By David Hatcher Childress
1. Bigfoot (1970)
Joi Lansing in Bigfoot
This film combines things that were popular at the time: Bigfoot, biker culture, and buxom women. A bigfoot (there are several of them) kidnaps a pair of scantily-clad women and holds them hostage in the California mountains. To add realism, the filmmakers shot the movie in locations where people reported sightings of Bigfoot (the only thing authentic about the movie). It’s unclear what the bigfoots want with the women, but one girl speculates that it’s for reproducing purposes (obviously). Although the bigfoots grunt a lot and brawl with a bear (spoiler: bigfoot wins), the beasts aren’t very menacing to the viewer.
2. Snowbeast (1977)
Not to be confused with the 2011 film Snow Beast, the ’70s Snowbeast features not-so-stylish ski outfits, Swedes, and a script written by Joseph Stefano, who wrote a much better thriller called Psycho. You must suspend your disbelief to watch the movie. The Yeti only thrives in the Himalayas, not the Colorado Rockies, where the movie takes place and was filmed. The Yeti goes after off-terrain skiers—Bigfoot doesn’t actually ski—and tears them to shreds offscreen. The movie will make you think twice about going on a ski vacation, and wearing a one-piece ski suit.
3. The Abominable Snowman (1957)
Hammer Films produced a British film starring Peter Cushing, who leads a scientific expedition into the Himalayas to find and study the Yeti (a Himalayan Bigfoot). The movie’s called Abominable Snowman, but the Yeti aren’t as cute as the animated versions in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Monsters Inc. Of course, things go terribly wrong on the expedition—it is the Himalayas, after all—but the death toll has nothing to do with the Yeti killing people. Instead, this film takes a different approach, insinuating that men are the savages and the Yeti are benevolent creatures just trying to survive. It helps their cause that they’re not just going around tearing off human limbs.
4. The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)
A forerunner of the “Is this fiction or true?” genre, Boggy Creek features interviews with real people playing fictionalized versions of themselves discussing sightings of the Fouke Monster, a supposed real-life half-man, half-beast monster lurking in Arkansas. The folklore traces back to the ’50s, when the area started reporting on strange occurrences and “unexplainable noises in the night.” The drive-in movie produced four sequels and inspired The Blair Witch Project.
5. Harry and the Hendersons (1987)
The most mainstream and sappiest of the Bigfoot genre, the movie inspired an entire subgenre of “family-friendly Bigfoot movies,” such asBigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter starring one of those long-forgotten Home Improvement kids (Bigfoot wears sunglasses!). But in the Hendersons’ version, Harry’s an affable beast who becomes John Lithgow and A Christmas Story mom’s (Melinda Dillon) unruly family pet. Harry threatens to destroy the bad people, but he’s too nice to rip anybody’s intestines out.
6. Abominable (2006)
A Rear Window-like invalid isolates himself in a cabin in the woods and spies Bigfoot murdering his perky-breasted neighbors. One by one, the unrelenting ‘Foot picks them off, but the invalid tries to intervene and save the remaining busty neighbor. Actors Matt McCoy (the nosy invalid) and Lance Henriksen are veterans of Bigfoot movies, having starred in three each.
7. Strange Wilderness (2008)
A Bigfoot film proved to be irresistible to Adam Sandler, who executive-produced this zany movie encompassing a Sasquatch hunt. An ensemble cast comprised of Steve Zahn, Jeff Garlin, Ernest Borgnine, a thong-wearing Jonah Hill, and Justin Long work for a low-rated nature show. In order to increase ratings, the gang—with the exception of Borgnine and Garlin—head to Ecuador in search of Bigfoot. As in every comedy, things go awry—especially their encounter with Robert Patrick’s mutilated testicles. The film tanked at the box office but unlike other films on the list, at least this Bigfoot film is supposed to be funny.
8. The Ape Man (1943)
Conducting weird scientific experiments, mad scientist Dr. James Brewster, aided by his colleague Dr. Randall, has managed to transform himself into a hairy, stooped-over ape-man. Desperately seeking a cure, Brewster believes only an injection of recently-drawn human spinal fluid will prove effective. With Randall refusing to help him, it falls to Brewster and his captive gorilla to find appropriate donors. Starring Bela Lugosi, Louise Currie, and Wallace Ford. Is it a gorilla, bigfoot or a mad scientist? A great retro-bigfoot-ape-man film!
9. Big Legend (2018)
An ex-soldier ventures into the Pacific Northwest to uncover the truth behind his fiancés disappearance. Starring Kevin Makely, Todd A. Robinson, Summer Spiro, and Lance Henriksen. Henriksen is back in another bigfoot movie filmed in the Lewis River Falls-Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington State. Shouldn’t go hunting for bigfoot—he doesn’t like it!
10. White Pongo (1945)
Hunters and scientists venture into the jungle to track down a savage albino gorilla, which they believe could be the missing link between man and ape. Before Bigfoot there was White Pongo! With Richard Fraser, Maris Wrixon and Lionel Royce. A great early jungle girl and gorilla gone ape-shit movie for your retro-enjoyment!
