The Capture of Bigfoot (1979)
Article 5480 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 7-16-2017
Directed by Bill Rebane
Featuring Janus Raudkivi, Randolph Rebane, Stafford Morgan
Country: USA
What it is: Sasquatch shenanigans in the snow

A ruthless small-time entrepreneur tries to capture a Bigfoot-style creature known as the Arak.

The IMDB reviews for this one mostly either refer to this one as a camp classic of sorts and or as a worthless piece of dreck. And, given that it’s directed by Wisconsin film-maker Bill Rebane, it’s tempting to declare open season on this one and give it what-for. However, my heart isn’t in it, and I’m in rather a forgiving mood today. Maybe it’s because the thing that most struck me about this movie was the way it captures its “Wisconsin-in-the-winter” milieu so authentically that I often found myself appreciating the movie on that alone; watching big vehicles plodding through the snow, people trudging through drifts, slipping on icy patches, and reminding myself how Rebane was out in the middle of this filming it is something that is rarely captured by Hollywood productions, and I find myself glad that regional film-makers were out there plugging away on productions like this. This is not to say that the movie is good; though it does show moments of competence, it’s full of dull stretches, and when it’s at its worst, it’s horrendous. The acting is the worst culprit this time, with the scenery-chewing entrepreneur and the annoying Bogart-imitating sheriff the worst offenders; the scene where these two characters meet is the worst in the movie. In short, I don’t quite see it as either a camp classic or a worthless piece of dreck; I see it as a bad movie that has its uses.