Sasquatch Sunset is the kind of movie that has to be seen to be believed.
Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough star in the absurd comedy, which premiered Friday at the Sundance Film Festival. The film follows a family of yetis over a year. The film, which contains no dialogue or narration but plenty of grunts, captures a haunting, “true” depiction of the Sasquatch's daily life. This apparently includes sex, masturbation, vomiting, flatulence and many other gory acts that are not suitable for printing.
A few audience members seemed too squeamish about these everyday experiences, shielding their eyes during bloody moments and stomping toward the Eccles Theater exit long before the credits rolled. Others enjoyed the gastrointestinal graphic sequences. A scene in which bodily fluids gush from every – and we mean every – orifice of the female Bigfoot played to thunderous applause in the room. Less than 15 minutes into the film, a moviegoer announced, without anyone in particular saying, “This is the weirdest movie ever.”
Directors David Zellner and Nathan Zellner probably wouldn't disagree with that assessment. Earlier in the day, the filmmakers told Variety that “Sasquatch Sunset” is “one of the craziest things we've ever done.”
The brothers, returning to the festival with their fifth feature film, confessed to the audience that they had a lifelong fascination with Bigfoot. In fact, Sasquatch Sunset is the second Yeti film the Zellners have brought to Sundance. The couple came to Park City in 2011 with the surrealist short film “Sasquatch Birth Journal 2,” which chronicles the furry creature’s birth. They spoke to pros to get all the furry details right.
“We worked with primatologists and anthropologists,” said David Zellner at the film’s launch. “Everything in this film is 100% authentic and reflects the real life of the Sasquatches – even the strange things. Just trust us.”
Eisenberg, Keough and the rest of the cast spent several hours in the makeup chair transforming themselves into Bigfoot. “It was really hard to put the costumes on,” complained Keough. “Jesse and I complained the whole time.”
In a question-and-answer session following the screening, an audience member asked about preparing for erotic sequences. “I’m so excited to hear this question,” Keough said before the man had even finished his question.
“We rehearsed our sex scenes and they have them on video,” she revealed.
David Zellner added: “We used a trash can as a replacement.”