Review of Willow Creek (2013) by Ashley D — 10 Feb 2015

Mixed thoughts about this movie, to be honest. While I thought that this was a pretty cool monster movie without the monster, I thought it also felt a little empty given how short it actually is. And yes, that is a bit of a mini-spoiler, but it's something that can be done if you've got a talented director/writer at the helm.

And, for all these film's faults, Bobcat Goldthwait is still someone that I find to be an incredibly talented writer and director. He wrote and directed of the more underrated comedies during the 2000s in World's Greatest Dad, which featured some of Robin Williams best work in years, almost decades.

He also wrote and directed God Bless America, a movie I felt was a little jumbled, but still good with some very solid satire. And I honestly think that Bobcat does a good enough job in his first horror movie.

One thing is the fact that, because Bobcat comes from comedy, the film is littered with dark humor. The film obviously benefited from this as there's very little horror for most of this film. It just sees Jim and Kelly going around the community and interviewing people on their journey to the site where the most famous Bigfoot sighting was shot.

You also get a little bit of information on the hole Bigfoot mythos and how this community's personality completely depends on that. In some ways, the movie makes it a point to bring to light that this could very well be some people trying to keep the myth alive as it's the one thing the community has and if Bigfoot really doesn't exist, then it'd take away the only thing the community has.

There's also little bits and pieces of information that actually play a sizable role in the end that I almost missed. The one I'm referring to is so small that most people will probably forget about it once you get to the climax.

Where the most logical conclusion would be, if you forgot about this little detail, that there's this group inbred monsters living off in the forests and they're what everyone believes is actually Bigfoot.

But, taking into consideration this little bit of information, it actually changes how you view the ending. The ending will be either loved or hated, with very little middle ground. I didn't mind the lack of Bigfoot, because I think the film's horror worked without it.

There's this one scene in the tent, at night, before everything goes to shit that's really cool. It's really long and it consists of Jim and Kelly sitting in the tent as they hear various odd noises, growling, pieces of trees being hit together, among other things.

It starts off innocuously enough, the noises are heard from afar, but they gradually get closer and closer as the suspense keeps building. The film, only concentrated on Jim and Kelly's reactions to the noises, unedited, goes about 10+ minutes.

Part of me thinks this is too long, but another, far more sizable, part of me believes that it worked to the benefit of the film. They got a lot out of, realistically, very little. It was just sound effects.

While I don't think many people would be scared, some would think it's terrifying to be in that situation. Hearing these things and not even knowing what it is. That's scary to some people, so I thought it worked.

The ending is one where you will have to connect the dots. If you forget a minor detail about the film, the one that plays the most part in the ending, then your enjoyment of the ending itself would probably drop.

But given this little bit of information, that I will not spoil, the ending is actually pretty easy to decipher. I guess I'd have to say that I liked this movie, even with my mixed thoughts about it.

It doesn't reinvent the found footage subgenre in any substantive way, but it is a pretty good addition to it. I hope this isn't Bobcat's first and only foray into horror as I think, with his dark comedy, he add a pretty unique and interesting voice to the genre.

I bought this for $5 at the local K-Mart, so I can't really complain too much. Not gonna be to everyone's liking, but I enjoyed it in spite of it feeling a little bit hollow and empty.