Willow Creek (2013) Alexie Gilmore, Bryce Johnson, Laura Montagna, Bucky Sinister Movie Review

Willow Creek (2013)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Alexie Gilmore and Bryce Johnson in Willow Creek (2013)

Bigfoot and the Bobcat

Bigfoot believer Jim (Bryce Johnson) has talked his Bigfoot sceptic girlfriend Kelly (Alexie Gilmore) to go with him to Willow Creek on a camping trip down at Bluff Creek so that he can film a documentary on where Patterson–Gimlin shot the 1967 footage of Bigfoot. After experiencing the whole tourist side of Bigfoot, they finally make it down to the creek, navigating an angry local on the way. But after setting up their tent and heading to bed they are woken by strange noises from right outside their tent...

I have mentioned before that I am not the biggest fan of found footage/POV movies and truth be told I had pretty low expectations for "Willow Creek" when I realises it was another POV movie. Now in some ways "Willow Creek" was better than I expected and writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait does something which I personally like, which is to give us characters who are kind of likeable. Look I wouldn't say that Jim and Kelly are the most fleshed out of characters but they are not objectionable and you kind of feel like you know them by the time things kick off with Jim kind of always getting his way.

And I have to say that when things do start to kick off Goldthwait also taps in to some very human fear. Firstly there is an encounter with an angry local in the woods who sets about intimidating Jim and Kelly in a semi passive aggressive way. But then you get the waking up in the tent in the middle of the night to hear noises and sense some thing is right outside your tent whilst you are too frightened to move. Having camped alone in the woods I can appreciate that sense of fear especially in those who are not use to camping let alone foolishly camping where their might be dangerous animals roaming.

But whilst some things in "Willow Creek" worked and almost impressed me there was plenty which didn't and it has to be said that I reckon the entire first hour is filler. In fairness filler which helps establish the characters of Jim and Kelly but still filler which does nothing other than give us a glimpse at Bigfoot tourism as well as those who have made proving the existence of the legendary creature their life mission. And then there is the outcome of the movie which for me not only let "Willow Creek" down by being generic but also ended up a confusing mess which lo and behold was shot in the dark.

What this all boils down to is that "Willow Creek" is a mixed bag of some things which worked and others which really didn't. So overall whilst it ended up better than I expected the flaws which tend to get on my nerves in POV movies out weight what worked.


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