Legend of the Sandsquatch (2007)

Legend of the Sandsquatch
Written by Lola Wallace and Tom Devlin
Directed by Lola Wallace
Featuring: Hilary Schwartz, Josh Cornell, Trent Haaga
2007
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So what IS a Sandsquatch? It's sort of a cross between a Sas-quatch and Sand. I think. Though it looks more like the scariest low budget monster you've ever seen in your life. Lola Wallace pulls off a surprisingly frightening movie with her Sandsquatch at the center of the terror. It helps also that her supporting cast (including highly underrated actor Trent Haaga and relative newcomer Hilary Schwartz) is pretty awesome...

Hilary Schwartz is Sue, a smart young girl with a boyfriend who just treats her like crap. He's a young, punk-rock-ish boy with a Mohawk and a bad attitude (sort of like my boyfriend when I was sixteen). Despite his shortcomings, it isn't until Sue really needs him that she sees he's a worthless pile of boy-crap. Sue's Grandfather doesn't come home from an annual hunting trip, prompting her to go look for him. When her boyfriend refuses to join her in her search for him at his old hunting cabin, she goes without him, and her feelings for him take a serious turn for the "dumping him". Sue's friend Garrett, a nice young man with manners who obviously likes Sue, decides to help her find her Grandfather. Together they find several strange clues as to what might have happened to him, including the cliché horror movie standards of a journal documenting his search for, and memories of, a strange creature he calls "The Sandsquatch". Warned by the local gas pump jockey (a very funny and dedicated Trent Haaga) to stay away from these there parts, Sue and Garrett ignore his warnings and delve further into the mystery. Of course, at some point, the boyfriend and his awful loser punk rock friends head up for the cabin as well, and Sue's girlfriends are there, too. To add a bit of character spice to the whole plot. And then, of course, we meet Mr. Sandsquatch himself and are pleasantly surprised by how freaky he actually is.

Tom Devlin, producer and co-writer, created the special effects with surpassing grace and talent. The Sandsquatch himself is a grotesque and disturbing character that is most reminiscent of the creatures in Neil Marshall's The Descent. Long, lanky, unreal, and unearthly, the Sandsquatch is a menacing example of what good makeup and good camerawork can do for a film with a small budget that doesn't want to compromise the look of their creature effects. While Sue and Garrett share some interesting and meaningful dialogue, most of the other characters in the film are formulaic and uninspired. Even Trent Haaga's local-redneck-who-knows-what-he's-talking-about is a tried and true, and unoriginal, creation.

Though the Sandsquatch appears in the title of the film, it doesn't actually make an appearance until the end of the movie. This is okay, because when we actually do see it, the buildup and the monster itself work really well. Instead, the main thrust of the film is Sue, and her emotional journey from a girl stuck in a bad relationship to woman who wants to be treated with respect. Her search for her Grandfather becomes an allegorical quest for adulthood and inner peace in romantic relationships. For this reason Legend of the Sandsquatch becomes more than just a monster movie. Despite the vapid superfluous characters, Sue and Garrett develop into strong personalities worth caring about, and hence, the film takes on a growing strength that stems from the relationship between the direction, the dialogue, and Hilary Schwartz and Josh Cornell's acting.

There's a strong desire on the part of the writing to have a "Troma" element involved somehow. The punk-rock characters, the appearance of Trent Haaga... these things point to a love of Troma and low budget horror shlock comedies. However, in spite of what Wallace may enjoy or have thought about emulating, her film is completely different, and more mature, than an old-fashioned Troma movie. It has its fair share of gross-out gore and fun, but the main essence of the film just feels different than low budget camp.

Legend of the Sandsquatch stands out for having one of the best and most frightening monsters put to low budget film in a long time.