The Bigfoot Trap
The Bigfoot Trap (U.S., 2023) is not another movie about Sasquatch running rampant on misbehaving city folk — far from it, although we do get a nice variation on that type of person here. Josh MacMahon (Tyler Weisenauer) has set aside his goal of becoming a reporter of depth for some quick cash being a content provider for a clickbait-style website hungry for views. After a video of him making fun of a flat-Earth believer goes viral, Josh gets an assignment of doing another such video about Red Wilson (Zach Lazar Hoffman), the head of the Southern Sasquatch Research Foundation — the membership of which seems to be two people. At first trying to get yucks at Red’s expense, Josh begins to buy into the earnestness with which Red seeks to prove that Bigfoot actually exists. When a possible visual sighting of the legendary cryptid goes tragically awry, The Bigfoot Trap ratchets up its drama and suspense. Because writer/director Aaron Mirtes fleshes out these two main characters so well in the first act, when the tension between them suddenly takes a massive upturn, viewers are invested in the outcome and are taken down a highly unpredictable path. Hoffman and Weisenauer are both strong in their roles, and once they meet, their chemistry together is terrific. The budgetary limitations may show through in the creature design, but that’s hardly the point of this film. Mirtes has crafted a unique entry in the Bigfoot movie subgenre that proves absolutely riveting.
You can view the trailer at https://vimeo.com/749965310
Medusa Deluxe
Writer/director Thomas Hardiman’s Medusa Deluxe (U.K., 2023) is a bold, vibrant whodunit concerning a murder at a competitive hairdressing competition. There’s no shortage of professional jealousy, relationship drama, and other bad blood between the participants — as well as the participants and the organizers — so there is plenty of intrigue to be had as the story unfolds. The film is presented as a single-take affair, which both enthralls and distracts, as viewers can easily start looking for edits or cuts that give away whether indeed it was shot in a single take, even as they marvel at the execution. This can also lead to drawing attention away from the plot and creating a distance between viewers and the proceedings. There’s no doubting the rich visuals and the verve in the pacing as the story weaves between its large cast of characters, but the plot felt a bit lackluster to this reviewer, with the big reveal feeling somewhat contrived. Still, if you’re in it for the flair and the camp, Medusa Deluxe has much on display that is a feast for the eyes, not the least of which is — no surprise here — the mind-jarring hairstyles.
The Bigfoot Trap and Medusa Deluxe screen as part of Panic Fest 2023, which takes place in person from April 13–19, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri, and which offers a virtual fest from April 14–23.
