The commercials for this movie are what sparked my interest in unexplained phenomena. I was six at the time, and one of the commercials featured a guy flying a plane over a Pacific Northwest forest. He looks down and sees a huge dark figure walking along the forest edge. The camera closes on the pilot's incredulous face, and the narrator ominously says, "What does this man see?". These commercials scared the crap out of me at the time. I only saw this movie about ten years later. It's pretty good, with dramatizations of several real sasquatch encounters, most notably the Ape Canyon incident (as told by Fred Beck in many Sasquatch books). In style, the movie is similar to Legend of Boggy Creek: low budget, creepy atmosphere, and the monsters are never directly shown. If you are into this sort of thing, and if you can find this movie to rent (good luck), I would recommend it.
47 Reviews
A Man called Sasquatch in the Valley of the Bigfoot
sol-kay28 May 2006
Interesting docudrama of an expedition deep into the virgin wilderness of British Columbia beyond, what the local Indians call, the Peckatoe River into the fabled and mysterious Valley of the Bigfoot. I don't really know for sure if the movie is based on real events but what is undoubtedly the highlight of the docudrama "Sasquatch the legend of Bigfoot"has to be the showing of what is probably the most graphic and convincing piece of evidence of Bigfoots or Sasquatchs existence. The October 20, 1967 Roger Patterson 16mm home-movie of a Bigfoot walking along the heavily wooded Bluff Creek Valley in Northern California that has never been dis-proved to be anything other then what's it's said to be: an authentic flesh and blood Sasquatch.
Since Paterson's death in 1972 a man named Bob Heironimus has come forwarded saying that it was him in a gorilla suit, that Patterson supposedly paid for, not a so-called Sasquatch that's really in that famous movie, to the delight of the many skeptics who for years have been unable to disprove that the film is a fake. All we have is Heironimus' word without any proof whatsoever. Heironimus did put on a gorilla suit in his attempt to show how he faked the distinct and very difficult if not impossible walk,that even the best Hollywood stunt-men couldn't duplicate, that the Sasquacth had in the film but it doesn't faintly correspond to the Patterson movie. There's no explanation from him, as well as the vast army of anti-Bigfoot skeptics, at all in how he could have made a number of footprints that had to have been made by someone weighing at least 800 pounds which were discovered at the sight just after the Patterson movie was filmed?
The movie "Sasquatch: legend of Bigfoot" has a group of people involved in finding and if possible capturing a Bgfoot, or Sasquatch, lead by Chuck Evens and his Indian guide Techka Blackhawk. The group travels some 300 miles into Bigfoot country which takes over four months. The expedition suffers a number of near-fatal attacks by mountain lions or pumas and grizzly bears, as well as running into a number of annoying and dangerous mosquito infestations, along the way to reach what is called by the native Indians the Meadow of the Three Valleys, Bigfoot Country. It's there where they make camp setting up an electric barrier of trip wires to alert Evens' & Co. if any Bigfoot had penetrated the woods around the perimeter of their campsite.
The Bigfoots who up until then were doing everything that they could to avoid the members of the Evens' Expeditionery team suddenly came out into the open after their home grounds were violated and invaded. In the dead of night the Bigfoots attacked the campsite with rocks boulders tree branches as well as with their brute strength demolishing it and wounding a number of the campers. The Bigfoots attack on the camp was so effective that the expeditionary team that had marksmen assigned to it didn't even have a chance to bring down even one of them with either a tranquilizer gun or rifle with live ammunition.
Were told at the end of the movie that there will be other expeditionary teams sent into the uncharted wilderness beyond the Peckatoe River in the years to come to capture and bring back, dead or alive, a Bigfoot. Now with almost 30 years having gone by since the movie was made, in 1977, there's still no news of a Bigfoot being either captured alive or shot and killed by any of the latter groups of Bigfoot hunters who traveled into the wilds of British Columbia in order to find one.
Interesting movie that has recently been re-released on DVD with a number of new and updated features, that includes the two Bigfoot-like movies "Snowbeast" and "The Snow Creature". The film will more then ever keep the controversy alive of the existence of a gigantic man-like, 10 foot tall 1,000 pound, humanoid or gorilla being on the loose in the dense and uncharted forests in the great American and Canadian North-West.
Since Paterson's death in 1972 a man named Bob Heironimus has come forwarded saying that it was him in a gorilla suit, that Patterson supposedly paid for, not a so-called Sasquatch that's really in that famous movie, to the delight of the many skeptics who for years have been unable to disprove that the film is a fake. All we have is Heironimus' word without any proof whatsoever. Heironimus did put on a gorilla suit in his attempt to show how he faked the distinct and very difficult if not impossible walk,that even the best Hollywood stunt-men couldn't duplicate, that the Sasquacth had in the film but it doesn't faintly correspond to the Patterson movie. There's no explanation from him, as well as the vast army of anti-Bigfoot skeptics, at all in how he could have made a number of footprints that had to have been made by someone weighing at least 800 pounds which were discovered at the sight just after the Patterson movie was filmed?
The movie "Sasquatch: legend of Bigfoot" has a group of people involved in finding and if possible capturing a Bgfoot, or Sasquatch, lead by Chuck Evens and his Indian guide Techka Blackhawk. The group travels some 300 miles into Bigfoot country which takes over four months. The expedition suffers a number of near-fatal attacks by mountain lions or pumas and grizzly bears, as well as running into a number of annoying and dangerous mosquito infestations, along the way to reach what is called by the native Indians the Meadow of the Three Valleys, Bigfoot Country. It's there where they make camp setting up an electric barrier of trip wires to alert Evens' & Co. if any Bigfoot had penetrated the woods around the perimeter of their campsite.
The Bigfoots who up until then were doing everything that they could to avoid the members of the Evens' Expeditionery team suddenly came out into the open after their home grounds were violated and invaded. In the dead of night the Bigfoots attacked the campsite with rocks boulders tree branches as well as with their brute strength demolishing it and wounding a number of the campers. The Bigfoots attack on the camp was so effective that the expeditionary team that had marksmen assigned to it didn't even have a chance to bring down even one of them with either a tranquilizer gun or rifle with live ammunition.
Were told at the end of the movie that there will be other expeditionary teams sent into the uncharted wilderness beyond the Peckatoe River in the years to come to capture and bring back, dead or alive, a Bigfoot. Now with almost 30 years having gone by since the movie was made, in 1977, there's still no news of a Bigfoot being either captured alive or shot and killed by any of the latter groups of Bigfoot hunters who traveled into the wilds of British Columbia in order to find one.
Interesting movie that has recently been re-released on DVD with a number of new and updated features, that includes the two Bigfoot-like movies "Snowbeast" and "The Snow Creature". The film will more then ever keep the controversy alive of the existence of a gigantic man-like, 10 foot tall 1,000 pound, humanoid or gorilla being on the loose in the dense and uncharted forests in the great American and Canadian North-West.
Late 70's Cheese!
twhiteson14 October 2003
I saw this as an 8 yr old back in 1978 as part of a double feature with the Harrison Ford/Carl Weather's WWII flick "Force 10 from Navarone." I would discover later on that "Force 10" was considered by many critics to be one of the worst movies of 1978, but after watching it in tandem with "Sasquatch" I thought it was so much better than "Sasquatch." The thing is I was really excited about seeing "Sasquatch." It was the MAIN reason why my siblings and cousins went to the movies that day. So we were all surprised by how much more we enjoyed "Force 10" over "Sasquatch."
"Sasquatch" is cheesy. Even when I was 8 yrs old I realized that. A docudrama about a group of hippie dippie scientists and backwoods guides who are determined to capture a sasquatch. They put together an expedition with all their supplies loaded onto packhorses and head out to "bigfoot country." They keep referring to "bigfoot country" as a place marked out on a map. And when they find some bent over trees, they quickly point out that these are the borders of "bigfoot territory."
The thing I remember the most about this movie was that it was boring. The vast majority of this movie is like a poorly funded National Geographic special- lots of pretty shots of the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. In the end, the expedition sets up camp in some meadow in the heart of "bigfoot land" and then devise all sorts of outposts with tripwires to capture a bigfoot. Of course, the big hairy guy and a bunch of his friends are not so obliging. They attack the scientists by throwing paper mache boulders at them. These scenes are so phoney looking that even the most gullible child will be rolling his eyes at them.
The ONLY good thing about this movie are the retellings of the legends of bigfoot. The hippie scientists and guides sit around the campfire and tell stories and the film then recreates the story. An American Indian legend of the creature is portrayed by an Indian boy being chased by a bigfoot. The famous attack on a miners' cabin in Ape Canyon by several bigfoots is also recreated. And the best story- the eerie story of two trappers who unfortunately entered the valley of a particularly nasty bigfoot. In one scene a trapper is kneeling down examining strange footprints and all of a sudden a huge shadow looms over him. That actually was pretty creepy! However, these brief moments do not make up for what is mostly a pretty dull, cheesy movie.
"Sasquatch" is cheesy. Even when I was 8 yrs old I realized that. A docudrama about a group of hippie dippie scientists and backwoods guides who are determined to capture a sasquatch. They put together an expedition with all their supplies loaded onto packhorses and head out to "bigfoot country." They keep referring to "bigfoot country" as a place marked out on a map. And when they find some bent over trees, they quickly point out that these are the borders of "bigfoot territory."
The thing I remember the most about this movie was that it was boring. The vast majority of this movie is like a poorly funded National Geographic special- lots of pretty shots of the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. In the end, the expedition sets up camp in some meadow in the heart of "bigfoot land" and then devise all sorts of outposts with tripwires to capture a bigfoot. Of course, the big hairy guy and a bunch of his friends are not so obliging. They attack the scientists by throwing paper mache boulders at them. These scenes are so phoney looking that even the most gullible child will be rolling his eyes at them.
The ONLY good thing about this movie are the retellings of the legends of bigfoot. The hippie scientists and guides sit around the campfire and tell stories and the film then recreates the story. An American Indian legend of the creature is portrayed by an Indian boy being chased by a bigfoot. The famous attack on a miners' cabin in Ape Canyon by several bigfoots is also recreated. And the best story- the eerie story of two trappers who unfortunately entered the valley of a particularly nasty bigfoot. In one scene a trapper is kneeling down examining strange footprints and all of a sudden a huge shadow looms over him. That actually was pretty creepy! However, these brief moments do not make up for what is mostly a pretty dull, cheesy movie.
Strangely, one of my favorite movies
effjaysullivan113 July 2002
"Sasquatch" is phenomenal, if only for its breathtaking Pacific Northwest scenery, and the amazing job the director, Ed Ragozzino, did with capturing wildlife footage.
Best of all, though, is that this movie, while hokey in parts, really is suspenseful, earnest and credulous -- just like any movie about the paranormal ought to be.
Sadly, this thing isn't available on VHS, but I was able to get a TV dub from an airing on a Los Angeles TV station (Some of the ads -- lawyers offering to help people beat their DWIs, for instance -- are a gas, as well.). I wish the producer would come to his senses, read this site's posts, and release this puppy to VHS or DVD.
Best of all, though, is that this movie, while hokey in parts, really is suspenseful, earnest and credulous -- just like any movie about the paranormal ought to be.
Sadly, this thing isn't available on VHS, but I was able to get a TV dub from an airing on a Los Angeles TV station (Some of the ads -- lawyers offering to help people beat their DWIs, for instance -- are a gas, as well.). I wish the producer would come to his senses, read this site's posts, and release this puppy to VHS or DVD.
Did I see the Same Movie?
BaronBl00d23 December 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Well, here I get to comment on another film where the critical opinion on here(at the very least) seems to strongly favor the film, and my own sensibilities and EYES cannot do anything but justly denigrate it(yes, and here I get lots of negative voting, but hey life is too short to lie about such things as a cheaply-made piece of garbage from the 70s). This really is not a film but rather an exercise in seeing just how long the viewer can sit there watching a group of men travel by foot, horse, pack horse, etc... through the North Canadian forests in search of Sasquatch or rather a race of them. The film is documentary-style and the narrator of the film speaks roughly 90% of the movie - the remaining 10% we get the "characters" using inane dialog like "have you ever seen anything as beautiful" or "We could feel the presence of something not quite right." This, of course, was interspersed with frolicking music whilst an otter slid down a snowy hill or a mama wolf played with her pup or other things you would see in a badly made nature show. There really are no actors here. There really is no story other than the wilderness trek to find the land of the Big Foot(is it FEET if there is more than one?). The first hour and ten minutes or so is nothing more than what I mentioned. In the final twenty minutes they get a "sense" of the creatures - a foul smell, a scream in the night, and then the camp is attacked. They see figures in the night, but they obtain nothing more than a resin casing of a footprint and some bodily aches and pains. I was SOOOOO bored watching this movie. I pressed the button to see how much movie was left at least ten times. Nothing- again let me strongly say this once more - NOTHING happens in this movie. The best the film has to offer is some hokey music that grows on you after awhile, but the rest is one big snooze. And there are people calling this the greatest Bigfoot movie ever made? Really? Really? Did I miss something? Did I see the same movie?
Camping Out Is Not A Spectator Sport!
sddavis635 April 2009
As a teenager, I was pretty into the whole Bigfoot thing - I read the books and followed the reported sightings. As a more jaded adult, I've largely given up on the big guy now, but don't mind watching the odd movie when I come across one. This one had a few strong points to it - mainly, the recreations of two of the more famous Bigfoot encounters - the Ape Canyon incident of 1924 and the Bauman incident of c.1850 as related to and by Teddy Roosevelt, both of which I'm somewhat familiar with from that youthful reading I did. The movie takes for granted that both incidents involved a sasquatch, whereas both incidents have more plausible explanations, but the recreations were well done. There's also homage paid at the beginning of the movie to the famous Patterson video, again taking for granted its authenticity. The sasquatch encounter at the end of the movie was also very well done and had a very creepy feel to it as the sasquatch were portrayed mainly in the shadows or as hairy feet running past the terrified men. Unfortunately, in total those four things might have composed about 20 minutes, whereas the movie as a whole is slightly over an hour and a half.
It's the fictional story (done in a documentary style) of an expedition to a remote area of northern British Columbia, to the suspected home range of the sasquatch. A computer had targeted this area based on sightings and - in one of the more amusing scenes in the movie - the computer also used "eyewitness sightings" to draw a picture of a sasquatch that looked exactly like the "creature" of the Patterson video! Aside from those 20 minutes I mentioned, we basically watch this expedition travel, which means we get to watch a bunch of guys go on a long camping trip. I've been on camping trips with the guys. Let me tell you - they've never been worthy of a movie. Interspersed among the long stretches of boredom are some nice wildlife shots (although one suspects that canned footage was used, or perhaps even captive animals performing as wild animals) and there are some spectacular scenery shots, except that the scenery isn't of northern British Columbia, it's from national parks in Oregon.
I did appreciate that we were never given a real picture of the sasquatch, so we didn't have to deal with the bad makeup that would have been part of this. 3/10
It's the fictional story (done in a documentary style) of an expedition to a remote area of northern British Columbia, to the suspected home range of the sasquatch. A computer had targeted this area based on sightings and - in one of the more amusing scenes in the movie - the computer also used "eyewitness sightings" to draw a picture of a sasquatch that looked exactly like the "creature" of the Patterson video! Aside from those 20 minutes I mentioned, we basically watch this expedition travel, which means we get to watch a bunch of guys go on a long camping trip. I've been on camping trips with the guys. Let me tell you - they've never been worthy of a movie. Interspersed among the long stretches of boredom are some nice wildlife shots (although one suspects that canned footage was used, or perhaps even captive animals performing as wild animals) and there are some spectacular scenery shots, except that the scenery isn't of northern British Columbia, it's from national parks in Oregon.
I did appreciate that we were never given a real picture of the sasquatch, so we didn't have to deal with the bad makeup that would have been part of this. 3/10
I wouldn't call this a documentary
dbborroughs7 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Fiction film (it lists as based on a story though it does have a "documented by" credit) about a group of scientists going into the wilds of Canada to try and find a Bigfoot.(They want to capture one and then attach a tracking device). Its lots of scientific mumbo jumbo mixed in what is really a dull film of a bunch of people wandering around in the wilderness. There are some attempts at creating tension and scares, but to be perfectly honest there is nothing here worth seeing outside of some great looking shots of the wilds. This is a perfect definition of an exploitation film, it promises you so much, a look at Bigfoot, but in reality it delivers very little. Recommended for insomniacs only
Legend of Bigfoot awesome
tai-chi-apeldoorn-douwe-geluk21 January 2019
Thi smovie the legend of bigfoot drew my attention since i started the How Chuen Monkey Kung Fu martial arts under a grandmaster Fred Decramer from the Netherlands. This Monkey Kung fu was so special because it was about the mythical creature the Sasquatch, Bigfoot or Yeti. Since i started with the Kung Fu i was searching more and more information about the Sasquatch and the i came to this movie.
It is great mystical and tells the truth in my opinion, a very good quality movie.
Sincerely Yours
Douwe geluk
It is great mystical and tells the truth in my opinion, a very good quality movie.
Sincerely Yours
Douwe geluk
Quasi-documentary about a fake Bigfoot expedition
Wuchakk13 March 2014
"Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigoot" (1978) is a quasi-documentary about a fake Bigfoot expedition deep in the wilderness of British Columbia, although it was filmed entirely in Oregon (Deshutes National Forest and Willamette National Forest). I've heard it referred to as 'the Holy Grail of Bigfoot films' and I can see why since most of the notables of the Bigfoot mythos are detailed, including the Roger Patterson footage and the 1924 Ape Canyon, WA, incident where a handful of miners were harassed most of the night by Bigfeet throwing rocks at their cabin and pounding on the walls. Regardless, it's more of a nature flick than anything else, featuring some great footage of North American wildlife highlighted by a fight between two grizzlies. It's worthwhile for Bigfoot aficionados but laid back and kinda boring, so brace yourself and remember it's from the 70s.
GRADE: C+
GRADE: C+
Strangely Intriguing
tvhost-4436929 December 2019
You don't need to believe in Bigfoot to take an interest in the subject. The idea of trekking into the exotic woods and possibly encountering a large beast is an interesting concept and good for a campfire tale. I'm not here to claim that "Sasquatch: Legend of Bigfoot" is an effective horror movie. I don't even think it's all that good. But what I am willing to admit is that this film gives me a strange documentary-style interest in Bigfoot. This is an overdone, hokey, outdated direct to TV mess that is nothing special, but it has captivated me for many years.
Awful 1970's mess
slake095 March 2005
This is a typical low budget 1970's mess. It's supposed to be a docudrama about a crew hunting Bigfoot through the Pacific Northwest. Every character is a stereotype, from the Native American to the cynical cowboy. The acting and narration are a complete joke. If you're hoping to see a lot of bigfoot footage - keep hoping. There won't be much, and what there is you could do in your backyard with a cheap costume and a camcorder; it would look better than this movie.
It's not that I don't like 1970's low budge fare; I do. It's that this is such a mess of bad acting, bad characters, lousy story and no thrills that you just can't enjoy it. It does not fit into the "so bad it's good" category, nor can you get a laugh out of how bad it is without the help of illicit substances. It's mostly a lot of boring footage of the people camping, hiking, riding horses, and watching wild life. There is a bigfoot attack which is completely stupid; supposedly our friend Sasquatch is throwing rocks down on the campers from above while they fire their rifles back at him. By that point you are rooting heavily for bigfoot to drops some rocks on the filmmaker's heads and stop the whole thing.
It's not that I don't like 1970's low budge fare; I do. It's that this is such a mess of bad acting, bad characters, lousy story and no thrills that you just can't enjoy it. It does not fit into the "so bad it's good" category, nor can you get a laugh out of how bad it is without the help of illicit substances. It's mostly a lot of boring footage of the people camping, hiking, riding horses, and watching wild life. There is a bigfoot attack which is completely stupid; supposedly our friend Sasquatch is throwing rocks down on the campers from above while they fire their rifles back at him. By that point you are rooting heavily for bigfoot to drops some rocks on the filmmaker's heads and stop the whole thing.
The best Bigfoot Movie Ever made!
jodym-312 November 2004
I was 6 years old when my parents took me to see this movie. This hands down was the scariest movie I ever saw, period. Granted I was only 6, it scared the living daylights out of me. I ended up sleeping between my parents for literally a week after I saw it. It aired again roughly 3 years later on a Saturday afternoon matinée on our local NBC affiliate. I watched it again and thought it was a masterpiece (as bigfoot movies go that is). It is by far and away the best bigfoot movie ever made and should be enjoyed by anyone who has interest in this centuries old mystery. I searched for roughly 22 years until I found a copy of this extremely hard to find movie. I watched it again for the first time with my parents and it didn't disappoint! It holds a special place in my collection and will always be a favorite whether I was 6, 16, or 60!
The Legend Pursued One More Time
AaronCapenBanner30 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Docudrama account of a seven-man team from the fictional North American Wildlife Research Organization in the Pacific Northwest hunting the legendary Sasquatch/Bigfoot over the summer months on horseback, and how it is mostly a quiet, uneventful journey encountering native animals such as mountain lions, racoons, badgers, and bears, until they finally meet some real creatures at night, then wish perhaps they hadn't...
OK film for the most part does contain some effective attack scenes at the climax, though of course character development is put to the side. Comedy relief with the cook doesn't help, though just about works as a cross between "The Legend of Boggy Creek" and "The life and Times of Grizzly Adams", which are much better films.
OK film for the most part does contain some effective attack scenes at the climax, though of course character development is put to the side. Comedy relief with the cook doesn't help, though just about works as a cross between "The Legend of Boggy Creek" and "The life and Times of Grizzly Adams", which are much better films.
Bigfoot exploitation flick
Leofwine_draca15 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
SASQUATCH is one of many Bigfoot exploitation movies that were made to cash-in on a mini-trend in the 1970s. This one, like many of the others, features a group of hunters who decide to go and capture - or preferably shoot - themselves a real-life Sasquatch, thus proving its existence once and for all. This one was shot in Eugene, Oregon and has lots of great landscape shots as the characters find themselves knee-deep in a rugged and hostile landscape. It's mildly eerie to a degree, although there are one too many scenes of animal violence for my liking. As with a lot of these supposed documentaries, in order to spice things up a bit, a guy in a tatty suit shows up in the last reel to provide a few extra scares.
not for everyone
vincevan25 November 2004
Apparently there were a great many folks who thought this flick was a legit documentary and were disappointed when they discovered it was not. Merely a fictitious yarn put forth by B actors, retelling old wivestales about bigfoot. For example, (the supposedly), old mountain man, looks about as comfortable sitting on a mule as a Java caveman would look sitting on a Suzuki. But there are stunning views of the Pacific Northwest wilderness and the mountain lion attack is well done considering the lack of special effects.
In truth, there are very few chills and thrills even with strange, compelling music that unfailingly announces the imminent appearance of the Hairy One.
In truth, there are very few chills and thrills even with strange, compelling music that unfailingly announces the imminent appearance of the Hairy One.
Sasquatch: The Legend of Bigfoot review
JoeytheBrit10 May 2020
More of a wildlife travelogue/Wonderful World of Disney flick than a monster movie, Sasquatch treats us to 85 minutes of a bunch of guys riding horseback through some admittedly picturesque locations before a murky nighttime encounter with the title creatures that really isn't worth the wait.
This film put me off cinema for years!
Film-funny31 May 2005
I was about 7 when this DIRE MONSTROSITY of a film was released. In the UK it was advertised on the TV in the summer of 1977 for weeks, as if it were some incredible blockbuster film. It was actually the first film I ever saw at a cinema, and I was put off going for years to come. The following week I was invited to go and see the new film "Star Wars" and I declined. To this day I have never seen it, in protest at having to watch Sasquatch! Seriously, even at the age of 7 I could tell that I was watching garbage. It's just so bad, it's almost unbelievable. Rambling nonsense that should NEVER have made it to a cinema. I was however amused to read all these years later that the director never directed again, just as well as far as I'm concerned. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!
Computers sucked in the '70s.
BA_Harrison23 September 2018
Following in the oversized footsteps of The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972), this faux documentary charts the progress of a team of men who set out to find irrefutable proof of the sasquatch, the ape-man creature of Indian legend.
Leader of the expedition is Chuck Evans (George Lauris), whose amazing computer technology has not only identified the area most likely to be home to the Sasquatch - Northern British Columbia - but has also drawn a wonderfully detailed image of the 10 foot tall, hairy creature, just in case they don't recognise it when they see it. Together with anthropologist Paul Markham (William Emmons), Idaho rancher Hank Parshall (Steve Boergadine), mountain man Josh Bigsby (Ken Kenzle), Indian scout Techka Blackhawk (Joel Morello), sceptic reporter Bob Vernon (Lou Salerni) and comedy relief cook Barney Snipe (Jim Bradford), Chuck heads out on horseback for a three hundred mile trek to Bigfoot country.
With the majority of the running time dedicated to the team's arduous journey through the stunning BC landscape, rather than any actual encounter with the creature, and with the earnest narration that accompanies the action, Sasquatch: The Legend of Bigfoot feels more like a National Geographic wildlife documentary than a horror movie. We get endless footage of bears, wolves, cougars, deer, badgers, and raccoons, romping through meadows and in mountain streams, all of which becomes very tiresome after a while.
Fortunately, a couple of dramatised accounts of early attacks by sasquatch on prospectors and trappers help to break up the tedium (the vicious creatures prowling around a cabin at night is the film's highlight), while the team's final encounter with the howling sasquatch is just about worth the wait: atmospheric and effectively scary, despite the unconvincing bigfoot costumes.
Leader of the expedition is Chuck Evans (George Lauris), whose amazing computer technology has not only identified the area most likely to be home to the Sasquatch - Northern British Columbia - but has also drawn a wonderfully detailed image of the 10 foot tall, hairy creature, just in case they don't recognise it when they see it. Together with anthropologist Paul Markham (William Emmons), Idaho rancher Hank Parshall (Steve Boergadine), mountain man Josh Bigsby (Ken Kenzle), Indian scout Techka Blackhawk (Joel Morello), sceptic reporter Bob Vernon (Lou Salerni) and comedy relief cook Barney Snipe (Jim Bradford), Chuck heads out on horseback for a three hundred mile trek to Bigfoot country.
With the majority of the running time dedicated to the team's arduous journey through the stunning BC landscape, rather than any actual encounter with the creature, and with the earnest narration that accompanies the action, Sasquatch: The Legend of Bigfoot feels more like a National Geographic wildlife documentary than a horror movie. We get endless footage of bears, wolves, cougars, deer, badgers, and raccoons, romping through meadows and in mountain streams, all of which becomes very tiresome after a while.
Fortunately, a couple of dramatised accounts of early attacks by sasquatch on prospectors and trappers help to break up the tedium (the vicious creatures prowling around a cabin at night is the film's highlight), while the team's final encounter with the howling sasquatch is just about worth the wait: atmospheric and effectively scary, despite the unconvincing bigfoot costumes.
Very good flick
DJAkin11 March 2006
I saw this for my 7th birthday in 1977 and now for my 36th birthday, I watch it again. Yes, it's great in every respect. Hokey at times but fun to watch just for the wilderness scenes. The bigfoot isn't that visible for the most part and when he is, it's very scary indeed. The part that I liked most was that flashback to the miners trying to sleep in the log cabin! Sasquatch kept throwing rocks onto the cabin and this 2nd yetti terrorizes the miners as they sleep. It was a scary scene for sure!! I loved that cook - Barney. At first when I saw this, I thought it was a real documentary. I guess it's a docudrama. That's it!! Also, it makes out like Yetti's are mean and vicious. They are actually very kind.
Bigfoot Memories...
SugarBugFerret2 October 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Wow! What a collection of opinions...totally across the board. Frankly, you are all right. My uncle was in this film. He was the wise-cracking reporter/photographer. I of course think it was, and still is a GREAT film, but I am biased. ;) It has a bit of everything...great wildlife shots, good story-telling mixing fact and fiction, personalities of all kinds, a creepy "monster", catchy music, a few heart-stopping scenes... What more could one ask for from a classic 70's flick? Yes, it is full of CHEESE...but that is part of what makes it so great!! I will always remember seeing it for the first time via reel to reel projector on a portable screen in my grandparents' living room when I was about 8. Here's to you Uncle Lou...may you forever reign as the coolest member of the cast of one of the most awesome cult classics ever created!! Cheers to Bob!!
One of the Best
bigjake54921 May 2005
One of the best ( scariest ) of all of the sasquatch genre films ever. The scenery of the film's woodlands, animals...etc. is breathtaking, and makes one long for the area and serenity. The actual campiness of the actors fits the times ( 1970's ) - no "professional" crap - just dudes out looking for Bigfoot - period! The creature effects are outstanding!One of the only films of the type to portray the creature as a giant, thick, looming, bulk of a thing, as opposed to a lanky, swampy, monkey-looking biped. The story telling is great,too - re-accounts of past encounters, based on actual true reports. The creature screams in this film are actual, supposed recordings - which will raise the hair on your neck. The only other Bigfoot movie that I saw that was scarier, at times, was The Creature From Black Lake. Several folks say that Sasquatch is cheesy - I disagree emphatically. Iw was well written as a fictional documentary of an encounter with beasts that became aggressive, Also, Barney the cook was goofy - yet hilarious in a slapstick manner.
Great docu-drama
MovieWiz6610 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Wonderful docudrama from my youth. I remember first watching this and shows like "In Search Of" back in the early to mid 70's that fueled my passion for some of lifes few remaining mysteries. Just a good film. I would love to go on a one or two month expedition like this to the mountains of BC or the northern mountains of California. I would love to know the complete story behind this film. From what I gather,this was based on an actual expedition that the producer of the film,Ron Olsen,and bigfoot legends Peter Byrne,Grover Krantz and a few other noted bigfoot researchers went on sometime in the late 60's or early 70's. I hate to see guys like Krantz get older and pass away,loads of knowledge and stories leave with them. Peter Byrne has semi-retired and not many of the 60's legends are still around. I don't know if there are any more Sasquatch alive now...I think that there was a few in the 60's and 70's,just don't know if any remain today. I think if one were to fund another expedition like this one,with the participants spending months in the wilderness of Northwest America,they could possibly find some evidence one way or another on whether or not the sasquatch still are roaming the wild.
The Holy Grail of Bigfoot movies
prizm6322 January 2001
I finally acquired a dubbed copy of Sasquatch recently. Last distributed by VCA, the video is nearly impossible to find.
But my efforts payed off. I remembered this movie as great fun. It plays up on the scary idea of hairy giants running rampant in the woods yet it looks for all the world like a old national geographic documentary.
And despite noticing lots of obvious flaws through my considerably older eyes, I still had great fun watching it again.
Find a copy, make some popcorn, and turn off the lights........
But my efforts payed off. I remembered this movie as great fun. It plays up on the scary idea of hairy giants running rampant in the woods yet it looks for all the world like a old national geographic documentary.
And despite noticing lots of obvious flaws through my considerably older eyes, I still had great fun watching it again.
Find a copy, make some popcorn, and turn off the lights........
Great Movie!
marlondean22 May 2001
I saw this film at my local movie house when I was a little kid. I even had the 45 sound track. I wish I could see it again. I will never forget it! The movie really scared me. The sound track was horrifying. This was one of the greatest experiences of my childhood, and something I will treasure always.
Best bigfoot movie ever made
LJ2714 October 1999
This is the best bigfoot movie ever made. I went into it expecting the usual documentary with the usual "experts" and eyewitnesses swearing up and down that bigfoot existed. I was surprised to find this one was actually kind of scary. Bigfoot apparently isn't afraid to defend his turf in this one and terrorizes some loggers who spend the night in a cabin. I still remember scenes from it 21 years after seeing it in a theater. I wish I could find a copy on tape cause I would love to see it again.
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