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Sasquatch has always lived in the distance. The creature that may or may not exist has become folklore legend roaming the forests of the pacific northwest. Anyone familiar with the creature often called bigfoot is well aware of the blurry photo possibly taken of the creature as he is far out in the distance where it could be anything from an obscure bear to a person in a costume to very well being the actual creature Sasquatch. But whether he or she is real there has always been an obsession with the creature to the point that mankind has never really stopped to think if Sasquatch is real, are they okay? SASQUATCH SUNSET the latest from the peculiar directing brothers David and Nathan Zellner wants us to know what Sasquatch has been going through all this time, and he is not alone. SUNSET premiered with a balls to the wall screening at the Sundance film festival and had everything from poop jokes to animal humping all the way to (and somehow) one of the most endearing films to come out of the festival in quite some time. An odyssey of not just a misunderstood legend but one so relatable with family, love, violence and loss. All this to culminate into the notion of who truly deserves to own this land and how turning any living creature into pop culture commodity is nothing less than destructive.

SASQUATCH SUNSET has no dialogue. It will also take quite some time to realize (or maybe never realize) who is in the cast. Sasquatch (Nathan Zeller) is not alone he has wife Sasquatch (Riley Keough) older son Sasquatch (Jesse Eisenberg) and little boy Sasquatch (Christophe Zajac-Denek). All four actors are donned in heavy makeup, prosthetics and other creature design all done by Steve Newburn’s outstanding work. If you know who plays who going in you may recognize them through some mannerisms but even that comes off nearly impossible when the actors spend most of the film, grunting, moaning, screaming and throwing themselves around in a way that you’d imagine the somewhat ape creature would do. There is always a lot of talk about actors who truly commit to the role but let’s end any bullshit method acting praise right here. True acting genius is now donning a Sasquatch costume and sniffing your own feces. But while SASQUATCH SUNSET quickly brings you into the joke and one that runs for the entirety of the film it’s a pleasant surprise to never see it use this idea as a cheap gimmick. The humor is there but these are fully fleshed out creatures. They spend their days walking through the forest protecting one another, playing and yes sometimes humping. But above all else they end their days with a tribal calling hoping to hear any sounds from other creatures like them. It makes it all the more painful when each attempt ends in silence. The Zellner’s who have made a career out basking in unusual and depressed characters may have found their loneliest creatures yet.

One of the more brilliant aspects of the film is how quickly it takes the audience to accept what is being shown on screen. It doesn’t mean that you still can’t be surprised, but seeing this family as hairy as they are feels like being at home to some degree. Playful sibling banter, aggressive patriarch who enjoys quick sex and unhealthy food and most prominently a mother who above all else sees the beauty in her family. It cannot be overstated the skills Keough shows off through her physical performance that while often carrying the greatest pain of her family is still able to love and protect simply because she wants to. The film is divided into four parts (one part per season) and balances its time between each character both as individuals and as a core part to the family that keeps it alive. When one member falls the rest feel it and they carry the weight of all their mistakes and victories. And yet this is still a movie where prosthetic Sasquatch penises are constantly erect and pooping on a new found highway seems like the best option. But hey that’s just the master work you’ll find here from the Zellner’s. What turns into a big surprise is how this is not a fish out of water story, but one where this creature family is in its rightful home, but as the walls close in then their confusion and fear begins to show. Seeing them destroy a campsite or be afraid of said mentioned highway is humorous at first, but there is great pain knowing humans are growing larger and larger taking over their land. It is an environmental story without standing on a soapbox and it is asking questions many of us refuse to discuss. We praise national and communal parks for keeping environmental areas alive, but at the same time just being on undisturbed land is harmful. It isn’t blaming as much as it is bringing the idea into our heads. After all there are parks with dedicated merchandise and museums to bring awareness to the possibility of Sasquatch, but to build these centers and sell t-shirts someone’s home had to be destroyed. And even further if Sasquatch does exist no kid buying a Sasquatch pun shirt is going to be the one to actually help keep these creatures safe.

SASQUATCH SUNSET is not just the big surprise out of Sundance because it got a room full of people to watch a film with more placenta eating than there is dialogue, but again for the mere idea that the Zellner brothers used this as a way to show how some families are still searching for their home. There are many gorgeous shots throughout the film (thanks to Mike Gioulakis’ stunning outdoor cinematography) where the family is just wandering the mountains looking for the next safe place to land all accompanied by a hard hitting twang score from The Octopus Project. They eventually find a spot, but the loneliness keeps them moving forward. They have one another but when hardly anyone else in the world looks like you its tough to settle for just a few. After all every living creature eventually passes on, so if that infamous “Big Foot” photo is true and he is truly out there alone whose to blame, and will their call ever be answered?

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SASQUATCH SUNSET PREMIERED AT THE 2024 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL. THE FILM WILL BE RELEASED BY BLEEKER STREET APRIL 2024