Exists (2014)

Exists (2014)

directed by:  Eduardo Sanchez

starring:  Samuel Davis, Dora Madison Burge, Roger Edwards, Chris Osborn, Denise Williamson, Brian Steele   

Tagline: "It Breaths, It Hunts, It..."

Format:  NTSC Region 1:  Person Collection                         

(out of 5)

The Movie:  Went in maybe with too high expectations based on the hoopla I have read about this film.  Did I like it?  Yes absolutely.  Was it one of the better bigfoot films out there?  Yes absolutely. But given the director and the hype I was really expecting a better film than say the movie Abominable and it was not.  I'm going with the rating for 3 out of 5 mostly because Sanchez (who is a favorite of mine for Blair Waitch and Seventh Moon) regurgitated a lot of Blair Witch including a lost victim screaming in pain in the background which I thought was just tacky.

The Script and Story:  There are a group of five friends enjoying a weekend in the woods trying to dredge up some stunt youtube videos with their mountain bikes.  Problem is they chose the wrong spot.  Brian (Chris Osborn) and Matt (Samuel Davis) have an uncle with an abandoned camp he won't let anyone go to because of some old horrific story he has which no one believes.  More regurgitated Blair Witch stuff here.  Soon enough loud cries and dark shapes are seen in the woods and the group spends the first night scared out of their wits waiting for dawn to come.  After heading out back to their vehicle at first light they quickly discover something has destroyed it and panic begins.  Matt heads out looking for better cell reception and that's where I'll end my story review because frankly with all my complaints it's definitely worth seeing and I'm done with my spoilers there.  As far as the dialogue goes there was nothing I saw that went unbelievable.  Some might say the reactions of one character in particular on one specific scene were over the top and stupid but panicking is panicking and when you see the movie you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

The Gore:  Not really much gore here other than a couple scenes.  Was there a call for it?  Not necessarily but then I think of the film Night of the Demon which is another bigfoot favorite of mine.  I think if I made a bigfoot film it most definitely would have been gorier.

The Acting:  Very well done here.  The actors especially Chris Osborn who played Brian did a spectacular job throughout the whole film.  Some good crying, screams of anger, and well the very end scene speaks for itself.

The FX:  The creature effects were pretty good I'd say.  I have seen a lot worse and it really would have been better had the creature remained nocturnal but who said bigfoot was nocturnal anyway.  All the light just didn't do much for the creature not looking like a man in a monkey suit during certain scenes.  Other scenes though it was scary and intense looking like for example the very end.  Lots of creature scenes here which is a big deal for me I am not a fan of these "show the monster once or twice" type of monster movies.