Savage and a Sasquatch Shlocker: A Movie Review

*full disclosure: a screener of this film was provided by MTI Home Video.

Director/writer: Jordan Blum.

Writers: DJ Perry, Lynn Drzick, Nancy Gideon and Jordan Blum.

The creature feature was a genre that found some heights in the '60s. Now, in the 21st Century, this genre seems to often be a rehash of material from the past. Also, unbelievably, there have been dozens of features created which have centered on the Bigfoot aka Sasquatch. From the Legend of Bigfoot (1977) to Sasquatch (2009), there have been Sasquatch-ploitation films which try to entertain, but sometimes fail. The latest addition to the genre is MTI Home Video's Savage, starring Martin Kove (The Karate Kid) and Tony Becker ("Tour of Duty"). It is like an '80s reunion! However, there is little originality here and no reasonable argument to explain the supposed origin of Bigfoot. Instead, Savage is another entry for Worst Horror Film of 2011, here at 28DLA.

The plot breaks down much like an adolescent's imagination. A Bigfoot appears in the local Bear Valley National Park, after a fire is started in the north of the woods. This creature of lore and not of science, begins to terrorize local firefighters, police officers and criminals, traveling through the park. This creature murders most of those he encounters, while looking for an exit from the growing circle of fire. A disbarred scientist and a revenge seeking hunter head out into the local hills to prove Bigfoot's existence. What they find are more and more bodies. The body count increases while the attention diminishes.

Many of the scenes are held for too long, the early acting is atrocious, the story is completely unbelievable and there is simply no tension in the film. Also, why does Bigfoot change from a 6' skinny little thing to an 8' behemoth? The alarm bells were going off early in this reviewer's head along the lines of: here is another schlocker, this film is beyond boring and the tried and true: when is this film going to be over? None of these thoughts give the film's mediocrity credit. Also, why were the issues of greedy capitalism not incorporated throughout the film, instead of tacked on in one scene and in the ending? Why was the finale so anti-climactic and why is this film making this critic so angry? Maybe Bigfoot is not the only savage in the room.

This is the first production from Fearmakers Studios and director Blum. So, hopefully their films improve from here. As they say: there is no place to go but up. The positives for the film include the good (not great) acting from the main characters, the rubber suit for the beast looks almost lifelike and the inclusion of a diverse set of sub plots makes the film almost tolerable. However, there are many drawbacks here; the biggest drawback is Savage's lack of excitement, tension and horror. There are no scares to be had in the Savage, which is more furball than roaming terror.

Writing/story/plot: 5 (very weak storytelling, characters okay).
Continuity/editing: 7 (no major errors).
Conclusion/denouement: 5 (a weak late attempt at a message of expansion vs. the pastoral).

Overall: 5.4 (best suited for burgeoning adolescents, not adults).

*this title releases on DVD September 20th. Special features include upcoming trailers.

More details on this film can be found at MTI Home Video:

Savage Film Details at MTI Home Video


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Posted in: 2011,2011 release,movie review,movie review 2011,mti home video,sasquatch,sasquatch-ploitation film preview