The Unknown (2005) User Reviews

Decent modern Bigfoot flick

[Wuchakk · 5/10 · 11 March 2014]

2005's "Clawed" (aka "The Unknown") is not nearly as bad as some of these negative reviews here claim. No, it's not "Apocalypse Now" but it never pretends to be anything more than what it is -- a Grade-B made-for-TV Bigfoot flick.

THE STORY: In Washington state three poachers get killed on a mountain by what is thought to be a killer grizzly. The sole survivor returns with three more rednecks to get revenge; meanwhile a group of high school teens also go up to the mountain for a senior project. Add to the mix a couple of rangers and a Sasquatch creature.

WHAT WORKS:

• The Washington locations are great, filmed in Buckley and North Bend. - The villains here are the loathsome poachers; the rest of the cast are likable with the exception of the arrogant jock, who sort of redeems himself by the end. The lead redneck, by the way, is none other than Miles O'Keeffe who played the title role in 1981's infamous "Tarzan, the Ape Man" (beefcake hero to villainous hick, how about that?). - The two girls are quite fetching, especially the brunette (Chelsea Hobbs). One reviewer implies it's unlikely that the brunette would be attracted to Richard, the intelligent/woodsman type, but I didn't find it unlikely at all. Since when do pretty girls only find arrogant, obnoxious jocks attractive? (Arrogance shouldn't be confused with confidence). Richard is quiet, humble and skillful in his areas of expertise. The brunette obviously finds these traits attractive. Meekness isn't weakness, after all. - Although "Abominable" (2006) is an entertaining Bigfoot flick the creature in that film is nothing more than a monster of unadulterated horror (with a goofy face). I like the fact that "Clawed" portrays the creature in a more benevolent, almost noble fashion. Some reviewers have even gone so far as to describe him as the "brown Hulk." - Some Native American legends claim Sasquatch is a spirit-being that can come and go in the physical realm. This is touched on in the film. - Speaking of the creature, I thought they did a good job with the costume (He looks like he spends a lot of time in the gym). At least the creature doesn't have a goofy face a la "Abominable." - Speaking of goofy, there are thankfully no campy elements like "Abominable." Although there's some goofiness, this is essentially a serious Bigfoot flick accompanied by a serious dramatic soundtrack, not that everything's believable, of course. - I like the fact that the film only runs 80 minutes before credits. Films of this ilk shouldn't overstay their welcome.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK:

• Although the film's not bad, it never arises above the level of decent. (You haven't seen bad, by the way, until you've seen 2008's "Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon"). The set-up of the story is great but the final act fumbles the ball. It's like once they (the filmmakers) get the various groups up into the forest where the creature is lurking they don't know what to do from there. - I pointed out above that not everything's believable, which includes the poachers' antics. I also didn't buy the teens camping out on the mountain with a supposed killer grizzly on the loose (Wouldn't their parents object? Would the girls likely go, especially considering no one in their group had weapons?). - Most films like this HAVE to have one or more ultra-wise Native Americans who are "at one" with nature and all-knowing concerning the mythical creature at hand (e.g. "Man-Thing," "Prophecy," "Orca," etc.). Get real.

Some complain that they can't figure out certain plot points; read Willaim R. Hancock's Amazon review for an excellent explanation (from October 16, 2006).

BOTTOM LINE: This is a decent modern Bigfoot flick that should please fans of the Sasquatch mythos. Although the set-up is great, it's hampered by a weak last act. It's better than "Sasquatch" (2002) but it's no where near as good as "Sasquatch Mountain" (2005). I like the fact that the legend is respected and the creature isn't made out to be a bloodthirsty ee-vil monster. Although there's a little gore, gorehounds who drooled over "Abominable" will not be appeased by "Clawed;" in other words, stay away if you're solely interested in a bloodstained slasher/monster flick.

GRADE: C+

The movie ain't chillin' but you guys are shillin'

[Tipster · 3/10 · 2 April 2006]

This is just inane, boring, low-budget Bigfoot film #55, not scary once, and half as funny.

In fact, not until I read all the comments above from cast-crew members pretending to be Joe Public -- or maybe just ONE cast or crew member pretending to be Joe Public -- not until then did I realize that any of it was SUPPOSED to be funny.

90 minutes down the drain.

Sigh.

IMDb is telling me that the minimum length for comments is ten lines of text. I can't think of ten lines worth of things to say about this nothing movie. But I'm vamping in hopes of getting this up to ten.

How 'bout those Mets?

Nice, not the best, but still enjoyable

[Maidenmayhem23 · 5/10 · 29 May 2006]

Yes, its a monster movie with teens. Now lets let all the little fags go and give it a 1 strictly on that fact w/o even watching the movie. Here's what I think...

Pros) 1-Well made 2-Very credible acting(except foe the poachers) 3-Great use of characterization 4-Nice camera work 5-Light humor 6-Good plot 7-GREAT ending, no last second scares or any crap like that, nice and solid

Cons) 1-Why did the poacher kill his friend again? 2-After the dude does all this perverted crap, the idiot blonde STILL wants him to sleep with her 3-Someone please tell me who in their right mind would go into the woods where a bunch of people just got slaughtered 4-Monster looked kinda retarded

All in all...I've seen A lot better, but I've also seen A lot worse.

Bad Collection of Clichés

[claudio_carvalho · 4/10 · 7 October 2007]

In the deep woods of Echo Mountain, Pine Creek, three poachers are slaughtered by a predator and the survivor, Ed, organizes an illegal hunting with three other hunters. Meanwhile, the teenagers Rich (Dylan Purcell) and Jay (Brandon Henschel) are assigned by their biology teacher to prepare a seminar about species in danger of extinction. Jay invites his girlfriend Shea (Casey LaBow) and his cousin Jenny (Chelsea Hobbs) to camp with Rich and him in the forest to research animals for their work. Meanwhile the Indian Ranger John Eagleheart (Nathaniel Arcand) is also in the woods tracking the Sasquatch. When Ed and his men are attacked by the Big Foot, the teenagers try to escape to save their lives.

"The Unknown" is a bad collection of clichés and completely disappointing. The story begins without any previous development of the characters, and we see a group of illegal hunters being chased by a creature. Then we see the Sheriff and his Indian Ranger trying to protect the locals while the Mayor preoccupied with the season of tourism, in a situation repeated in many movies ("Jaws", for example). The biology teacher joins a nerd with a bully in an absolutely illogical situation. The conclusion is silly and ridiculous. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "O Desconhecido" ("The Unknown")

"It was big & hairy... just like your Mother." "We may be dumb but we ain't stupid." Really boring 'creature feature'.

[poolandrews · 3/10 · 4 June 2006]

The Unknown is set in the small Pacific Northwest town of 'Pine Creek' & it's surrounding forest's & in particular an area called 'Echo Mountain' which has been the location of a series a mysterious disappearances & the center of lots of local legends about monsters. While out illegally poaching Ed Janzer (Miles O'Keefe) & three of his mates (Don Brady, Paul Cagney & Art Hickman) are attacked by something which slaughters Ed's mates & almost kills him but is saved by Indian forest Ranger John Eagleheart (Nathaniel Arcand), back in town & the general theory is that they were killed by a Grizzly Bear while Mayor Potts (John Patrick Lowrie) tells Sheriff Kassel (Jack Conley) to try & keep things as low key as possible & keep it out of the papers in fear of bad publicity. Meanwhile Ed has rounded three more of his mates up & head off into the wilderness for some revenge. At the local high school two pupils Jay Kelter (Brandon Henschel) & Richard Winslow (Dylan Purcell) are forced to work together & hand a report in on endangered species or they will both fail, along with a couple of chicks Shae (Casey LaBow) & Jenny (Chelsea Hobbs) they head off to Echo Mountain to gain some 'feild' experience & impress their teacher. I won't bother saying anything else as you can easily fill in the blanks yourself...

Co-edited, co-written, co-produced & directed by Karl Kozak The Unknown in my humble opinion is boring low budget crap, it's as simple & straight forward as that. The script by Kozak & Don J. Rearden is far too slow & boring to have any impact, after the first ten minutes when the three poachers are killed it's the best part of three quarters of an hour before anything even remotely exciting happens & someone is killed, imagine all that time just sitting there watching a really slow, dull & boring film pass by as the hope that something will happen rapidly turns into desperation. There are simply not enough attacks in a film that has no other redeeming features, the character's are OK in context but they're still dull & clichéd, the angry hunter, the good natured Sheriff, the corrupt town official worried about bad publicity & scaring tourists away & of course the horny teenagers. A lot of the story doesn't make much sense, what is the creature protecting? Why did Ed shoot his mate? What the hell happened at the end? Everyone just sort of stands there for ages. What are those stupid flashbacks all about? Are we to believe that this creature is in fact 100's of years old? After three armed men are brutally killed four teenagers decide to spend the night in the same location for a school project? These kids are stupid yes, but that stupid? Most of The Unknown is just people walking through a forest, well that's the overall impression I'm left with anyway. I can't believe how many people have given this piece O' rubbish a good review, I clicked on three of the users who gave The Unknown 8 stars or above & they all only have one comment which really isn't a surprise is it? I am in hysterics at how these comments try to paint this film as deep, scary & meaningful!

Director Kozak does a pretty good job on a low budget, although obviously shot on video The Unknown has good production values & the locations used are nice & have have lots of trees. Forget about any scares, shocks or surprises because there aren't any, at all. Forget about any gore either, the opening scenes feature two mangled bodies & someone whose guts slide out of their stomach wound but apart from that it's just the odd splash of fake blood. At the end of The Unknown a video tape of the creature is given to a news program who give it to an expert who claims that it's a hoax & is nothing more than a 'guy in a monkey suit', well I reckon he's giving them too much credit because the Bigfoot creature in this looks really naff.

With a supposed budget of about $700,000 The Unknown was filmed in 2003 but not released until 2005, need I say anymore? The acting was OK, hey I don't mind giving credit where it's due.

The Unknown is a really boring Bigfoot film, there's no gore, no scares, a dumb looking creature, really bad dialogue like 'we may be dumb but we ain't stupid' & a 'join-the-dots' plot. This is one to avoid, watch Night of the Demon (1980) again instead as it's the perfect example of how a killer Bigfoot film should be done. Released on DVD under the title Clawed: The Legend of Sasquatch although a bucket of s%*t still smells as bad under any name.

Fair Entry in the Long Running Genre

[Michael_Elliott · 29 August 2009]

Clawed: The Legend of Sasquatch (2005)

** (out of 4)

Four poachers are hunting bear when they're attacked by some creature. One survives and eventually goes back out into the woods searching for the beast. Four high school students are also in the woods doing research on bears but they're all soon going to face the legendary Sasquatch. Those, like me, who must see every movie that deals with the famous creature will probably check this one out no matter how much they're warned. If you must see all these types of movies then I'm sure you'll make it to the end but all others should stay clear as there's not too much going on here. The film was obviously shot with a very small budget but they have a fairly good looking Sasquatch outfit so why they don't show it and use it more is beyond me. For the most part the film is all dialogue, which really drags things down because quite often we get the same stuff over and over. Even though it's all dialogue there are still sequences that don't make any sense and that includes the surviving poacher wanting to kill an Indian ranger. This here drags out the running time, is boring and takes away from the subject line that fans are going to really want to see. There's some brief nudity and a little gore but not enough to carry the film. I thought director Kozak did a pretty good job with the visual look of the film. I also thought the performances were rather good for this type of film. The young cast do a pretty good job and deliver the type of performances you'd expect. While they're not Oscar worthy they at least keep you entertained. The biggest negative is that there's never any real threat here. We've told stories about the creature yet he's never frightening or threatening. That's not a good thing when you're watching a horror movie so the majority of people out there will want to skip this one. Originally released as THE UNKNOWN.

Clawed:The Legend of Sasquatch

[Scarecrow-88 · 4/10 · 16 August 2008]

Underwhelming, rather gore-less creature feature with no surprises concerning a Sasquatch(Taku he)running loose on Echo Mountain, attacking those illegally hunting. Miles O'Keefe is the true heavy of this flick as poacher Ed, out to get the Bigfoot and an Indian Ranger Eagleheart(Nathaniel Arcand)who actually saved his ass. Ed loses some pals to the angry Sasquatch, inlisting others in town to go back into Echo Mtn. to get those he deems responsible. The local media consider the poacher attacks as merely caused by an endangered grizzly. Richard(Dylan Purcell)is a smart high school kid who understands nature and wild-life regarding their habits and behavior but has been having trouble passing tests in class. He's asked by his disgruntled professor to join up with jock Jay(Brandon Henschel)who needs an A+ to graduate the class..and high school.. to develop an assignment on endangered species. Jay will coerce Richard to spend a weekend on Echo Mountain with his cousin Jenny(Chelsea Hobbs), who has a crush on him, and sweetheart Shea(Casey LaBow)hoping to find a grizzly recorded on camcorder therefore achieving that elusive grade he needs to pass class, hopefully impressing his teacher in the process. Sheriff Drake Kassel(Jack Conley)attempts to keep order with a mayor breathing down his neck to find that bear which killed those poachers so that locals will quit worrying about it..that, and the mayor doesn't wish for some killer bear to ruin tourist season. Into Echo Mountain with the dreaded Sasquatch shown from time to time spying on potential victims behind bushes and hanging leafy branches and uttering guttural growls when enraged. "Clawed.." is practically ready-made for the Sci-fi channel in that most of the violence occurs off-screen and even when we see the aftermath of the monster's attacks, rarely are they that gruesome or stomach-churning(..one hunter's holding his recently removed guts, another's face was torn into). There's a light amount of profanity and a peek-a-boo shot of LaBow's nicely developed breasts. The kids aren't that obnoxious(..well, except for Jay who likes to play practical jokes on his peers and hurl lame insults at nerdy Richard), and O'Keeffe as Ed, hides his eyes under a cap most of the time, speaking his dialogue under a bearded scowl. The Sasquatch isn't the least bit scary, and looks like a costume. Nothing that memorable here. You'll probably forget about it soon after it's over.."Clawed.." will hide quietly in the ever-growing number of Bigfoot/Sasquatch flicks that have increased in size over the years. Even the location itself can not enhance the rather dull experience.

It is now known

[vivaldi0 · 1/10 · 4 May 2006]

After viewing this I was amazed at the previous review. I am an avid movie viewer and have seen my share of bad films, but this one seems to top my list. First the movie starts out with a group of guys hunting and then being slaughtered, by Taka Hei. OK, good start for a plot, but then the next thing you know, you are led through an introduction of characters always being angry at each other for no reason. Yelling and annoying you to death. Typical of a D movie, but I would say it deserves an F for forget it. If all this film was set out to do was present good makeup artistry, I would not have even bothered writing a review, but the mask that Bigfoot wore, was the worst I have seen. CG anyone?....that would have at least peaked my interest. The chase scenes were worse than anything. Slow motion chase scenes are over and done with. Please, to any other directors out there, No more chase scenes in slow mo!! OK...my ten lines are up. I have nothing more to say.

Mediocre monster fun.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 21 January 2011]

Read the comments for Karl Kozak's straight to DVD creature feature Clawed and you'll find that the general consensus is that the film is a serviceable piece of Sasquatch silliness with adequate performances, some so-so gore, an acceptable monster, and a reasonably creepy atmosphere.

Sadly, it is this mediocrity that will almost certainly doom the film to obscurity. Were the movie a genuine steaming pile of yeti-dung, as the current rating of 3/10 strangely suggests, it would undoubtedly secure itself a cult following, as has happened with low budget big-foot trash-fest Night of the Demon (1980). As it stands, Clawed simply isn't memorable enough.

The gazillionth movie to nick its basic premise from Jaws (a deadly creature threatens to ruin a small community's Spring Break tourist trade), Clawed plays everything just a little too safe, with all the expected clichés present and correct, but nowhere near enough originality on display.

The one moment that stood out for me (apart from when one teen hottie wanders into the woods in just her bra and very short shorts) is the discovery of a mutilated grizzly bear impaled on a tree branch; if there had been more of this kind of grisly inventiveness, the whole thing would have made a lot more impact.

Nothing to write home about

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 17 June 2023]

Another tiny-budgeted creature feature in which various campers, poachers and hunters find themselves tangling with the Bigfoot legend. I caught this one on DVD under the title CLAWED: THE LEGEND OF SASQUATCH and quickly wished I hadn't. The paucity of the budget is evident from the very first scene and what follows is entirely predictable. The creature itself isn't the worst you'll see, but it gets very little screen time and there's not much in the way of gore FX for the horror fans. Instead for the most part we're stuck with the annoying teenager characters and their inane chatter. Miles O'Keeffe, of ATOR THE FIGHTING EAGLE fame, makes a rare appearance.

The Unwatchable - Takah Lame

[dilbertsuperman · 2/10 · 7 May 2006]

Steer clear of this piece of junk- it's made for television quality all around with horrible special effects, dopey plot and uninteresting creature. They couldn't even get the sexuality of the campers to be interesting. This movie fails on all points it's a story about sasquatch being pi$$ed off and killing people in the forest and people continually testing to see if that will actually happen. THose that test bigfoot wind up with sausages hanging out of their gut to simulate intestines that were ripped out. Almost scary. But really lame instead. Really lame. Super duper boring dull cast dopey story stupid effects lame. BOOOOo!

One of the best Bigfoot films out there...

[adamr-6 · 8/10 · 29 May 2005]

This is one of the best Bigfoot movies out there. What's amazing about the film is the amazing production value. The Filmmakers took a tremendously low budget and made it look like a high budget project. The film is scary enough to frighten your little ones, and has enough witty one-liners to keep adults entertained. The Director does a good job playing and teasing the audience with scary potential moments, which believe it or not, is only heightened by humor. The four Lead young adult actors do a fabulous job. They definitely carry the film and add humor -- and the girls sex appeal. And the forest landscapes are lush and beautiful. You should definitely check this one out.

I'm not sure why this is rated 2.3

[toadwriter · 7/10 · 29 March 2009]

Anyone who approaches a movie based on Sasquatch must know:

1) It is not going to be a large budget film 2) There are not going to be any recognizable stars 3) Nothing in the movie can be construed as complete fact 4) It's not going to win any awards

Thus, a movie such as this needs to be approached with an open mind and low expectations.

I read one good review here when I saw it was going to be on Showtime Extreme (542 on DirectTV), so I decided to watch.

What I saw was somewhat interesting. The acting was not bad and a few actors actually did a really fine job. On top of that, there was a good mix of some light-hearted humor, a couple times I laughed out loud, not out of sheer stupidity, but original humor.

The movie could have done less with the stupid rednecks. I did like the close-up scene with the bear, and not knowing what Sasquatch truly looks like, I had no problems with what I saw.

I guess if people go into this with high expectations, they're going to end up disappointed, but if you take it for what it is, it's not a waste of time.

I could see Hollywood making a larger budget film out of the Sasquatch legend and put a couple (somewhat) big(ger)-named actors in it. I mean, if some hacks can make the Blair Witch Project and manage to turn that pile of crap into a blockbuster smash, why not something that has some plausibility?

I gave it a 7 because I want to help see the rating of this film climb. I probably do not think it deserves more than about a 5 of 10, but it's certainly better than 2.3.

Like someone else said, grab a girl, and cuddle up with some popcorn. At times she'll hold you close, and other times you'll both laugh together.

I cannot think of a strong enough word for blech

[j-ludolph · 3/10 · 14 February 2008]

So, I just spent 84 minutes of my life watching "Clawed: The Legend of Sasquatch" And, Yeah...I wouldn't mind getting that time back.

Now, I found this movie in a bargain bin at a local pawn shop for $3.00. Knowing that, you can understand why I wasn't expecting much. I, at least, figured it may be worth the time of putting it in the DVD player.

Any of you who know me, or read any of the old wetmutt horrorcast articles would know that I am a huge cheesy movie fan. Especially cheesy horror movies. I think of horror movies as an art form all their own. Something about the low barrier of entry for filmmakers with horror movies really makes for great movies. Anyways, back to the film.

The story is virtually non-existent. Much like a snuff film. They have points A, B & C in the script & didn't seem to care how they get from A to B to C. The story seems like it must have been an afterthought.

The camera work wasn't bad, but there were some interlace & artifacting problems. Suggesting that the camera was not your high end model & the editing system had some rendering problems. There was even a transition in the middle of the movie that was very plain and "home-movie" like. It was your typical wipe where both shots are on screen at the same time at one point.

The "Bigfoot Vision" was mediocre at best. A simple sepia overlay with ZERO contrast. Leaving all shadows grey & washed out. While on the subject of the "Bigfoot Vision", I want to make a point that Bigfoot seemed like a pervert, spying on teenagers while they sleep or even taking a leak!

The death scenes were terrible. Every one of them the same. Bigfoot vision creeping up on the unsuspecting victim, followed be a quick cutaway to some unrelated part of the woods, a scream, then a bloody (sort of) body. And not that good of a bloody body. The dead bodies seemed like another afterthought. Which is amazing to me since the movie has an R rating, but shows no death scenes and very VERY little blood. Sadly, some of the people you wanted to die...didn't.

My overall rating of Clawed: The Legend of the Sasquatch is a 3.5. Replayability is NIL. I will only watch this movie ONE MORE TIME. That will be for a vidcast review with Mikal & KC (coming soon).

The people who made this movie had some of the Sasquatch myths correct, from throwing large rocks at camp sites to having the ability to teleport. But they broke the cardinal horror movie rule...If you see a girls stuff in the film...her character CANNOT survive!

Clawing My Eyes Out

[Threepwood_Lives · 25 September 2011]

Reviews Of Unusual Size!

Re: Sasquatch is killing people in the woods, so a few drunk hunters and stereotyped high school kids decide to dink around in the woods for an hour of my life.

Outstanding: The Bigfoot costume was pretty decent for a B-Movie.

Unacceptable: The music was overbearing, the acting wooden, the story non-existent and even worse, the whole shambling mess was as boring as watching plaster dry in a footprint casting.

Summary: It's a bad sign when the most charismatic actor in a movie is the "blond bimbo" whose only purpose is to take her clothes off and act as a plot exposition device. Which would have been fine, if the Sasquatch had been cooler or acted less randomly. And really? The native American deputy was named John Eagleheart? Was the name Indian Plentywampum already taken?

1/5

Casey LaBow's first film

[lastliberal · 2/10 · 14 September 2008]

What to say about a formula that has been used over and over with just a change in actors and settings.

Something is in the woods. No, it is not a grizzly as the Deliverance-like poacher claims it is. And, no, it is not Casey LaBow. She hasn't arrived there yet.

We all know what it is because we have seen so many of these films. So why are we watching this one? Maybe we are just hoping for something different.

Next thing you know Richard (Dylan Purcell) and Jay (Brandon Henschel) are assigned to work together on a report for Biology class. We don't really know why, but it is crucial to the plot so they do it. They bring along Jay's girlfriend Shea (Casey LaBow) and his cousin Jenny (Chelsea Hobbs), who has a thing for Richard. Now, we may have a reason to watch this film.

Jay is just what we expected. The only contribution he makes is to take a shot of Shea (Casey LaBow) as she is changing closes and put her in Mr. Skin's database.

That's all for the movie as it follows a predictable path from here on out. 10 seconds of excitement out of 85 minutes. Boring.

Big Ball of Furry Nothing

[jamhorner · 3/10 · 22 October 2007]

Yes, yet another movie about the infamous Sasquatch. However, this movie, despite its creepy video cover was not a creature feature but more of a conflict between man and man, or man and nature, not man and creature/animal. I will say that it had some pretty good elements and plot points but overall this movie was not that scary.

The elements that made this movie work, to a point, was the scenery shots of the woods and the seemingly endless forest. They incorporated great sunsets, sunrises, tree canopies and a beautiful shot of the fog gently rolling into the forestry. These shots made for great establishing shots and transitional elements. The beginning of the movie, which was a montage of these shots, was a even greater ingredient because it had an Native Americana influence as well as a little back story of the Sasquatch, which not many movies have.

However, there is a bad egg in this carton, or should I say a few. The main conflict in this movie was not the Sasquatch but in fact a battle between man and man, and teen and teacher. Basically a hunter is getting his revenge on the whole town because his friend died in the hands of that beast and he's just running around killing people because he's mad. It's almost funny and pointless. The conflict was weak and, at best, a humorous parody of typical forest-fright movies. The other conflict was a slacker teen who gets assigned a nature project because his teacher is mad that he's failing, so the teen is paired up with a brain and they run into Sasquatch. Again, a conflict between the teacher, the slacker teen and the geeky teen.

The only time that you ever see the Sasquatch, or the only reason why he is even in this movie is just to stalk the teens and act scary, which he is not. Like I said, this movie could be considered a weak drama more than a horror, with great scenery shots. I would not recommend this movie to hard-core horror fanatics but for b-movie drama fans. Maybe even beginner horror fans this would be acceptable, but definitely not those who want the fur scared off of them.

A complete disappointment

[skatepawn · 1/10 · 25 November 2006]

OK, the only enjoyment we got from this film was reading the review from mariemoren. I don't know why, but after watching the movie, and then reading that review, I couldn't stop laughing for 5 minutes.

Now that that's out of the way, this movie was a complete waste of time. You never even get to see Bigfoot attack anyone. Did they rent the suit, and were afraid of damaging it? In one scene in which Bigfoot is in the background, he does what we can only assume to be is a disappearing act as he disappears into thin air, which leads us to think he is some kind of spirit or ghost, but it is never explained in the movie. Can Bigfoot teleport? Is he a ghost? An alien? A Dragonball Z character? Who knows, we certainly don't after spending over an hour watching this garbage.

Most of the kills that happen in the movie are the characters killing each other with guns. Ugh, how boring.

I am a fan of bad movies that are at least entertaining, and this one isn't. Stay away, Bigfoot is a mythological monstrosity of giganthropic proportions, and he deserves a more legendary movie than this.

just what to expect from a D-movie

[dcipledude · 2/10 · 9 May 2006]

This one is bad ! Bad acting, bad SFX (if u can call it that) and even worse plot. Bigfoot - who looks like he is made out of paper mache by a 6-year old - is angry for some reason but u never get to know why or why it starts killing people. While Harry & the Hendersons was big fun this one is dull, uninteresting, the plot goes nowhere and they added an Indian that wanders the woods to make it look more authentic .. or so I think. The movie could have been made by your neighbour and his kids with their digital camera .. absolute amateurism

I'm not going to waste any more words on it : utter utter utter crap (like my English)

I'll give it 2/10 because of the cool poster (for the "Clawed" version)

Horror has a new name....bad makeup yeti

[tombxtra · 4/10 · 4 May 2006]

This movie has really nothing original in. Its harry meet the hendersons gone bad. Miles o keef as the big hunter bad guy, spends more time to boss his mates around instead of going after the bad make-up beast

Parrallel to this hunter story there is a teen camp out movie. Here 4 students explore the big bad forest. Harry the hairy bigfoot meets them about 3 times without doing anything. Also the bigfoot nicely poses for the video8 camcorder.

While writing this review the movie suddenly ended. No bigfoot was killed no animals hurt. even the Indian escaped with no meaning to the movie

As sadly this may be without any bloody killing, this cannot be classed as horror.

My final comment: Waste of time

I'm still waiting for a good (or how about, a passable) film about America's great cult legend

[TheUnknown837-1 · 2/10 · 26 June 2009]

One would think that Sasquatch, being one of the most popular culture icons of the Americas, would be given decent treatment in at least one of the monster flicks that was based on its legend. Sasquatch has revolutionized the minds of the curious and the adventurous anew over the years, so why is it, I ask many times, that whenever somebody decides to bring the concept to a film story, does it have to be given the poorest of treatment? There does not have to be a big budget. History has taught us that one does not need a big budget to make a good, or even wonderful film. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", the Best Picture-winner of 1975 is all the proof anybody needs. "Clawed*: The Legend of Sasquatch" (or "The Unknown") is also a low-budget film, but that does not excuse it from the fact that it's dreadfully boring, amateurishly (and sometimes poorly) acted, awfully written, and an utter catastrophe of a motion picture.

I was not expecting much from a movie called "Clawed: The Legend of Sasquatch", but even the plot I got with low expectations disappointed and baffled me with disbelief. A high school punk (Brandon Henschel) is told by his biology teacher that if he doesn't pass his endangered species report, that he will fail. So he teams up with the school brainiac (Dylan Purcell), two girls, and head out to film grizzly bears and look for Sasquatch when all they have to do is write a paper. Ridiculous, but then again, something has to get the stupid, brainless characters into the woods, doesn't it? Meanwhile, a cantankerous poacher (Miles O'Keeffe) is out seeking revenge on a Native American ranger (Nathaniel Arcand) whom he blames for the deaths of his friends, when in reality…well, you know. It's just the basic B-grade monster-on-the-loose flick. And even with this being in mind, it still disappoints.

I guess two nonsensical human stories was just too much for me and there wasn't enough of the cheesy Sasquatch attacks to keep my interested. I would have rather the story focused on the kids in the forest as opposed to the unnecessary hunters-seeking-revenge subplot. Not only is the latter utterly absurd (even for a film of this grade), but the actors who played the hunters…well, let's just say they'd be better off in another line of work. The young actors and actresses playing the kids were decent. Not great, but decent.

But of course, we can't leave out the Sasquatch. Now, the film tries to work in the "Jaws" (1975) realm, with the monster hardly being seen and its presence being merely suggested. But where as the mostly unseen shark in "Jaws" was terrifying, the Sasquatch suspense in this B-movie is not riveting in the least manner. And why is it, I ask, that every creature in these B-movies needs to have some crazily-colored vision? Now, when the Sasquatch does appear, which it rarely does, well, it's also a disappointment. I am glad they chose not to go with CGI, for looking at the rest of the movie's qualities, it would have been deplorable. Instead, a man in a suit was used with some animatronics. But the Sasquatch looks pathetic even still save for a few close-ups of the eyes, in which it's merely passable. In full-view, the creature looks like a nine-foot-tall version of Gollum from "The Lord of the Rings" with a little bit of muscle. I was literally waiting the entire film for the creature to just cough out "GOLLUM! GOLLUM!" every time I saw it.

In case I haven't made it clear yet, which I think I have many times, I abhorred this detestable B-grade malicious monster 'adventure' film. This is one of three film adaptations of the legend of Sasquatch that I have seen over the years. And I'm still waiting for that good version to come along.

Scratch that…I'll live with a PASSABLE Sasquatch story. And then I'll be satisfied.

*footnote: Sasquatch is supposed to be a primate. And as far as I know, primates do not have claws. So even the title of the movie doesn't work.

More Deliverance than Creature Feature

[ThatDarnIrishMan01 · 3/10 · 1 September 2020]

The movie started off with a group of four poachers in the woods hunting a bear. One gets knocked out by Bigfoot and wakes up to find his three friends dead.

He then gets three more friends and goes back into the woods to kill the "bear" that killed his friends and the park ranger that saved him because... I don't know, he hates native Americans? He then proceeds to get drunk, unload his friends gun for a joke which leads to him dying, another walks off into a bush by himself to die and the last wants to go home so he kills him. He then is killed by a teenage boy. Oh yeah forgot about the teenagers. There's four of them just in the woods camping, Bigfoot doesn't do anything to them at all and just wanders around. They contribute nothing to the film.

There are five Bigfoot deaths in this film, all off screen. All interchangeable poachers most of which don't say more than 3 words.

I'm pretty sure that Bigfoot does not make physical contact with any of the actors at all in this movie, probably because they could not find a tall enough person to be in the suit to make it look cool or the suit would fall apart.

It's just pretty dire honestly. Wasn't funny when it tried to be, wasn't scary when it wanted to be.

A fun movie, without being too gory.

[joerichardson · 9/10 · 29 May 2005]

In this horror/thriller there are elements of the movie that go deeper than the usual low budget genre. The movie has a sense of humor about itself, but it also tries to make the age old connection of man versus nature. The kids were great actors and the country boys were all very funny. My friends and I had a good time watching this one. Elements of Blair Witch were used, but in a smart way, without taking the outright approach. One of the best actors in the film was the mayor, especially during the scene where he is eating a Twinkie and talking to the sheriff. The editor used certain cuts that were unique between scenes, which had a freshness to it. I also like the fact that the director chose to not over-show the monster too much. Many "monster" movies have been ruined by this. Rent this one as soon as it's available.

Predictable but watchable

[lorenellroy · 6/10 · 9 November 2006]

"The Unknown " is not a particularly appropriate title for the movie as any experienced creature feature viewer will pretty much know what to expect virtually as soon as it starts .The set up involves a legend surrounding Echo Mountain where a mysterious Big Foot type creature is said to walk .The creature ambushes and slays most members of a small hunting party .This prompts the surviving member of the group to set up a revenge mission with some of his buddies ,to the displeasure of the local law .Also stumbling around on the mountain are a quartet of high school students seeking material for the term project on Endangered species ,and a Native American ranger The budget is obviously shoestring in nature but the director is able to disguise this by judicious camera angles and cutting .The creature is pretty convincing however and this does help .Variable acting and a rushed conclusion are downsides but if you approach this in the right frame of mind it is moderately satisfying and unpretentious movie making

Sasquatch deserves better than this

[Stevieboy666 · 4/10 · 17 November 2023]

Three poachers are ripped apart in a suspected bear attack in the woods on Echo Mountain. The town Mayor is on the scene, he tells the police that he doesn't want this getting out because it will put off the summer tourists (sound familiar? I'd bet that the script writer lifted this from "Jaws" (1975), and subsequent nature strikes back horror movies). Some good ol' boys head up the mountain looking for the bear, at the same time four horny teens are up there camping too. We get our first facial glimpse of the Sasquatch 29 minutes in, far too human looking for me. Looks like a Neanderthal Man on steroids. What's strange is that the creature wastes no time in tearing apart hunters yet when it comes to the kids it/he prefers to just spy on them. To its credit the acting was decent and the characters engaging. However some of the script sucked, for example one guy says to the group that they should set up camp because it's getting dark when in fact it was already pitch black. I do like film set in the great outdoors, plenty of wilderness here but nothing spectacular. On the gore front it's quite tame and despite some sex talk there is zero nudity. And as for the ending I found it disappointing. "Clawed - The Legend of Sasquatch" is a far better title than "The Unknown", however as Bigfoot movies go this one if unremarkable. Watch "Night of the Demon" (1980) instead.