Sasquatch Sunset review: "An eccentric concept makes for the best Bigfoot film yet"

Imagine if the monkey business at the start of 2001: A Space Odyssey carried on for the whole film. Such is the deal in Sasquatch Sunset, an absurdist comedy by fraternal filmmaking duo David and Nathan Zellner (2014’s Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter). Only instead of actors in ape suits we have actors in Bigfoot suits, living out a year in the North American wilderness.

As the seasons pass, we follow a female sasquatch (Riley Keough) and three males (Jesse Eisenberg, Nathan Zellner, Christophe Zajac-Denek) as they forage, groom, play, tussle and interact with other (real) animals. The Zellners also show their hirsute heroes as they urinate, defecate, fornicate and masturbate.

All very zoologically accurate… but also a bit boring? Not for a second. The unrecognizable actors work wonders under excellent prosthetics, while an ever-present air of mystery and menace pervades director of photography Mike Gioulakis’ (It Follows, Us) sun-soaked, scenic visuals. 

The concept might be eccentric – there’s zero dialogue, only grunts, huffs and yelps – and there are gross-out gags aplenty, including much farting and scratching/sniffing of crotches. But it’s all played with admirable sincerity. Are we in prehistoric times? Or in the aftermath of an apocalypse? And will the Sasquatch family eventually encounter humans amid these vast forests and soaring mountains?

As time passes, a real sadness creeps in as we suspect that we might be witnessing the extinction of a species, though an inspired sight gag is never far away. This is a film that needs to be seen to be believed.

Sasquatch Sunset is released in UK cinemas on June 14 and is in US theaters now. 

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