EXISTS

EXISTS (2014)

Directed by Eduardo Sanchez

Written by Jamie Nash

Starring Chris Osborn, Roger Edwards, and Brian Steele

Rated R

So, another week, another bigfoot movie.

Yeah, it's another 'found-footage' movie, and I've already mentioned how tired I am of those, but as long as they keep making them about bigfoot and aliens and the like I guess I'll keep watching.

Luckily, third time seems to be the charm with this run of sasquatch-themed movies.

There are issues, of course. One problem it can't help is that I've seen THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (multiple times) so a group of five twenty-somethings going off to, yes, a cabin in the woods, is always going to remind me of that film and make me wonder who bet on 'sasquatch/wendigo/yeti.'

The other big problem is how much of a cookie-cutter plot most of these movies tend to have. 

This one, however, manages to play with the formula a tiny bit and that really elevates it in my opinion. It's also possible that I wouldn't have liked it so much if I hadn't just sat thru BIGFOOT WARS and WILLOW CREEK recently but I have and by comparison, EXISTS is a big(foot) step up.

Director Eduardo Sanchez - of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT - gives us a group that includes Brian, played by Chris Osborn, who tags along with the specific intent of shooting video of the trip to post on YouTube. As such, he's prepared with multiple cameras, including a handful of GoPros, to capture the guys doing things like making stunt jumps with their mountain bikes into the local lake and stuff like that. This gives the audience a variety of viewpoints on the events and cuts down a little on the 'why is he still filming/how is he managing to keep things in frame?' issues. 

Another thing that gave this monster-fan a thrill - you get to see the creature! In broad daylight, even! Considering that ninety-nine percent of these movies cut to black just before we ever get a look at whatever is going on, this is a huge and welcome change. The bigfoot outfit was designed by Spectral Motion of the HELLBOY movies and other top films. It was worn by Brian Steele, doing quite the 180 from his turn as Harry in the HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS TV series.

If you're interested in either bigfoot or found-footage films, I'd say give this one a rental.