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‘Sasquatch Sunset’ Film Review

Liselotte goes to Hollywood
Story Lamp Reviews
Published in
4 min readJun 26, 2024
Jesse Eisenberg and Christophe Zajac-Denek in Sasquatch Sunset courtesy of Icon Film Distribution

Film: Sasquatch Sunset. Year: 2024. Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy. Directors: David Zellner and Nathan Zellner

While the changing and improving technology has made it easier for filmmakers to create new worlds no one has ever explored, it’s still more often than not that directors take too much inspiration from other filmmakers and features close to the one they’re about to make. This results in films feeling like copies of each other instead of unique and utterly creative works. We can partly say the same about directors David Zellner (Damsel, Black Something) and Nathan Zellner (Damsel, Black Something). While they certainly had a close look at Harry & the Hendersons and Suburban Sasquatch when creating their latest movie, Sasquatch Sunset is still unlike anything you’ve seen before.

Don’t expect to hear cleverly written dialogues or conversations laced with tons of humour. No, apart from the bigfoots’ primal sounds and the forest’s incredible natural sounds, the movie is ‘silent’. The directors must rely on perfect facial expressions, body language, and top-notch prosthetic work to convey their central hairy characters’ emotions. While the costumes, especially the ‘skin’, look rough and ready, that unrefined finish makes them impressive and effective. The characters come to life for the full 100% if you add the compelling physicality of the entire cast to the costumes. The prosthetics, hair and make-up and costumes teams and the actors genuinely commit to the work they were given. And what an eccentric work it is!

Riley Keough in Sasquatch Sunset courtesy of Icon Film Distribution

Over a year, you follow the unrecognizable Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, Nathan Zellner and Christophe Zajac-Denek, who portray a Sasquatches family. Mike Gioulakis’ (It Follows, Us) camera is placed so that you can witness the growling beasts in their natural habitat. The cinematography is unobtrusive, and we wouldn’t blame you if you would expect to hear David Attenborough’s voice popping up any moment during this feature.

Gioulakis certainly has an eye for creating light and breezy nature shots, which will instantly take you to…

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Story Lamp Reviews
Story Lamp Reviews

Published in Story Lamp Reviews

Book reviews, film recommendations, listicles, flash fiction prompts, passionate rants — if it’s connected to books or films, you’ve found a place here.

Liselotte goes to Hollywood
Liselotte goes to Hollywood

Written by Liselotte goes to Hollywood

Film journalist living in London. If you have a film to review or interview opportunities, contact me via liselottevanophem@hotmail.com :)

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