Review of Willow Creek

WILLOW CREEK (2013) *** Comedian-turned-filmmaker Bobcat Goldthwait's first foray into horror is his self-professed "BLAIRSQUATCH PROJECT", found-footage account of a young intrepid couple (likable-to-a-fault Bryce Johnson and Alexie Gilmore) who go deep into the Northern California woods in search of the elusive mythic Bigfoot, and get more than they bargained for. With its sense of fun (some wry ad-libbing) and adventure (Johnson's blind- desire to get immersed in the rustic iconography) the tension gradually builds to its inevitable climax but Goldthwait (whose taut film is at 67 cuts only!) shrewdly gives us characters to develop (and care for) when harm's way is a pot boiling evening in the dark.