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| Bryce Johnson and Alexie Gilmore |
While his work is always divisive in subject matter, director Bobcat Goldthwait is one of comedy's most aggressively interesting directors. He rarely plays it safe and instead chooses to tear apart taboo subjects with politically incorrect humor that is at very least honest. He doesn't sacrifice story for long held conventions. Films like World's Best Dad or God Bless America will likely instill his dark brilliance in being able to stick with audiences. Are his messages profound? They possibly are a little heavy handed. However, they are nothing less than unexpected. With his latest film Willow Creek, Goldthwait continues the uncertainty pattern by making a found footage horror film about Bigfoot, which is about as far from auto-erotic asphyxiation and mass murders as you can get.
The story follows couple Jim (Bryce Johnson) and Kelly (Alexie Gilmore) as they travel into "Bigfoot territory" to search for the mythic beast. Where Jim is the enthusiast asking all of the local weirdos for tidbits, Kelly is the reluctant sidekick, filming the process. Things seem hopeless for the majority of the 80 minute run time. However, as Jim becomes more desperate and engaged, the story begins to evolve and the real charm of Willow Creek begins to form. The couple has an unassuming falling out that adds emotional complexity and shows how man's obsessions will eventually lead to him losing what he truly loves.
For the most part, the film is nothing more than a typical exploration into this strange forest landscape. Not a whole lot of titillating moments happen until the third act. In this sense, the film is somewhat meandering and makes the overall thing feel a bit pointless. Then again, it is all based on the investment of Jim and Kelly's journey. Watching the subtle shift of their emotions allows for the story to progress unassumingly. Along with some colorful townsfolk, the film is a love letter to Bigfoot while commenting the sad loneliness of people who obsess over him. It is pointless goal and one that may make you write crazy songs about him.
Of course, Goldthwait has ulterior motives. He seems to have studied found footage films and borrowed the formula from the forefather of the genre: Blair Witch Project. The film, at times, feels like an unassuming homage. Even then, the approach is fascinating because it removes the pretentious tropes that have long plagued the genre. There isn't any inexplicable cuts or "missing footage" here. Nor is there any obnoxious references to the camera's placement. For the slowness and lack of excitement that the camera choices presents, one has to admire the dedication to making this one of the most logical found footage films.
Of course, maybe the joke was on us. With Goldthwait's admiration for this mythic creature, the film plays like his personal search. In fact, it does feel likely that Willow Creek was his excuse. In the process, it does come across as his most challenging film to like. Where his other films were dripped in cynical, strange commentary, there is nothing as immediately grasping here. One has to slowly become engrossed to find deeper meaning. Even then, Goldthwait isn't necessarily the best comedy-turned-horror director out there. While his third act features a lot of impressive moments, the build-up plays more like vignettes that set the atmosphere. By the end, the film's strengths is in its dedication to detail and realism, which end up being its prime beneficiary.
Willow Creek may not have enough scares to really be a horror film through and through, but it does have solid performances in Johnson and Gilmore. Their chemistry brings life into the mundane tale with their witty banter and the feeling of transplanting city folk in the mountains. Overall, the film succeeds on what it promises. The only thing is that its the most familiar element of the film and only succeeds as an ending. Even then, Goldthwait and his cruel, nihilistic sense of humor makes the ultimate search life's biggest joke. It may not entirely be funny, but it is a bold statement that impacts the rest of the film. It also explains why nobody has found Bigfoot. Whether through obsession or fate, he wants to be left alone. Willow Creek is a brilliant love letter to creature, even if we don't get much actual footage of him.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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