an extended scene where the Alpha squatch goes on a trip and retches for an amount of time that overstays its welcome. These gross-out gags become repetitive and creates some tonal confusion that really hurts the film. It goes from something that has a lot of potential to just a mediocre and forgettable comedy unworthy of a second watch.
I was so disappointed with the film that I asked Gabe about Sasquatch's legacy in Hollywood and what the movies get wrong about the creature.
"A lot of things," he says. "The issue is that fictionalized portrayals of Sasquatch in film are not rooted in current data. The Sasquatch are almost always presented as savage, opportunistic man-eaters skulking around campsites and cabins that teenagers have rented for the weekend."
I then explained to him the semi-realistic approach of "Sasquatch Sunset" and asked him if there's any other films that attempt to give a more grounded depiction of the creature.
"Christopher Munch directed a film in 2011 ... 'Letters From the Big Man.' Here, Sasquatch displays a level of intelligence and elusiveness that coincides with the research. Most impressively, the creature shares a striking resemblance to what thousands of witnesses have reported seeing for years and years. A tall, upright, hairy hominid that shares most of its characteristics with the creature in the famed 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film. Behavior and appearance aside, the film also tackles controversies that commonly arise within the Bigfoot community -- deforestation, Bigfoot as a protected species, etc. It is a different kind of a Bigfoot film."
Cryptozoologists spend a good portion of their life studying an animal that they'll never see in person, so I was curious what Gabe considers the best Bigfoot film of all time is.
"As someone whose research is focused primarily in eastern Oklahoma/western Arkansas, I will always be partial to Charlie Pierce's 'Legend of Boggy Creek.' It has become a sort of cult classic over the years, though you must understand this was not always the case. The film re-affirmed society's misconception of Arkansans as backward rustics in the 1970s, a sentiment that locals and the Crabtrees themselves had grown tired of. In more recent years, though, citizens of Fouke have come to embrace the film's cult status with festivals and screenings. Yes, I am partial to 'Boggy Creek.'"
No matter if you want to check out the many different cinematic portrayals of Bigfoot, or if you want to take a trip to Fouke and visit the now iconic Monster Mart, just remember that Sasquatch will always be a part of this state. And maybe one day when you're looking off into the distance of the Arkansas wilderness you might just catch a glimpse of the hairy best ... or just maybe he'll be the one staring at you.