Director – Dave Wascavage (Fungicide, Tartarus)
Starring – Sue Lynn Sanchez (Forensic Files), Bill Ushler (Zombies by Design, Head Cases: Serial Killers in the Delaware Valley), and Dave Bonavita (Fungicide)
Release Date – 2004
Rating – 3/5
Blu Release – 4.5/5
I’ve watched and reviewed dozens of horror films centered around bigfoot or sasquatch but I can only count on one hand the amount of these films that I actually enjoyed. Most of these movies take themselves too seriously or fail to pull together a story that could hold the viewer’s attention while the few that I actually enjoy are horror comedies that know when to be serious and when to cause a laugh. Movies like Bigfoot: The Movie, Bigfoot vs. Zombies, and so on are movies that are simple fun. They don’t overcomplicate things and give us stories we don’t expect.
When Visual Vengeance, the sister company to Wild Eye Releasing, announced the blu release of the outlandish indie horror comedy Suburban Sasquatch I had to see it. This is a movie that I had owned for some time now when I snagged a copy of the film in one of those multifilm sets from Pendulum Pictures and Brain Damage Films. Sadly, I had never taken the time to watch it. I reached out to my friends at Wild Eye and they were kind enough to send over a blu copy for review. Like always I want to say thank you to Wild Eye and MVD for always hooking me up.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a small suburban community that is growing passed it’s borders and encroaching on the nearby forest. This has brought the wrath of bigfoot who uses his powers to slaughter and eat those living in the sleepy burb. The police are unable to stop him and it’s up to a Native American warrior and a journalist to stop the bigfoot’s bloody rampage. **Spoiler Alert**
Suburban Sasquatch is not what I was expecting. The movie is a wild fucking ride and it doesn’t care if you enjoy it or not. It’s a no budget creature feature that embraces it’s shortcomings and gives viewers something that they will never forget. It’s been a few days since my last viewing and I still think about specific scenes and laugh at how absurd they are.
The acting in this one leaves a lot of room for improvement but it’s not the worst I’ve seen. The cast is clearly dedicated to their roles but inexperience and direction takes away from the overall scene. There was several instances where their lack of enthusiasm and experience made for some seriously awkward scenes.
The story for this one is bat shit crazy and doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. Some of the gags are repeated throughout the film but you never know exactly what is going to happen next. It’s full of twists and turns while delivering some seriously funny moments to genre fans. I loved the Native American aspect and the magic that the bigfoot has. If you’ve never seen this film then you are in for a fucking treat with the off the wall antics that this story delivers.
Finally, the effects are the icing on the cake. We get some cheap practical effects and just as cheap visual effects. The CGI had me fucking cackling. I was not expecting a movie to make use of these effects like this one does. It’s not anything that looks amazing but how it was used really stands out. Overall, Suburban Sasquatch is not going to be for everyone. Hell, I don’t know who would enjoy this film aside from myself and a handful of people but it’s a lot of fun if you are open to it. I highly recommend snagging this blu from VV.
Special Features:
New 2021 Commentary by Director David Wascavage
Commentary from Sam Panico of B&S About Movies and Bill Van Ryn of Drive-In Asylum
Includes full RIFFTRAX version of Suburban Sasquatch
Archival Behind The Scenes Featurette
Designing the Bigfoot Costume
Suburban Sasquatch Outtakes
Making The CGI for Suburban Sasquatch
From The Director’s POV: Archival Interviews
Behind The Scenes Image Gallery
Original Teaser Trailer
Original Trailer
Visual Vengeance Trailers
‘Stick Your Own’ VHS stickers
Collectible mini-poster
Reversible BR sleeve featuring original release art
Limited edition Slipcover with art by Earl Kessler — FIRST PRINTING ONLY
2-sided insert
Closed Captions
