Sasquatch Sunset Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Sasquatch Sunset Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 5, 2024

David and Nathan Zellner make very peculiar movies. That’s what they’re known for, trying to bend and twist indie cinema expectations with their oddball takes on genres and performances. Over the last decade, they’ve made “Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter” and “Damsel,” and now they attempt to pull off perhaps their most divisive idea with “Sasquatch Sunset,” which is literally 90 minutes of watching a family of creatures navigate the world around them and the storms of behavior within. There is no dialogue, just grunting, and human characters are nowhere to be found, with the siblings concentrating on this semi-remake of “Bambi,” only here the seasons change and life goes on for bigfoots on the move in the big, beautiful world. There’s no recommending “Sasquatch Sunset,” with warnings more appropriate, as the Zellners really go for it here, trying to make something almost absurd with the picture, giving those willing to strap in a ride of strangeness that doesn’t come around much these days.

Deep in the forest, a family of creatures resides, spending their time navigating their surroundings and hunting for food. Father (Jesse Eisenberg), Mother (Reily Keough), Older Brother (Nathan Zellner), and Younger Brother (Christophe Zajac-Denek) are a unit, but they have different priorities, beginning their yearly adventure in the spring, when the world around them awakens and physical desires sharpen. Over the course of the four seasons, the Sasquatches are challenged by needs of survival and lustful ways, encountering the violence of the forest and its many nutritional experiences. While they search for more like them, the family deals with the realities of existence and the mysteries of the unknown, reaching beyond the forest to seek answers and find shelter as they deal with circle of life demands.

Again, there’s no one in this movie besides the four creatures. Viewers are stuck with them for the run time, meeting the sasquatches in springtime. It’s a season for growth, renewal, and beauty, and it’s also time for Father to finally have his way again with Mother, with the pair enjoying a session of sex in the great outdoors, right near their children, who carefully study the situation. Obviously, there’s more to come in “Sasquatch Sunset,” but the Zellner’s plant their flag right away in the film, showing viewers what the picture’s tone is going to be like. It’s this level of comedy that carries throughout the feature, which follows the family around the forest, watching them eat flowers and check one another for nits. They also try to figure out the process of building shelter, and they search for others by banging on trees and yowling, listening for any sort of reply.

“Sasquatch Sunset” is a behavioral journey, almost mime-like with its performances, finding the cast buried under full body suits and makeup as they become creatures of the wild. The screenplay doesn’t identify names, setting, or even time, tasking viewers to focus on frame information to understand personalities, including Father, who’s making some type of breakthrough by counting, working on his math. However, most of “Sasquatch Sunset” stays with physical events, studying the family as they enjoy rubbing their genitals and smelling the results, and there’s an unfortunate encounter with bad berries, with Older Brother erupting as his body rejects the food out of every orifice. The Zellners have a fascination with bodily fluids, and this extends to Mother and her lactating breasts. And the innards of other creatures are oozed on faces during mealtime. The movie goes for grossness as much as possible, and most of the humor is found in this direction, joined by sexual antics as Older Brother begins to feel frisky without understanding his urges.

Sasquatch Sunset Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation ventures into the wild with the sasquatches, and detail is reasonably strong. The furriness of the creatures is preserved, with fine hairs appreciable, and makeup achievements are distinct, with textured appearance. Woodland tours are dimensional, offering an understanding of seasonal changes and critter appearances. Dimension remains with exploration and discoveries. Colors are strong, with a hearty sense of greenery throughout forest experiences. Sasquatch skin maintains consistency, and bodily fluids and feeding habits deliver distinct hues. Nature displays preserve orange summery glow and crisper snowscapes. Delineation is satisfactory. Some brief, mild banding is present.

Sasquatch Sunset Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix doesn't deal with dialogue exchanges, but grunting in various forms is perfectly understood, and there's crisp guttural quality to help understand the urgency of communication. Scoring cues are full, with sharp instrumentation, which includes acoustic guitar moods. Music pushes out into the surrounds, offering a circular presence, and soundtrack selections provide clear vocals and defined electropop beats. Atmospherics are appreciable but not incredibly active, exploring forest activity and weather events. Low-end isn't challenged, sticking with the thump of woodland communication and rumbling bass.

Sasquatch Sunset Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Sasquatch Birth Journal #2" (4:13, HD) is listed on the back cover as "The Zellner Bros. first foray into Sasquatchian filmmaking, a short film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011." It's nature camera footage of a loosely costumed character standing in a tree going through labor, eventually pushing out a baby.

• A Trailer has not been included on this release.

Sasquatch Sunset Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's some darkness to "Sasquatch Sunset," which takes danger seriously, arranging potential peril for the characters as they navigate the forest, encountering new threats. And there's a good sense of the unknown, with the Zellners replicating a moment from "2001: A Space Odyssey" as the family finds a large red X painted on a tree, which disturbs them. The effort doesn't have much in the way of tension, finding the filmmakers playing the endeavor leisurely, asking the audience to get lost in this alien world. Such ambition is something to see, and while "Sasquatch Sunset" is made for specific moviegoing adventuring, it remains appreciable as an art-house curveball, with the Zellners trying to do something wild with the basics in biological needs and survival challenges.