NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET WITH SASQUATCH

If you were in awe as a child with monsters and aliens, you may have come across the legacy of the Sasquatch otherwise known as Bigfoot. It’s been a while since we have last heard about this mythical monster in a media world full of vampires, werewolves and aliens. It’s a child-like world that we live in with these monsters that make it less scary than they appear. Hulu’s new three-part docu-series Sasquatch will bring out the kid in you but in an adult-like form. Our obsession with the hairy ape-like beast that lurks in the woods will once again resurface.

Director Joshua Rofé along with the Emmy Award-winning producers Mark and Jay Duplass combine their efforts to bring you a murder mystery that remains unsolvable. A true-crime docuseries from Hulu, Sasquatch is a murder mystery that has many layers that need peeling. This goes for Investigative Reporter David Holthouse who heard about a story that made him obsessed with this case. He heard about it while visiting a pot farm in Northern California in 1993. He learned about a triple murder of three men who work on a pot farm by a Bigfoot. The monster tore the men’s limb for limb and the case remains unsolved. Decades later, David Holthouse becomes curious about this incident that was haunting his mind since then.

David Holthouse has been through it all when it comes to uncovering the truth. He went after the man who raped him when he was child 25 years later in his play Stalking the Bogeyman. He has gone undercover with crystal methheads, gone to Neo-Nazi parties, Burning Man, Winter Music Conference during the Iraqi war to name a few. The Bigfoot case should be his biggest test to date. All those past experiences should prep him for it but will he be able to uncover the truth?

Just like any investigative journalist David Holthouse goes back to the place where the sources of this story come from. He had to dig for these interviews where they would give him clues or information to this story. Sometimes these subjects would allow for full exposure but some of them not so much. A lot of these subjects had many ties to the underground illegal pot farms in the Humbolt County of Northern California. So providing info while revealing your face and voice was out of the question.

But to get to one point from another for David Holthouse takes a lot of strength, courage and patience. A lot of his questionable subjects were able to meet him at a local bar where they would move the conversation to his truck. Many miles driven, phone calls made, and time spent on Google would lead David to forbidden places. It’s exciting and scary for David as he cuts to the chase. The deeper he gets into the investigation the more dangerous it becomes for everyone involved.

A lot of it has to do with the illegal pot farms in Northern California. They were built with sophistication to be profitable and undetected by the DEA. But they were heavily guarded against those who wanted a piece of the pie. This meant that arms and weapons were in usage to fight them off. Sometimes they even worked on the site. Many illegal immigrants were on site because it was their only way to make a living. But these pot farms were top-secret operations and nobody would dare to snitch on anyone. This made David’s investigation more difficult than he thought it would be at the beginning.

Even though David went into the woods and spoke to people who believe in the legend of Bigfoot, this monster was not his cause of concern. The people he gets sent to throughout the duration of the series become more frightening and the build-up to their meeting points is just intense. As David peels more layers to this investigation, there are more people that can kill him in an instant. Even before seeing that there is a Bigfoot at the end of the tunnel, he’s exploring the dangerous criminals involved in illegal pot farming. These people settle themselves in the woods which makes them a lot more deviant than the common person.

The approach of Director Joshua Rofé to this series is engaging and will slot itself in the upper echelons of Hulu’s list. Despite the difficulty that David has when going through this investigation, Rofé keeps the series going with slow-burning intensity. You reminisce of Steven Soderbergh’s early works like Traffic and Erin Brokovich when watching Sasquatch. It is similar because of the documentary-like style that’s full of emotion.

What we like about Hulu’s Sasquatch is that there is so much to think about. Especially when it comes to David Holthouse as you become more engaged to himself rather than the investigation. Once you get inside his head, you start thinking if he is a monster himself who is chasing a monster. You see him break down barriers, remain alive in dangerous places and chase people for answers with ease. He did go after his abuser which was the biggest monster in his life. So why would going after Bigfoot and all its moving parts be a big deal. He may not be Bigfoot, but he is a monster at what he does. It takes one to know one.

Watch Sasquatch on Hulu premiering on April 20th