The Unknown

Clawed: The Legend of Sasquatch (2005)

** (out of 4)

Four poachers are hunting bear when they're attacked by some creature. One survives and eventually goes back out into the woods searching for the beast. Four high school students are also in the woods doing research on bears but they're all soon going to face the legendary Sasquatch. Those, like me, who must see every movie that deals with the famous creature will probably check this one out no matter how much they're warned. If you must see all these types of movies then I'm sure you'll make it to the end but all others should stay clear as there's not too much going on here. The film was obviously shot with a very small budget but they have a fairly good looking Sasquatch outfit so why they don't show it and use it more is beyond me. For the most part the film is all dialogue, which really drags things down because quite often we get the same stuff over and over. Even though it's all dialogue there are still sequences that don't make any sense and that includes the surviving poacher wanting to kill an Indian ranger. This here drags out the running time, is boring and takes away from the subject line that fans are going to really want to see. There's some brief nudity and a little gore but not enough to carry the film. I thought director Kozak did a pretty good job with the visual look of the film. I also thought the performances were rather good for this type of film. The young cast do a pretty good job and deliver the type of performances you'd expect. While they're not Oscar worthy they at least keep you entertained. The biggest negative is that there's never any real threat here. We've told stories about the creature yet he's never frightening or threatening. That's not a good thing when you're watching a horror movie so the majority of people out there will want to skip this one. Originally released as THE UNKNOWN.

"The Unknown " is not a particularly appropriate title for the movie as any experienced creature feature viewer will pretty much know what to expect virtually as soon as it starts .The set up involves a legend surrounding Echo Mountain where a mysterious Big Foot type creature is said to walk .The creature ambushes and slays most members of a small hunting party .This prompts the surviving member of the group to set up a revenge mission with some of his buddies ,to the displeasure of the local law .Also stumbling around on the mountain are a quartet of high school students seeking material for the term project on Endangered species ,and a Native American ranger The budget is obviously shoestring in nature but the director is able to disguise this by judicious camera angles and cutting .The creature is pretty convincing however and this does help .Variable acting and a rushed conclusion are downsides but if you approach this in the right frame of mind it is moderately satisfying and unpretentious movie making

Anyone who approaches a movie based on Sasquatch must know:

1) It is not going to be a large budget film 2) There are not going to be any recognizable stars 3) Nothing in the movie can be construed as complete fact 4) It's not going to win any awards

Thus, a movie such as this needs to be approached with an open mind and low expectations.

I read one good review here when I saw it was going to be on Showtime Extreme (542 on DirectTV), so I decided to watch.

What I saw was somewhat interesting. The acting was not bad and a few actors actually did a really fine job. On top of that, there was a good mix of some light-hearted humor, a couple times I laughed out loud, not out of sheer stupidity, but original humor.

The movie could have done less with the stupid rednecks. I did like the close-up scene with the bear, and not knowing what Sasquatch truly looks like, I had no problems with what I saw.

I guess if people go into this with high expectations, they're going to end up disappointed, but if you take it for what it is, it's not a waste of time.

I could see Hollywood making a larger budget film out of the Sasquatch legend and put a couple (somewhat) big(ger)-named actors in it. I mean, if some hacks can make the Blair Witch Project and manage to turn that pile of crap into a blockbuster smash, why not something that has some plausibility?

I gave it a 7 because I want to help see the rating of this film climb. I probably do not think it deserves more than about a 5 of 10, but it's certainly better than 2.3.

Like someone else said, grab a girl, and cuddle up with some popcorn. At times she'll hold you close, and other times you'll both laugh together.

In the deep woods of Echo Mountain, Pine Creek, three poachers are slaughtered by a predator and the survivor, Ed, organizes an illegal hunting with three other hunters. Meanwhile, the teenagers Rich (Dylan Purcell) and Jay (Brandon Henschel) are assigned by their biology teacher to prepare a seminar about species in danger of extinction. Jay invites his girlfriend Shea (Casey LaBow) and his cousin Jenny (Chelsea Hobbs) to camp with Rich and him in the forest to research animals for their work. Meanwhile the Indian Ranger John Eagleheart (Nathaniel Arcand) is also in the woods tracking the Sasquatch. When Ed and his men are attacked by the Big Foot, the teenagers try to escape to save their lives.

"The Unknown" is a bad collection of clichés and completely disappointing. The story begins without any previous development of the characters, and we see a group of illegal hunters being chased by a creature. Then we see the Sheriff and his Indian Ranger trying to protect the locals while the Mayor preoccupied with the season of tourism, in a situation repeated in many movies ("Jaws", for example). The biology teacher joins a nerd with a bully in an absolutely illogical situation. The conclusion is silly and ridiculous. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "O Desconhecido" ("The Unknown")

Three poachers are ripped apart in a suspected bear attack in the woods on Echo Mountain. The town Mayor is on the scene, he tells the police that he doesn't want this getting out because it will put off the summer tourists (sound familiar? I'd bet that the script writer lifted this from "Jaws" (1975), and subsequent nature strikes back horror movies). Some good ol' boys head up the mountain looking for the bear, at the same time four horny teens are up there camping too. We get our first facial glimpse of the Sasquatch 29 minutes in, far too human looking for me. Looks like a Neanderthal Man on steroids. What's strange is that the creature wastes no time in tearing apart hunters yet when it comes to the kids it/he prefers to just spy on them. To its credit the acting was decent and the characters engaging. However some of the script sucked, for example one guy says to the group that they should set up camp because it's getting dark when in fact it was already pitch black. I do like film set in the great outdoors, plenty of wilderness here but nothing spectacular. On the gore front it's quite tame and despite some sex talk there is zero nudity. And as for the ending I found it disappointing. "Clawed - The Legend of Sasquatch" is a far better title than "The Unknown", however as Bigfoot movies go this one if unremarkable. Watch "Night of the Demon" (1980) instead.