The beginning of Exists echoes those many other horror films set in the deep woods. Hapless folks encounter an unusual threat, likely after trespassing or offending the locals. And as this well-used formula commands, the characters then die in gruesome fashion. Eduardo Sánchez’s 2014 film is, admittedly, derivative of most body-count horrors with rural backdrops, yet it contains at least one novelty to set it apart: a Bigfoot. Hardly five minutes into this film and the young cast hits something on the road. As they assess the damage to their car and figure out what they struck, the characters get the sinking feeling that they are being watched from the nearby woods. Someone finally states the obvious: “That wasn’t no deer, bro.”

On average, found-footage horror films delay their strangeness in an effort to establish a semblance of normalcy. Make everything hypernormal and deliberately tedious so that the bizarre bits are more persuasive. Exists, however, takes a few shortcuts. The requisite videographer of the group, Brian (Chris Osborn), even shows the story’s imminent danger to his brother (Samuel Davis), their friends (Dora Madison Burge, Roger Edwards, Denise Williamson) and the viewers; his handheld camera captured a glimpse of the hairy hominid in question, walking upright and alongside the road that fateful night. Other filmmakers would steer away from revealing Bigfoot so early on and blatantly, yet knowing the beast is indeed on the prowl does not diminish the overall effect. The audience now simply waits for the inevitable to happen.

While Exists almost ended up being a mix of found-footage and traditional filmmaking, the undiluted first-person approach is far more fitting of such an elusive subject. The myth of Bigfoot, after all, endures in real life because of amateur recordings, blurry photos, and unreliable testimonies. Frequent collaborators Eduardo Sánchez and screenwriter Jamie Nash quickly confirmed the famous cryptid is real in their story’s universe, yet their film goes on to piecemeal the creature’s actualness. The Patterson–Gimlin footage-esque peeks at Bigfoot, as he or she encroaches more and more on the human characters’ spaces, come first before any point-blank shots. Eventually, though, that shaky lens becomes focused, and Bigfoot crosses over the threshold between the known and the unknown world.

Pictured: The characters in Exists examine the damage to their vehicle.

In certain respects, Exists is the antithesis of Sánchez’s The Blair Witch Project. The monumental 1999 film also featured young people getting lost and chased in a forest by a perilous entity, but Heather, Mike and Josh’s plight did not necessarily require a literal pursuit. The viewers’ imagination does most of the heavy lifting there, and Blair Witch is better for it. Sánchez could have easily gone down the same route with Exists, yet he wanted to show Bigfoot. There is no vagueness to speak of here, like in other similar films. Likely inspiration The Legend of Boggy Creek achieved the kind of slow-burn eeriness that its spiritual descendants lack for whatever reason. Meanwhile, Exists is the best of both worlds: blunt action and tense psychological buildup.

These days, Bigfoot is taken less seriously than in the past. The beast has since become associated with real-life cryptozoology cranks, fruitless documentaries and junky reality television, and a glut of shoddy horror films. Exists may not look all that distinguishable from the latter category, however, Sánchez is succeeds at making Bigfoot menacing again. The director turned the once-gentle guardian of North America’s woodlands — the film trades the standard Pacific Northwest backdrop for a generic wilderness setting somewhere in East Texas — into a fearsome monster. This ferocious take on Bigfoot is convincing due in large part to Brian Steele (The Relic, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Predators). The towering creature actor is equipped with a compelling and custom-made suit — one courtesy of Spectral Motion and used again in Jon Garcia’s Summoning the Spirit — but Steele’s physical dedication and immersive performance are what ultimately sell this terrifying version of Bigfoot.

Those tuning in to Exists and expecting to see Bigfoot go ape on young fodder should walk away satisfied. The creature carnage within is not entirely mindless, though. Sánchez accomplished several well designed and exciting set-pieces that give this film its greater replay value. From Bigfoot terrorizing the stranded cast with distant bellowing to turning an ordinary cabin into a nail-biting scarehouse, the story’s hairy threat is put to excellent use. Other memorable scenes include the cryptid outrunning someone on their bike — then proceeding to torment the other characters with said bike — and a blood-pumping, topsy-turvy RV sequence. Sánchez’s previous horror offerings have a tendency to be slow and measured, whereas Exists operates at a hazardous speed.

Pictured: Chris Osborn’s character Brian records himself as the Bigfoot decides his fate.

Bigfoot’s rampage in the film initially comes across as aimless and wanton. However, when remembering the prologue’s conspicuous (and totally fabricated) factoids — one particular title card states: “Experts agree the creatures are only violent if provoked” — the Bigfoot’s actions become understandable. Sympathetic, even. Compensating for the human characters’ cursory personalities is the surprisingly layered depiction of the story’s presumed villain. The inciting tragedy was, as it turns out, the breaking point for an animal whose habitat had already been ravaged by wildfires. The grief theme rings loudest toward the end, where Bigfoot’s act of mercy drives home the notion that these animals are more human than realized.

When set side by side with the average teen slasher, Exists shares most of the same attributes. There is more of a fantastical element at play, of course, yet Sánchez and Nash ground the story as much as possible, all while capitalizing on their antagonist’s unearthly abilities. The outcome is not quite as horrendous as it could have been; violence is plentiful, yet blood, guts and gore are meager. Making up for the shortfall of sanguinary amusement are those exhilarating and elaborate kills already mentioned. Horror fans typically pitch the film as “Friday the 13th with a Bigfoot.” Potentially, if the Jason Voorhees franchise ever resumed business and ventured into found-footage territory, Exists would be a useful blueprint.

The better screen portrayals of Bigfoot are, arguably, found in those meditative and nature-oriented films from decades ago. On the other hand, the bar for Bigfoot Horror is so low, something like Exists can only look better when juxtaposed with such inferior films. A contrast effect notwithstanding, Eduardo Sánchez and Jamie Nash’s stab at the ‘squatch slasher format exceeds expectations and remains the gold standard when bringing out the monster in Bigfoot.

Pictured: Brian Steele, as Bigfoot, lands on the overturned RV.