Film Review: Sasquatch Sunset
by Rose Finlay

David Zellner and Nathan Zellner | USA | 2024

Sometimes a film comes along that is just so unapologetically bizarre, that it is difficult not to respect the boldness of such a creative choice. SASQUATCH SUNSET is one of those films. It follows a family of four sasquatches as they live their lives in the American wilderness. There is the alpha male (played by one of the co-directors Nathan Zellner), the female (Riley Keough), the male (Jesse Eisenberg), and the child (Christophe Zajak-Denek). They speak only in non-verbal grunts and so the audience must infer what their conversations are about through their movement choices and pitch changes.

As the year progresses, the family confronts some of the many realities of nature: poison, predators, companionship, and death, creating a thought-provoking examination of nature, humanity, and life in general. Well, sometimes. In between the sex and the poop. Tonally, SASQUATCH SUNSET is all over the place, ranging from juvenile gross-out humor to a touching and melancholic examination of loneliness, and yet, somehow it works. There is something to respect about the creative vision and daring that the Zellners demonstrated throughout the film, somehow merging the genres of comedy, nature documentary, and drama together into a poignant and funny work. While it is certainly not going to be for everyone, you have to give SASQUATCH SUNSET credit for taking big risks and (mostly) managing to pull it off with the help of invested actors, beautiful settings, and superb makeup.