Cherokee Creek (2018)- Everything You Want in a Bigfoot Movie and Then Some!!-Fitz of Horror Review

Written by Bryan Fitzgerald (Fitz of Horror) August 6, 2018

Synopsis-A bachelor party in the woods gets crashed by the ultimate party animal.

Before I get into what Cherokee Creek is about, I will tell you that it is one of my new favorite Bigfoot movies. When I put together my “Ultimate Bigfoot Movie List” a few months back I noticed a few things that disturbed me, the first being that most Bigfoot movies are horrible and second, in the 90s there were no Bigfoot movies made. When the Sasquatch genre arose from the dead in the 2000s there were less than a handful of films that could be considered good so as a fan of the mythology of Bigfoot (and some of the shitty movies) I had come to accept the fact that this sub-genre that I love is just going to continue to be full of bad movies with bad CGI and worse acting.

In the past few years though, there has been a breakthrough. Starting with films like Exists, Abominable and Willow Creek the sub genre has been getting the respect it deserves and more recently films like Primal Rage, Big Legend and Cherokee Creek the Bigfoot movie is back in a big way with directors and writers who suddenly seem to understand what the fans want….A good story with a badass practical FX Bigfoot!!

Cherokee Creek begins with a couple of Bigfoot bounty hunters deep in the woods trying to bag a Squatch. This opening scene obviously is setting up the rest of the movie but it does offer some interesting facts/mythology that to my knowledge is new to the Bigfoot movie universe. These tidbits obviously play out in the rest of the film as well but more importantly we get a glimpse of the big guy and the damage he can inflict.

Fast forward to a creeper van parked outside of a residence with 3 men inside. After a few minutes of some hilariously raunchy conversation from our group we learn that they are there to kidnap someone for reasons unknown. As the bumbling kidnappers finally get their target into the van they make their getaway to the woods and their campsite. This is where we find out the kidnapping was an elaborate prank to get their soon to be married buddy into the forest for his bachelor party.

This is when we get to meet our motley crew. We have our bachelor who knows a lot about the woods and the legend of the Bigfoot that is said to roam them, the best friend Jinx (played brilliantly by director Todd Jenkins), An actor very well known as Vinny Blades (played to perfection by Billy Blair) an action movie star and ladies man, an asshole skeptic who pisses everyone off and the nephew who is just happy to be there but also knows quite a bit about the legend of the forest. The chemistry between these actors is top notch and a big reason this movie is going to resonate with so many people.

After kind of seeing the Bigfoot in the first few minutes of the movie, director Todd Jenkins takes the “JAWS approach” and we don’t see the big man again for just a little over an hour into the film. This is OK though because the dialogue and story carry this film quite nicely and when the action does pick up it picks up with a fury.

We go from horror/comedy with more comedy overtones right into a horror/comedy with very gory and more horror overtones. The music is very inspired and carries the film extremely well. I got a very distinct and intense Predator vibe mixed with the playful wonder of Harry and the Hendersons score which gives the movie an extra level of serious presence.

As I mentioned before, all of the FX in this film are practical and done very well. In the midst of people being hunted and killed by Sasquatch, other people are having sex and partying unaware of the danger in the woods until it’s too late. Heads and limbs are ripped off in fantastic and original ways and after seeing this I am going to coin the term “DICK-Capitation” or maybe “De-COCK-Itation”, either way the chain of events that led me to create these words because I had no other, were nothing short of some of the most funny and gory moments I’ve seen in a movie in a while.

Now for the big question, what about the Bigfoot? This is actually a very well done Bigfoot. I honestly wasn’t expecting much after the long build up but I was beyond happy with the scary looking and extremely savage version that was presented. As the campers fight to survive, we are shown more and more of the angry big man and there isn’t a dull moment when he’s near the shot.

This is director Todd Jenkins first feature and it was filled with personnel hardships and low expectations but what he ended up putting on screen is nothing short of amazing. He is clearly a talented director (and actor) who has a great eye for his shots and ability to bring out the best in his actors. The production value is also much better than I expected, featuring the quality of a film with 10x the budget.

Not only is Cherokee Creek one of the best Bigfoot movies to come along in a while, it is also one of the best horror/comedies I’ve seen in a while with all of the elements of a film that will be watched in groups, rewatched with friends and talked about for years to come.

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