Every satire starts with the sting of familiarity, and as Bobcat Goldthwait’s addition to the found footage canon commences, all things expected are stamped within its confines. Willow Creek relishes its adventurous central couple, journeying deeper into the titular locale in search of the truth behind a local legend, all while capturing every moment on their ever-present video camera. Few surprises exist as the story unravels, nor in the authentic execution that astutely apes its genre brethren. Instead, where shock lurks in the sixth feature from the noted master of the acerbic and the blackly comedic is in its earnestness, the film’s sincerity as strong as its adherence to horror conventions.
With enthusiasm in abundance, Jim (Bryce Johnson, TV’s Pretty Little Liars) takes to the road with his girlfriend Kelly (Alexie Gilmore, Labor Day) for the trip of his lifetime. He is convinced their foray through the woods of California’s Humboldt County, to the very site of Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin’s footage in 1967, will furnish proof of the famed creature known as Bigfoot; she can’t share his interest or optimism, but is content – for the most part – to go along for the ride for the sake of their romance. First, they experience the industry that has sprung up around the myth of the Sasquatch, revelling in the tourist trappings and offbeat accoutrements. Once they establish a campsite against the warnings of inhospitable inhabitants, their true quest begins, as do the scares Jim seeks but Kelly thought they wouldn’t find.
In a departure from the rest of his filmmaking resume – World’s Greatest Dad and God Bless America included – actor turned writer/director Goldthwait plays it straight with Willow Creek, preferring to explore the established elements of the found footage movement rather than find humour in its proliferation. His attention to detail is meticulous, mimicking the shots, screams, reactions and revelations now seen as rote within similar offerings, but with a purpose: to demonstrate that a now-derided style of content still has weight, warmth, intelligence and impact, as first established in the seminal The Blair Witch Project.
Willow Creek may not go as far as making its protagonists yell ‘tell me where you are, Josh’, but its debt remains obvious, as does its ode. Both extend through a feature that proves one of two distinctive halves: first, an overlong opening that probes, with legitimate and unjudging curiosity, the beliefs at its centre; then, a slow-burn series of subtly disconcerting occurrences that ramps up the suspense, even if never offering anything different. Each section has its merits and its struggles, the latter most notably in length despite the film’s abbreviated 80-minute running time. Of course, it is in the culmination, as seen in a long take comprising close to a quarter of the film’s duration, that brings the examination of ideology to fruition while establishing the extent of the concept’s fright-inducing capacity.
Along the way, a character drama exists within the feature, not just in the interactions with real-life locals, but also in the complexity of Jim and Kelly’s relationship. Their difference of opinion on all things Bigfoot is the least of their problems, as their heighted hike through unsettling circumstances only augments. Johnson and Gilmore provide relaxed performances befitting the naturalistic way in which Goldthwait and first-time cinematographer Evan Phelan frame and light their characters, and it is their bantering and bickering that sustains the film in its lagging moments. It is a credit to all involved that by the time the duo are cowering in their tent, spooked by shadows and startled by strange sounds closing in around them, they too have become more than mere horror film fodder, as has Willow Creek’s overt but effective homage.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Willow Creek
Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
USA, 2013, 80 mins
Sydney Film Festival
www.sff.org.au
4 – 15 June
Revelation Perth International Film Festival
www.revelationfilmfest.org
3 – 13 July
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