Willow Creek (Bobcat Goldthwait, 2014)

[flyonthewall2983]

Bobcat Goldthwait's Willow Creek

[warren oates]

I kept waiting for it to turn into the Funny Bobact's weird found footage take on Harry and the Hendersons. Alas, it seems he feels like the next step for him as a director requires presenting something both much more conventional and humorless than the work he's known for to date.

[flyonthewall2983]

It's at the very least an interesting step. I'd tend to think anyone who is a director who's also a stand-up would be a good fit for a horror movie, just as they would be a comedy because any good one is meant to steer the audience in one extreme direction for most of the running time. The difference being just another set of tools.

[warren oates]

I agree that both comedy and horror are closer than one might think, much more dependent on precise visceral and technical effects than the genres might show on the surface, and on rhythm too. But I don't know. While I'd love to see an original horror tale from the creative intelligence behind Shakes the Clown and World's Greatest Dad, this doesn't seem like that. Really? A Blair Witch rip-off some 15 years later, after countless other ones? Even though he wrote the script, It really feels more like a work for hire, or, dare I say it, a kind of selling out.

[domino harvey]

Actually, according to his own interviews regarding the film, this is a labor of love for Goldthwait, a life-long superfan of Bigfoot lore. And from festival accounts, as far as found footage horror movies go, it's apparently pretty good. So, just because you don't like these kinds of movies doesn't mean the creator was "selling out" by making one

[flyonthewall2983]

I was kind of sold on it when he talked about shooting it and his dealings with the Bigfoot community (which can be found here 7 minutes in, a great interview all-around though if you have two hours to spend).

[pzadvance]

It is a pretty apparent Blair Witch ripoff, but that doesn't mean it isn't a well made film, and I think that Bobcat's humor and affinity for the real culture behind the Bigfoot phenomenon really shines through and makes this film feel distinctive, especially in the first half of the film. The extended shot in the tent towards the end technically doesn't have anything we haven't seen in these sorts of movies before, but I still found it to be an impressive and very effective feat of filmmaking. Far from selling out, this felt like a skilled director stretching his wings a little bit and finding new tools to add to his belt. I had a great time.

[Black Hat]

I'd heard the name, knew he was a comedian who had been a guest on Maron's podcast but knew nothing more than that until I watched Maron's IFC show. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the show but there were a couple of episodes where the use of the camera — handheld, frenetic, shaking for absolutely no reason — unhinged my enjoyment of the show. Director of these shows: Bobcat Goldthwait. You have been warned.

[warren oates]

Anyone in L.A. tomorrow can judge for themselves at a special Cinefamily screening with the director in person.