This film began life in 1958 as a student-made short. It was pretty much what you would expect from such a venture: a clichéd script rife with plot holes, acting as bad as a military training film, ultra- cheap special effects, half-assed photography
. You get the idea.
Now fast-forward 17 years, when the original film was tacked on to footage from an equally bad Bigfoot docudrama and sold to TV as a 90-minute feature. The "new" film starts with a narrative about the earliest rumblings of man dating back two million or so years. Not only is it badly written, but the forced earnestness of the youthful-sounding narrator makes the scene hilarious.
Next, we cut to a 1975-era high school classroom in which the teacher is (for whatever reason) doing a unit on mythical creatures. This leads to a monologue on Bigfoot with scenes of logging. Why? Because Bigfoot was seen at logging camps in the Pacific Northwest, you silly Billy! But wait, there's more: if you enjoy drawn-out scenes of touque- topped Canadians walking through the woods, boy, are you in for a treat! And for fans of MST3K, there's even a rock- climbing segment. Once the teacher finishes babbling about the Yeti, he brings in a guest speaker to tell of an experience he had some fifteen years ago. That's when the original film kicks in.
The 1958 monster is not actually Bigfoot. It's a ridiculous-looking mummy (with fangs, and a fried egg instead of an eye) that some high school students bring back to life when they dig up a Native American burial ground. (Oops!) The mummy goes on a killing spree because . Well, that's what mummies do, right? The kids call the local sheriff, who is surprisingly quick to believe their story, and go on a manhunt for the creature. They lure it out into the open with meat scraps (don't ask), then toss gasoline on the mummy and set it on fire. It goes up like a charcoal briquette. The end.
The film has two female characters who never really do anything. They're just kind of...there. Why? Perhaps they were dating the producer and director, who knows? Also, the "scientific" explanation for the mummy's resurrection really doesn't pass muster. It has something to do with ancient herbs put into the tomb that somehow kept the mummy dormant until our heroes come along. So, does that mean the mummy was buried alive? Again, there's no way of knowing.
Somebody thought it was a good idea to pad out a 17-year-old film- club project and put it on TV. Of course, it was 1975 and drug use was pervasive. Maybe that explains it.
Now fast-forward 17 years, when the original film was tacked on to footage from an equally bad Bigfoot docudrama and sold to TV as a 90-minute feature. The "new" film starts with a narrative about the earliest rumblings of man dating back two million or so years. Not only is it badly written, but the forced earnestness of the youthful-sounding narrator makes the scene hilarious.
Next, we cut to a 1975-era high school classroom in which the teacher is (for whatever reason) doing a unit on mythical creatures. This leads to a monologue on Bigfoot with scenes of logging. Why? Because Bigfoot was seen at logging camps in the Pacific Northwest, you silly Billy! But wait, there's more: if you enjoy drawn-out scenes of touque- topped Canadians walking through the woods, boy, are you in for a treat! And for fans of MST3K, there's even a rock- climbing segment. Once the teacher finishes babbling about the Yeti, he brings in a guest speaker to tell of an experience he had some fifteen years ago. That's when the original film kicks in.
The 1958 monster is not actually Bigfoot. It's a ridiculous-looking mummy (with fangs, and a fried egg instead of an eye) that some high school students bring back to life when they dig up a Native American burial ground. (Oops!) The mummy goes on a killing spree because . Well, that's what mummies do, right? The kids call the local sheriff, who is surprisingly quick to believe their story, and go on a manhunt for the creature. They lure it out into the open with meat scraps (don't ask), then toss gasoline on the mummy and set it on fire. It goes up like a charcoal briquette. The end.
The film has two female characters who never really do anything. They're just kind of...there. Why? Perhaps they were dating the producer and director, who knows? Also, the "scientific" explanation for the mummy's resurrection really doesn't pass muster. It has something to do with ancient herbs put into the tomb that somehow kept the mummy dormant until our heroes come along. So, does that mean the mummy was buried alive? Again, there's no way of knowing.
Somebody thought it was a good idea to pad out a 17-year-old film- club project and put it on TV. Of course, it was 1975 and drug use was pervasive. Maybe that explains it.