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I Know What I Saw! 5 Cryptid Films To Sink Your Teeth Into

Bigfoot has a monopoly on the cryptid subgenre. Something about the hairy creature tickles the fancy of filmmakers over other fascinating cryptids. When putting this list of cryptid films together I knew I had to talk about at least one Bigfoot film—but my goal is to shine a light on some underseen cryptid films that scratch that High Strangeness itch. Let’s grab our video cameras, head deep into the woods, and get to the bottom of what lurks in the shadows. 

Bigfoot (2012) Written by Micho Rutare and Brian Brinkman // Directed by Bruce Davinson

Bigfoot howls with its arms stretched out.

Event organizer and embodiment of all things evil/capitalism Harley Henderson (Danny Bonaduce) starts to bulldoze acres of forest for an 80s-themed concert. Unfortunately for the townsfolk of Deadwood, South Dakota, Henderson disturbed a creature that was deep in slumber. Henderson realizes the only way to fix this Bigfoot problem is to kill it. Simon Quinn (Barry Williams), environmentalist and Henderson’s former friend/bandmate, thinks Henderson is committing a grave mistake and will do anything in his power to save this sasquatch.

The first film to capitalize on the fame of the Paterson-Gimlin Tape was the 1970 low-budget John Carradine vehicle Bigfoot. While tame in most aspects, Bigfoot set the course for what the Bigfoot and cryptid subgenre would become. Forty years and hundreds of Bigfoot films later, the SyFy Channel and Asylum Films came together to remake the film that started it all. With one of the strangest casts of a SyFy Original, Bigfoot (2012) is truly a wild sight to behold. 

Bigfoot is a SyFy Original through and through. From its lazily written script, cheap digital effects, and laugh out loud moments, Bigfoot is the epitome of so bad it’s good. It’s nearly impossible not to have fun with this movie. Take a look at this cast: Danny Bonaduce, Barry Williams, Sherilyn Fenn (yeah, from Twin Peaks), Howard Hesseman, Bruce Davison, Andre Royo, Cynthia Geary, and Alice freaking Cooper! That’s a cast you can’t shake a stick at. 

This film looks and feels like a weekend production. But it has the heart and soul of a mid-aughts SciFi Original. As someone who grew up watching those films, the films that started me on my horror journey, I felt a tinge of nostalgia with Bigfoot. By the time there was an all-out brawl on Mount Rushmore, I was already sold. Bigfoot (2012) will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you vibe with the SciFi Originals of the aughts then this film will hit all the right marks for you. 

Frogman (2023) Written by Anthony Cousins and John Karsko // Directed by Anthony Cousins

A man turns into a frog creature.

As a child, Dallas (Liam Hage) captures a video of the Loveland Frogman (Ali Daniels) while on a trip with his family. Years later Dallas’s (Nathan Tymoshuk) life is in limbo; no job prospects, no love life, under the gun to find a new living arrangement. Dallas decides to take his friends Scotty (Benny Barrett) and Amy (Chelsey Grant) back to Loveland, Ohio, in the hopes of finally getting irrefutable proof of the slimy creature. 

I first had the opportunity to see Frogman at Popcorn Frights 2023. It was the one film I couldn’t end the festival without seeing. Since then, Frogman made my top of 2023 list AND I dropped 75 bucks on the Terror Vision deluxe edition (I’m writing this while wearing my MILF: Man I Love Frogman shirt). 

Frogman isn’t just a well-done, highly entertaining, found footage film. Cousins comes out of the gates swinging after his two segments in the two Scare Package films with a gross and gooey look into an underappreciated cryptid. What is it about Frogman that has kept it away from horror for so long? A giant frog with mystical powers is the perfect setup for a horror film. Thankfully Cousins got to the bat before the awful adaptation of Frogman soured the screens in its Cryptids segment. 

This isn’t the only found footage film on this list, but it’s the best. Cousins knows how craft found footage in a way that feels natural. You get a good mix of frantic camera movements and myriad camera glitches, while still getting wonderful acting, a story that feels thoroughly thought out, and a fair amount of Frogman screen time. If you haven’t seen Frogman, what are you doing?!

The Last Broadcast (1998) Written and Directed by Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler

A man sits in front of a camera, looking into it.

David Leigh (David Beard) is a documentary filmmaker who is investigating the murders of the Fact or Fiction hosts Steven “Johnny” Avkas (Stefan Avalos) and Locus Wheeler (Lance Weiler). The hosts of this public access show ventured into the Pine Barrens with psychic James Suerd (James Seward) after a viewer suggested they hunt for the Jersey Devil. A series of unfortunate events leave Steven and Locus dead, and James is charged with their murders. But was it really James who did the dirty deed? Or is he just another victim of the Jersey Devil?

The Last Broadcast is told in mockumentary style through the lens of David. David attempts to get to the bottom of whether or not James killed the television hots, and what he finds continually drags him deeper into despair. One year before The Blair Witch Project, The Last Broadcast broke a seal within the horror genre. It tells its story in a way that had previously been seen over a decade before it with the McPherson Tapes. To the dismay of Avalos and Weiler, the creators of The Blair Witch Project would be the victors in the annals of horror history. 

This film has its ups and downs. Whereas Blair Witch feels like it passes the test of time, Broadcast feels significantly more dated. Avalos and Weiler’s acting feels amateurish in a way that feels too much at points, but their undeniable charm and boyish awkwardness shine through. Like Frogman, this film tackles a cryptid that also hasn’t gotten its due. If you’re looking for a Jersey Devil-forward film, this might not be the one for you. But if you’re in the mood for a more research/analytically charged exploration of the idea of the Jersey Devil then you’ll get a lot out of The Last Broadcast

Incident at Loch Ness (2004) Written and Directed by Zak Penn

A woman swims for her life as the Loch Ness Monster chases her.

Have you ever wanted to see a mockumentary with Werner Herzog as the lead? Now’s your chance. 

Cinematographer John Bailey is filming Werner Herzog for a documentary called Herzog in Wonderland. During Bailey’s documentary, Herzog starts another project with Zak Penn called Enigma of Loch Ness. The crew heads to Scotland to try and dispel the myth of the Loch Ness Monster, but when Penn begins to interfere as a producer, things get questionable. How many people will die at the hands of a trifling producer? And how many… will die at the hands of Nessie?

Incident at Loch Ness is kind of a brain melter; it’s the Symbiopsychotaxiplasm of horror mockumentaries. This film within a film within a film (with maybe one more degree?) leaves the viewer questioning what’s real, what’s not, and what’s forced reality. I really don’t want to say much about this one except if you haven’t seen it and love mockumentaries, then you MUST watch the comedy/horror mockumentary starring Werner Herzog! 

P.S. It also stars Jeff Goldblum, Crispin Glover, Ricky Jay, and many more cameos from cinema legends. 

Night of the Demon (1980) Written by Mike Williams // Directed by James C. Wasson

A woman sits and stares as Bigfoot breaks down her door.

Anthropology professor Bill Nugent (Michael Cutt) takes his class into the Northern California woods after Carla Thomas (Shannon Cooper) comes to him with the story of her father’s mysterious death. They soon run into Wanda McGinty (Melanie Graham) who had an… up close and personal encounter with Bigfoot. Things go south fast when the students find themselves stuck between a near-catatonic Bigfoot sexual assault victim, a woodland sex cult, and the big hairy man himself. 

This video nasty broke all the rules of Bigfoot films. James C. Wasson’s original film had very little blood and was tame by most accounts. At the time of this film’s production, money for Bigfoot films was drying up. Most of these films were in the vein of Bigfoot (1970) where you’d see Bigfoot here and there while the majority of Wilhelm scream-accompanied kills were done off-camera. After a screening at the Lost Angeles film festival, Wasson was left saddened at the raucous laughter that accompanied the screening.

Night of the Demon is one of the few times that producer interference saved a film. Producer Jim L. Ball decided to go back to the drawing board and make this film unlike the plethora of Bigfoot films of the 70s. Ball added copious amounts of gore and viscera; cementing Night of the Demon as a literal slasher film… with Bigfoot being the slasher. After Ball saved the film, Night of the Demon was quickly labeled a video nasty by the BBFC.

Have you ever wanted to see a truly unhinged 80s film where Bigfoot goes buck wild and eviscerates hikers through terrifying means? What it would look like if Bigfoot ripped the penis off of a biker? What an aborted Bigfoot/human hybrid fetus would look like? If you answered yes to any or all of those questions then Night of the Demon is the film for you! There is a gorgeous Severin Film release of this film that is chock full of insanely in-depth special features that will delight horror aficionados. 

Written by Brendan Jesus

Brendan is an award-winning author and screenwriter. His hobbies include magnets, ghouls, and finding slugs after a fresh rain.

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