You’ve probably heard that it stars Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough, but you wouldn’t know it because they’re covered in hairy prosthetics the entire time. Or it could be that the film, which opens Friday, contains no human language, only groans and screams. Or that it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, featuring such gory bodily functions that some in the audience scrambled for the door.
But what you may not have heard is that this is a highly entertaining and surprisingly moving look at endangered species from their perspective as humans invade. When I saw this at Sundance, people in the audience fell out of their seats laughing and ran out of the theater screaming like Sasquatch. This is a movie you should definitely watch, at least to find out where you stand on the love/hate divide. We spoke to the Zellner brothers and Eisenberg to answer all your burning questions. Sasquatch, move on!
Yes, for “sexual content, full nudity, and bloody images.” We see masturbation, lots of sex, and even death and mutilation. David laughs just thinking that he thought the MPAA came up with that rating. But I love the R-rated description because it’s like full nudity instead of partial nudity, and all of the mythical creatures are nude. ”
Eisenberg, on the other hand, said he was “pissed off” because he had appeared in a number of violent films that probably deserved an R rating, but ended up without an R rating. “It’s just frustrating because it limits your audience,” he says. “I really think 13-year-old Jesse would have flipped out to see a movie like this. Young teenagers are more open, in my opinion.”
The Zellners have been obsessed with the Sasquatch legend since they were children, and in 2011 they produced Sasquatch Birth Diary 2, a wordless Sundance short in which Nathan stars as a mom who gives birth while crouching in a tree. I’ve done it before. (He plays the alpha male Sasquatch in this film.) Most Bigfoot movies are family films or horror films from a human perspective, with Bigfoot/Sasquatch relegated to the background as a kind of boogeyman. ” says David. Instead, they wanted to make a heartfelt, 89-minute film about him that was thoroughly immersed in the world of Sasquatch, with both drama and slapstick comedy. “There’s so much going on in this movie that if you see the behavior of your dog or cat, it becomes completely normalized,” David says. “But when you see these creatures with human-like properties, it suddenly becomes much more unpleasant and hilarious at the same time.”
The actors spent 25 days in the same Northern California woods where the famous 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film was shot, creating the image of Bigfoot as we know it and generations of conspiracy theorists. . Coincidentally, the area is also the epicenter of Bigfoot sightings in the United States.
Why cast an actor instead of a stuntman?
Eisenberg had the same doubts, and was confused when he was given the script by the Zellners, who were longtime acquaintances. He thought they would go with a professional who had good physicality. But in less than five pages, you realize just how emotional this movie is, and how it needs an actor with good comic timing and body language, and it has to be funny and clear. He says he noticed that.
Also, let’s be honest, it’s a bit of a stunt to cast Keough and Eisenberg and cover them in prosthetics and fur. “There’s also an absurdity in casting these names and then not seeing them,” says David.
Why is Jesse Eisenberg in this?
He is not only a participant, but also a producer. As a millennial living in New York and the son of an animal rights activist, he says he relished the opportunity to reconnect with nature.
Additionally, he quickly connected with the (unnamed) Beta male character he would eventually play. “If I were Sasquatch, this would be me,” he says. “I’m not one to actively look for my next meal, I’m the one who looks at the trees as I walk. In contrast to the alpha who suddenly dives in when asking a female to mate, I timidly carry a bouquet of ferns. He was also impressed by his character’s efforts to personally count in his spare time. He tries to get to five, but he can only get to four.
What about Riley Keough?
In short, it seems that Eisenberg persuaded her to do so. They collaborated when she produced Manodrome, a 2023 film about a bodybuilder who goes on a mass shooting spree. Eisenberg knew she loved weird projects and had an opening in her schedule. “Riley is one of those rare actresses who feels more comfortable with extremes. Is that the right word?” Eisenberg says. “She’s a wonderful, natural actor, but she feels more comfortable in her roles that require some kind of extreme action.”
Her only request to the Zellners was for them to be “the wildest,” she told Collider.
How did they understand Sasquatch’s movements and speech?
The actors hired Lorin Eric Salm, an impersonation coach who studied with Marcel Marceau, and went through what Eisenberg called a “Sasquatch boot camp.” First, we practiced movements such as grabbing food with our hands instead of our fingers over Zoom. Then they spent months roaming around their house. When we first got together, “we were rolling around on the floor of our office in Northern California, feeding each other ferns and throwing sticks at each other,” Nathan says. The goal was to make the species feel consistent, as if Sasquatch were interpreted by four different people.
The language was simple. They just decided on the screams and groans associated with certain actions and instructions. “What they’re doing is very repetitive,” Eisenberg said. “While their lives are harrowing survival stories, the activities they engage in on a daily basis are much the same. Essentially, someone finds some delicious berries and tells everyone else to come.”
What was it like filming in the woods for 12 hours a day wearing that costume?
Physically, Eisenberg says, the experience was “excruciating.” They spent two hours applying adhesives, prosthetics and yak hair to their faces, then changing into tight, heavy suits. Eating lunch was very difficult and required specially equipped bottles. To drink water.
On the back, Eisenberg says, “I was wearing this gorgeous art project.” “You’ll get really exhausted and claustrophobic to the point where you think you’re going to go crazy, and then you’ll look in the mirror and think, “I’m going to go crazy. I’m very lucky.”
Was Nathan Zellner directing the role of Sasquatch?
absolutely! Most of the time, he said, it makes sense for him to get into costume in the morning, even if he doesn’t have a scene scheduled until the end of the day, and “you get some really interesting behind-the-scenes photos.” Say.
They shot in deep, deep woods and used portable toilets. “We couldn’t go to the bathroom wearing our fine Sasquatch feet,” Eisenberg says, adding that bathroom breaks require intricate costume tweaks, such as taking off the feet and head. He pointed out that it was.
Luckily, he says, they didn’t have to go often because they were sweating so much. “Any kind of liquid we drink immediately goes into our bodies and hits the industrial-sized baby powder that’s poured into our pants every morning to absorb sweat.”
What happened when a civilian stumbled onto the set?
Most of the people driving past were loggers. “Whenever we met someone, they were very grumpy,” David says. “I was like, ‘Oh, it’s Bigfoot again.'”
Eisenberg had the idea that the actors should wear orange vests as they walked from their trailers to the set. “If anyone’s going to get shot, it’s going to be four people who look like Sasquatch.”
Do you need to be stoned to enjoy it?
Eisenberg says no! “‘Sasquatch Sunset’ is actually the most interesting thing in life. So you can save your money and just go for it sober.”
