the audience applauded

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

I've never made any secret of the fact that I'm a big fan of the "found-footage" genre. I really enjoy almost every film that is made this way. It just makes sense as a story-telling style to me. For the most part though it seems to me that people are sick of the concept and no longer have any time for it. 'Willow Creek' was made back in 2013 when the genre was basically in its dying stages (films are still made in this style, but less and less frequently). So did 'Willow Creek' breed fresh life into the concept, or was it simply another nail in the coffin? The answer lies somewhere in the middle.The film is very simple in its premise. Basically a documentary is being made about Bigfoot by a young couple and they head to a small town, do some interviews with the locals, and then head into the forest to see if they can find Bigfoot for themselves. Sounds simple? It is. Probably too simple. I understand films like 'The Blair Witch Project' pulled it off with basically exactly that formula, but the problem is that was 20 years ago which implies the genre has gone absolutely nowhere in that time. That's simply not true.The film isn't bad though I wouldn't say. There's a quite incredible 18 minute long one-take scene (according to the IMDb trivia section at least) that is surprisingly well done. The main couple have enough chemistry and charisma to carry things and there is enough creepiness in the atmosphere to keep it interesting. This is a middle of the road horror film.

I must admit sometimes I like the found footage genre and sometimes I don't, this movie doesn't try to bullshit you with "this was found in the woods blah blah blah" but all the same, it obviously is and has a style about it similar to Blair Witch.Its about looking for Bigfoot and the movie starts slowly, and builds up throughout the movie to a final 20 or so minutes that were shot in one continuous shot (I think) - the acting is pretty good, the directing, the storyline, the filming & sound are all pretty first rate actually.Its well worth watching and I found the last twenty minutes pretty riveting and bought into the two main characters terror - Kelly's terror was especially good.

Director Bobcat Golthwait takes a detour from his unique brand of pitch-black comedy and creates an applaud-able, yet flawed, found-footage horror set around the Big Foot phenomenon.A couple, making an amateur Big Foot documentary, go hiking in the nature reserve where the infamous Patterson and Gimlin Big Foot footage was recorded. Once they're too far in, things start to go horribly wrong.If the typical found footage genre tropes annoy you, this film won't convert you. However, if you consider The Blair Witch Project a high point for the genre because of its subtly and ambiguity, then you might find something to enjoy about Willow Creek. Willow Creek simply uses sounds and suggestions to creep the audience out. One scene in particular, a single 20 minute take inside a tent using the sounds from outside as the only vice for its scares is quite a brilliant feat in horror filmmaking.However, there's a good 40-50 minutes before anything creepy actually happens. Which is good for building up tension, but rather trying for patience. Combining this with a lack of visual horror, then it won't come as a surprise that opinions will be divided.If you're fed up of found footage horror films where ghouls consistently jump out at the screen, Willow Creek might be a nice surprise. But it's overly subtle nature might drive a few horror fans away.

If you liked "Exists", this movie will not live up to your expectations. The movie is slow for 40 plus minutes, and then things heat up and boil over and quite abruptly end. Watching with a rewind option is a must.While most of the dialogue between the couple is boring and pedantic, but the exchanges with the other folks of Bluff Creek and Willow Creek are crucial and full of foreshadowing. The payoff at the end was a solid effort by Bobcat. He creates dread, isolation, and fear by using the vastness of the forest, the creepiness of the locals, and the use of all the classic Bigfoot activities. SPOILER SPOILER (all without showing any shots of the Bigfoot).6 Bigfoot Footprints out of 10SPOILER SPOILER SPOILERThe ending will leave you talking for hours and speculating. My take...these were definitely Sasquatch...multiple Sasquatch...and they from time to time kidnap females to mate with while killing any male in the way. Long gone are the days that the mural depicted...with hunters trying to bag a Sasquatch and the behavior of modern man in the forest...toward the land...toward the flora and fauna...the Sasquatch has retreated deeper and cut its ties with man...only taking women during population crisis.Solid flick.