Big Legend is a 2018 action movie about an ex-soldier who ventures into the Pacific Northwest to uncover the truth behind his fiancées disappearance.
Bigfoot itself is a wildly curious phenomenon that has kept motivated seekers and believers inspired and hopeful for decades, many simply looking for proof it exists, no matter its nature. However it’s in the movies where the mysterious beast has established itself in very defining terms. Save for one significant outing, Sasquatch has mostly been relegated to the dark corners of horror, his savagery and cunning butchery skills making him a favorite in the monster-in-the-dark genre, a bloodthirsty creature. So it is with this latest in the crowded field, a sincere low budget but ultimately unsatisfying Bigfoot flick now on DVD and VOD.
Heading deep into Gifford Pinchor National Forest near Mount Saint Helens, Tyler Laird (Kevin Makely), a former Special Forces soldier and girlfriend Natalie (Summer Spiro) go off the trail to unexplored parts where he makes a grand romantic gesture by a waterfall and pops the question. She says yes and all seems perfect until in the night, outside their tent, an odd knocking wakes them. Tyler makes a strange discovery nearby and then in an instant, Natalie is gone, she, the tent, and everything in it, swept into the dark. What happened? Flash forward a year and Tyler is getting discharged from a psych ward, agreeing with his doctors it was a bear attack, though once home, his mother (Adrienne Barbeau) convinces him to head back to the woods and find out what really happened.
Credit goes to writer/director Justin Lee for at least attempting to give some weight to what drives Tyler, the first act committed to establishing some connection between the lovers, even if it is a bit conventional. He then creates a solid bit of intrigue at the campsite that does inspire genuine interest in what actually dragged poor Natalie into the trees, though most of the film is decidedly slow in comparison, with Tyler not subscribing to his therapist’s diagnosis of PTSD and survivor’s guilt, plodding along in the wet woods for answers.
Motivated by a random image in a recovered camera police neglected to give a poke through – one that clearly shows a Bigfoot-like creature in the background of one snapshot – Tyler soon meets Eli Verunde (Todd A. Robinson), another hunter of sorts in the backcountry, a Sasquatch enthusiast on his own quest, who pairs up with Tyler to get the truth, which might be more conspiracy bound to something far more sinister than just a big hairy monster.
Loading itself with plenty of standards in the genre, including ancient Native American mythology, Big Legend does have some clever bits, with Tyler a believable character with some earnest incentive, but the film is hampered by a real lack of innovation everywhere else, which is a shame considering it really had the chance to be a smart, psychological thriller, even going a little The Grey in the last act. A blur of fur races past the camera behind an unseeing Tyler, accompanied by a tropey orchestra hit, Eli runs afoul and slows them down. These would be almost forgivable except there’s nearly no momentum pushing this forward with Lee cobbling together a series of obvious sequences that feels like a we’re rumbling along in well worn ruts.
The genre comes preloaded with inherent suspense, but Lee can’t capitalize on some promising setups, with a third act campfire monster moment one of a few a barely-there blink and you’ll miss it bits that should have been much more significant. The very, very late arrival of Lance Henriksen offers up some much-needed juice (kicking starting what looks to be a franchise builder), but just like the woefully underused Barbeau (who got her start in another monster movie), is only a hint of what might have been (or maybe what will be). A good effort from Makely and some impressive on-location cinematography keep this a step above the rest of it, though even fans of Bigfoot movies are probably going to tune out.