Sasquatch Sunset is probably going to divide a lot of audiences.  Myself?  Well, I honestly don’t know what to make of it.  This is a movie about sasquatches . . . which don’t exist.  Or do they?  That’s hardly the point as one Bigfoot family gets their story of survival told. 

Specifically, the camera follows one family of sasquatches in the wild for about a year.  As far as concepts go, this sounds pretty cool.  The movie accepts sasquatches are real and, just for shits and giggles, gives us a front row seat on what it is like to be one . . . or at least be a casual observer in this family.

But Harry And The Hendersons this is not.

Writer/director brothers David and Nathan Zellner have put together a movie which feels very real as far as nature documentaries go, yet combines that with an idea that’s far too goofy to be mistaken as the real thing. 

But it works to create a soul-stirring experience . . . if you can suspend your disbelief and swallow your pride a bit.  It turns out, this family has a story to tell.

Starring Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg, Christophe Zajac-Denek, and Nathan Zellner, Sasquatch Sunset is at times on point with its poignancy and, thanks to a whole lot of absurdist humor, a complete farce which will certainly turn off a lot of people.  That’s sort of the point, I think. 

Few are going to know what to do with it, though.  For me, what started as a toss up has landed with a solid 4 out of 5.  On one side, you have a movie centered about bigfoots fucking in the woods and shitting on hot stretches of road in protest of our dominance and, on the other side, you have a thoroughly engrossing film about creatures fighting for survival in a world which is constantly changing.

At its best, Sasquatch Sunset is a series of vignettes about this family’s life in the woods and misty forests of the United States.  You will care about them and what happens to them.  This is a credit to the team involved.  At its worst, the film is an endurance on how many fart and sex jokes you can tolerate without a story involved.  Character development?  Forget about it.  But, see, that’s too harsh.

Because, through all the crotch sniffing and backdoor play, emerges the humanity of these sasquatches.  Even the audience begins to care for them and their survival. 

This is a tragic world they inhabit and it is brutally unkind to them, too.  While the film is wordless, the emotion felt is real and, quite honestly, that fact alone is hard to argue with when it comes to the film being successful.  I mean, it shouldn’t work, but like I said before, the film works to create a level of concern that might, at first, seem unnatural given that these creatures remain a part of our mythology and not rooted in fact.

Sasquatch Sunset is a wonder.  It is beautifully lensed by cinematographer Mikie Gioulakis and creates a moody look into the lives of these silly sasquatches, yet you will probably come out of the film a better human than you were before the opening credits rolled.  And that’s saying something about the power of film, right?

The film is being released by Bleecker Street and is currently playing.

Home Video Distributor: Decal Releasing
Available on Blu-ray - May 28, 2024
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Video: MPEG-4 AVC; 1080p; 2.39:1
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Audio descriptive
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

The fine folks over at Decal releasing bring the absurdist humor of Sasquatch Sunset to sparkling 1080p with an exquisite blu-ray release of the film.

Sure, the subject matter won't appeal to the tastes of everyone, but the release unquestionably offers a fine example of what the format can offer.

Accompanying the film on the disc is but a single bonus item.

Video

Set entirely in what is believed to be the deep, dense wilderness of the Great Northwest, the MPEG-4 AVC 2.39:1 1080p encode is perfect for the subject matter and setting of the film as the flora and fauna offer infinite layers of detail to be realized. And the encode is up to the task with perfectly rendered elements (primarily hair and foliage) that are always sharp and crisp.

Particularly mesmerizing are the artistry and details of the hair and make-up on display by work from the makeup department. In 1080p, there's no room for sloppiness, and they nailed it!

The film's color palette is limited, predominantly to greens of the leaves and grass, and browns of the creatures' matted hair, and they always remain true to form. Just a beautiful film to behold on your home video system.

Audio

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is fantastic and what better setting to get that immersive world of 5.1 than a forest. Noises and sounds of nature bathe the room in a full 360-degree sound stage that plops us right in the forest with the creatures.

There is no dialogue (replaced by an assortment of grains and grunts), so can't comment on that, but must say the grunts and groans do come through clearly and even feature some side to side action at times.

Supplements:

There is but a single bonus item included.

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

• Sasquatch Birth Journal #2 - (04:14) Makes us laugh! They said #2.

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	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 89 mins
Director: David Zellner; Nathan Zellner
Writer: David Zellner
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg; Riley Keough; Christophe Zajac-Denek
Genre: Action | Adventure | Comedy
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor: Bleeker Street
Official Site: https://www.sasquatchsunset.film/
Release Date: April 19, 2024
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: May 28, 2024
Synopsis: A year in the life of a unique family. It captures the daily life of the Sasquatch with a level of detail and rigor that is simply unforgettable.