Good movie but grossly overrated

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

DIRECTOR: Steven Monroe. WRITER: Michael Worth RUNTIME: 90 minutes. LOCATIONS: Williams, Flagstaff and Coconino Nat. Forest, Arizona. YEAR OF RELEASE: 2006. THE PLOT: After an unfortunate auto accident, a woman (Cerina Vincent) is taken captive by a gang of bank robbers who are forced to flee into the Arizona timber by foot. They are followed closely by a posse made up of policemen and old Vietnam vets. The two groups ultimately team-up (sort of) when they encounter a Bigfoot creature who is picking 'em off one by one. Although I doubt the creature exists, I'm fascinated by the Bigfoot legend and enjoy films on the subject. "Sasquatch Mountain" is one of the better ones. It was originally titled "Devil on the Mountain" and, in fact, that's the title that appears in the DVD version of the movie (but not the DVD cover). To be expected, some people smugly laugh at the picture, calling it unintentionally funny and cheesy, but nothing could be further from the truth. This is actually a character study using the Bigfoot legend as a stage. The story and characters are taken seriously and there's no camp to be found. The reason some automatically laugh at the movie is because the idea of Sasquatch has become a big joke, which is understandable. I should point out that if you're expecting a mindless slasher flick with Bigfoot in the evil Jason role you'll be disappointed. The film "Abominable" (2006) is a film along these lines; and it's a good film for what it is. There's nothing wrong with this approach, it's just that "Sasquatch Mountain" shoots for something deeper. The screenplay was written, believe it or not, by Michael Worth who stars in the picture as one of the bank robbers, Vin. The guy comes off as a 35-year-old adolescent who is more likable than scary, even though he has a slight dangerous edge. NOTEWORTHY ITEMS: Although the film is a low-budget straight-to-video flick it's a well-made film, unlike "Sasquatch Hunters" (2005) and "Sasquatch" (2002), which both have some amateurish qualities.The score is great, sometimes even moving, giving the film a palpable reverent quality.Although the set-up is a bit contrived (the way the bank robbers get a hostage and flee on foot), the story starts to pull you in at the half-hour mark when the posse pursues the gang in the woods. There are numerous well-written character-defining episodes that successfully capture the viewer's attention.For instance, the lead bank robber, Travis (Craig Wasson), laments how his father never paid him any attention growing up. I know what you're thinking -- aw, poor baby -- but the movie successfully shows the correlation between adult wellness and healthy parental relationships, in particularly with one's father-figure. Often children from dysfunctional families spend their entire lives trying to make up for the damage done by clueless parents.I also like the way Travis (Wasson) and others are shown not totally poisoned by evil, despite being bank robbers, e.g. Travis does a selfless deed without hesitation later in the film. It's a good scene. Not to mention, Vin (Michael Worth) comes off as more misguided than malevolent; though Harlan (Lance Henriksen) doesn't give in to his charm one bit.To be expected in a character study, the screenplay has some great dialogue and lines. For instance, Travis states: "No matter how hard you try or how high you get there's always some devil on the mountain waiting to knock you back down" or the Asian girl to Cerina: "Everyone has scars, but not everyone has the option of hiding behind a pretty smile."The film features no less than three beautiful women -- a Brunette (Cerina Vincent), a redhead (Lance's daughter in the story, played by Melanie Monroe) and the Asian bank Robber (Karen Kim) who comes off unattractive only because she's so bitter. Both Cerina and Melanie are magnificent. Melanie is the definition of spirituality.There's a good subplot about Lance Henriksen being a laughingstock for the past dozen years. His wife had recorded a vague video of the creature on the day she was killed by a hit-and-run. The video put the town on the map as a tourist attraction but made him an object of ridicule. Will he ever be redeemed?Although the Sasquatch kills in the story, he is shown in a sympathetic light (unlike "Abominable" and "Sasquatch Hunters").The DVD features a worthwhile 20-minute "Making Of" Documentary. FINAL ANALYSIS: While "Sasquatch Mountain" is a low-budget TV movie with the requisite flaws it's worthwhile for all the above reasons. It should be given credit for not being another mindless monster flick; the Bigfoot legend is simply a frame for something deeper, which is relayed in a veritably venerable manner. Not everyone can look beyond the Sasquatch trappings; I understand this. I could and found it quite entertaining, and even moving.GRADE: B

**SPOILERS** Overly talky and underly exciting Bigfoot movie with the elusive Bigfoot, played by the over seven foot tall ex-basketball player "Tiny" Ron, getting less time in the film the its both beginning and ending credits; About five minutes! In fact the film "Sasquatch Mountain" is more about a bank robbery gone wrong then a movie about the big footed 800 to 1,200 pound, and over seven foot tall, gorilla-like creature roaming the Great American North West.These crooks wearing gorilla or "Planet of the Apes" masks rob a local bank where in the crossfire with the police kill Officer Sirom Sauls, Bob Harter. As the crooks make their getaway they smash into, outside of town, Erin Price, Cerina Vincent, who just left her abusive boyfriend and is traveling to California to start a new life. With the cops lead by the ailing senior citizen Sheriff Zeff, Rance Howard, catching up with the bank robbers the only thing they have to bargain with is Eirn who was taken hostage during the confusion.At this point the movie doesn't seem to know where to go in that it's only some 15 to 20 minutes old and has some one hour of running time left to cover! So we have this Bigfoot show up out of nowhere uniting both cops and robbers in a mutual cause! Killing the Bigfoot before he ends up killing them! In fact we got to see the Bigfoot at the beginning of the film where local town resident Chase Jackson, Lance Henriksen, is fixing his van Chase's wife Sara, Kate Connors, who for some reason is videotaping the great "event" is killed by a runaway car! In Sara's videotape we see a shadowy Bigfoot running through the woods! It's later in the movie that Chase who had since become a hermit on Sasqatch Mountain not only tracks down the Bigfoot but the robbers as well.Both the cops and robbers are a mixed bag of nuts who get picked off by the Bigoot one at a time during the film. It seems that Bigfoot is only in the movie to spice it up when things start to get really boring with the endless philosophical exchanges between the two sides. One of my favorite exchanges, or meetings of the minds, is between the kidnapped Erin with the co-leader of the crooks who kidnapped her Kayla, Karen Kim. Talking about how they were abused by their ex-boyfriends Kayla shows Erin her battered and scared behind as if to prove to the unmarked and beautiful Erin that she by far got the worst, beating by her boyfriend, of it.The Bigfoot, or Tiny Ron, himself does what best he can with his part in the movie but is given so little time to do it, despite being the star, that he's relegated to nothing but a cameo role in the few scenes he has in the movie. The few surprises in the film that had mostly to do with the old and grizzled "White Hunter" & "Indian Scout" Eli Van Cleef, Tim Thomerson, came across so flat and uninteresting that when they hit you, after Ol' Eli was completely forgotten about, they had absolutely no effect at all!

My review could be summed up by the above title, but IMDb demands more, so more I'll give you. Not that this film deserves it. Despite some promise, it's another off the Sci Fi Channel assembly line. This means that you should expect to be subjected to a recycled idea, one borrowed from a far better and more influential film or TV show, battered into submission when it should be pushing the envelop.I'd like to be surprised. I'd love to turn on one of the channel's movies and find that my low expectations were unfounded. This was not that case. SAQUATCH MOUNTAIN is a load of bullocks, top to bottom.Despite the star power of Cerina Vincent and Lance Hendrickson, the cast is rounded out by cardboard bad guys. But the biggest crime here is the film's contrast level. For those unfamiliar with the term, this means that the film looks intentionally (I must assume) like a photographic negative. The blacks are overpowering, making everything dark and sinister (which is a great feature for the monster, but horrible for the actresses). On the flip side, the lighter colors "blow out." This means that lighter colors in the frame look like someone threw a can of bleach at them.The question becomes, why would they want the picture to look like this? Was it to distract from the acting? To conceal bad cinematography? To hide the horrendous monster suit? I'd like to tell you I cared enough to contemplate this, but I've got better things to do.

Not a terrific movie but being a Sasquatch/Bigfoot fanatic, I wonder why every movie about this subject needs to make this creature so vicious????? There are very few documented cases of a Sasquatch being vicious. I think a more original idea would be to have these stupid folks in the woods being hunted by something that they THINK is a Sasquatch only to have it be something else entirely. Perhaps make the Sasquatch a hero for a change. Let the creature slyly give the fools in the forest help without them knowing it until the end. The whole vicious Sasquatch thing is getting on my nerves. There has GOT to be a different angle on this subject.