Movies
[Review] ‘Willow Creek’ Breathes Life Into Found Footage & Bigfoot!
Bobcat Goldthwait’s new film Willow Creek is a marvel. It’s a found footage movie, a somewhat tarnished word in genre films nowadays, that actually manages to be scary, suspenseful, and innovative. It’s no surprise, however, when considering what a provocative filmmaker Bobcat* has proven himself to be over the years. Whether it’s a movie about oral sex on a dog (Sleeping Dogs Lie), Robin Williams cashing in on the autoerotic asphyxiation death of his son (World’s Greatest Dad) or a terminally ill man gleefully murdering repugnant symbols of the U.S. (God Bless America), the filmmaker has consistently pushed the constraints of the black comedy into darker depths. When it was announced he’d be taking on Bigfoot in a found footage movie, the only thing to expect was the unexpected.
And that’s exactly what Bobcat has delivered with Willow Creek, a movie that not only manages to be a genuine scare, but also an endearing ode to Bigfoot mythology and the colorful characters who embrace the alleged beast. Bobcat is a self-proclaimed Bigfoot enthusiast and it shows in the film. He’s not laughing at the real-life citizens of Willow Creek, the Bigfoot capitol of the world, as they tell their personal yarns about the creature (or sing about it). This love of the subject matter elevates the film’s realism and its suspense later on.
Our guides through Bigfoot country are Jim (Bryce Johnson) and Kelly (Alexie Gilmore), a young couple who travel to Willow Creek so Jim can feed his lifelong love of the Bigfoot myth. For the first half of the film, Jim interviews locals (presumably for an amateur documentary) while Kelly begrudgingly goes along for the ride. She scoffs at the legend every chance she gets, though she must find something endearing in Jim’s love of it, or else she wouldn’t be tagging along. The locals they meet are a mix of the charmingly bizarre and shockingly normal, but whether they believe in Bigfoot or not, there’s no doubting this town takes the legend very seriously.
The suspense kicks in during the second half, when Jim and Kelly head deep into the surrounding forest in search of the spot where Roger Patterson and Rob Gimlin captured their infamous Bigfoot footage back in 1967 – 18 seconds of film that have sparked nearly 50 years of debate. The manner in which Bobcat builds up suspense is the very definition of slow-burn. During a nearly 20-minute long static take, the couple is terrorized in their tent in the middle of the night by god-knows-what. This remarkable sequence has some of the most effective sound design in a horror flick I’ve experienced in a while. I think everyone should go into this movie fresh as possible, so I won’t give any more details about the aural barrage that goes down. It is a brilliant and downright creepy sequence though.
What also helps makes Willow Creek so suspenseful in parts is that Jim and Kelly are incredibly likable. After spending the first half of the movie listening to their (believable) patter and talk about their aspirations, we want them to survive the night. One of the biggest problems in horror nowadays is the unlikable characters with absolutely no chemistry that we’re supposed to root for just because they’re getting killed (hey, just like in that other Bigfoot found footage movie Happy Camp that came out recently!). Spending the time to make us care about this couple is one of the wisest choices Bobcat made.
The suspense and atmosphere of dread lead up to an abrupt climax that is going to confuse the pants off of many. It reminded me of Enemy‘s sudden ending, a recent example of how to leave an audience wondering what the hell they just saw while also changing how they think about the movie. Willow Creek‘s closing minute baffled me as well, but after a quick Google search, I was satisfied to learn how it fits into the larger Bigfoot mythology. The ending, however, is a bit too abrupt for my tastes. After building up such a cool landscape with fun characters, to have it end as quickly as it did was kind of disappointing. The insane ending is wholly amazing, I just wish they had spent more time getting there.
Willow Creek proves that the life hasn’t been completely drained from found footage. It’s mix of charismatic characters, real Bigfoot lore, and atmospheric suspense (that sound design!) creates one helluva entertaining and scary ride. In my opinion Bobcat can take on any genre in any form after this one.
* In writing, the standard approach is to typically write out someone’s whole name first, then when you refer to them again, just use their surname. But it’s way too hard not to refer to the dude as just “Bobcat.”
Ghostface is back on the big screen this weekend… well, sort of… with the release of Scary Movie, which marks the Wayans brothers’ return to the horror spoof franchise for the first time since Scary Movie 2 back in the day. It’s likely to be the talk of the horror community for the weekend, but don’t overlook the other six genre movies that were freshly unleashed today.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Friday, June 5, 2026.
The horror spoof franchise is back with Scary Movie now playing in theaters!
Marlon Wayans (“Shorty”), Shawn Wayans (“Ray”), Anna Faris (“Cindy”), and Regina Hall (“Brenda”) reunite for the new Scary Movie, with the cast also including Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Jon Abrahams, Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, and Felissa Rose.
Twenty-six years after outrunning a suspiciously familiar masked killer (“Ghostface”), the Core Four are back in the killer’s crosshairs and no horror movie IP is safe…
Scary Movie will slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, anything with the word legacy in it, and every “final chapter” that absolutely isn’t. A whole lot has changed in the horror genre since the Wayans Brothers were in charge of the franchise; their involvement ended with Scary Movie 2 back in 2001!
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directs Scary Movie 6 from a script written by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, original Scary Movie director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans (Scary Movie 2), and Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House).
From IFC, shark attack movie Chum is now available on Digital.
Alice Eve (Haunting of Queen Mary) stars in shark attack movie alongside Eric Michael Cole, Jim Klock, Elle Haymond, Lisa Yaro, Johnny Gaffney, and Sarah Siadat.
This one sounds very similar to last year’s Dangerous Animals…
Here’s the plot: “A newlywed couple joins friends on a Mediterranean yacht excursion, only to find themselves caught between a predatory shark and a psychopathic killer in their midst-transforming a sun-drenched escape into a fight for survival.”
Jonathan Zuck directs Chum, from a script by Jonathan Zuck and Joe Leone.
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not 2: Here I Come) and Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling) come together in Carolina Caroline, a sexy crime thriller now playing in theaters.
It’s not a horror movie, mind you, but it’s worth a mention here all the same.
Kyra Sedgwick (Family Movie) and Jon Gries also star in the romantic crime thriller.
Director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s film stars Samara Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner), and together they weave a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast.
Adam Rehmeier previously directed the films Dinner in America and Snack Shack.
Tom Dean wrote the screenplay for Carolina Caroline.
Similar to Steven Spielberg’s upcoming big screen blockbuster Disclosure Day, Signal One explores humankind’s enduring question: what if we aren’t alone in the universe?
The sci-fi thriller is now available on Digital.
Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Josh Hutcherson (Five Nights at Freddy’s), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Raoul Bhaneja (Possessor), Emma Ho (“The Expanse”), and Dennis Quaid (The Substance) star in Signal One from director Jonathan Sobol (The Art of the Steal).
When tech billionaire Sam Houston (Quaid) hires the brilliant computer scientist Annika (Fuhrman), she ventures to an isolated facility run by the brilliant, nihilistic creator of LITTLEMOUTH, a machine which can communicate with alien intelligence.
Annika soon learns some humanity-altering facts: that we are not alone in the universe, that alien intelligences are communicating around us at every moment, and that we are likely too primitive to even remotely understand what they are trying to tell us.
When the goal of the endeavor shifts from listening to talking back, the project rapidly devolves into chaos. With contact comes consequences, and soon Annika and the team must work to ensure the very survival of our species.
A schoolyard dare becomes an urban legend in the creepypasta-inspired horror anthology The Summoning. The indie film is now available on Digital from Brainstorm Media.
“A babysitting gig becomes a nightmare of urban legend when three teens summon Baby Blue. Survival depends on uncovering the past to escape a mother’s wrath from beyond the grave.”
Felipe Vargas (Rosario, Hive), Sergio Gonzalez, Brandon Piskorik, Corey Benson Powers, and Brian Sepanzyk direct the segments. Valeria San Martín, Justina Ceballos, Daniela Flombaum, Nannu Spannauss, Agustín Olcese, and Giovanni Onetti star.
The Summoning is written by Camilo Zaffora.
Happy Death Day actress Jessica Rothe stars as a mom struggling to keep her grip on her sanity and memory in the mind-bending Affection, now available on Digital at home.
In Affection, “Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again.“
Joseph Cross (“Big Little Lies”) and Julianna Layne (“Chicago P.D.”) also star in the sci-fi horror thriller. Affection marks the feature debut by writer/director BT Meza.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review out of the film’s premiere, “Affection is steeped in existential questions and fears that plague modern society, while it embraces the ethos of the ’80s through bold body horror. Add to that Rothe’s revelatory performance, and Affection is a hidden gem that will connect with your mind, body, and soul.”
Lucile Hadžihalilović’s latest dark fairy tale, The Ice Tower, loosely reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Snow Queen,” and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
In the ’70s set film, “Jeanne, a 15-year-old orphan, witnesses the shoot of a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and she becomes fascinated by its star Cristina (Marion Cotillard), an actress who is just as mysterious and alluring as the Queen she is playing.“
Clara Pacini stars as Jeanne. August Diehl and Marine Gesbert also star in The Ice Tower, and look for a cameo from director Gaspar Noé (Climax, Irréversible).
“For me, The Ice Tower solidified Lucile Hadžihalilović’s place amongst the most fascinating creators of fairy tales today,” said distributor Yellow Veil Pictures co-founder Joe Yanick.
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