Willow Creek is a 2013 independent found footage horror film written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. It stars Alexie Gilmore and Bryce Johnson as a couple who go into the woods of Willow Creek, California looking for material for their documentary on Bigfoot lore.

This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. It should be expanded to provide more balanced coverage that includes real-world context. (October 2019)

Willow Creek
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bobcat Goldthwait
Written by	Bobcat Goldthwait
Produced by	Sarah de Sa Rego Aimee Pierson
Starring	Alexie Gilmore Bryce Johnson
Cinematography	Evan Phelan
Edited by	Stephen Thurston Jason Stewart
Production company	Jerkschool Productions
Distributed by	Dark Sky Films
Release dates	April 29, 2013 (2013-04-29) (BIFF) June 6, 2014 (2014-06-06) (United States)
Running time	79 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

Set in Humboldt County, California, Jim (Bryce Johnson), a stout believer in Bigfoot, and his girlfriend Kelly (Alexie Gilmore), who is not sure if Bigfoot really exists at all, are traveling to Six Rivers National Forest in Northern California, where Jim plans to shoot his own Bigfoot footage at the site of the Patterson–Gimlin film.

The two stop off first in Willow Creek, the Bigfoot capital of the world, where Jim interviews various locals about Bigfoot. At a restaurant, they notice a missing woman on a poster on the wall. While heading into the forest in search of the Patterson–Gimlin filming location, they encounter a man who angrily tells them to leave, but Jim and Kelly ignore him. They set a camp in the middle of the woods, but after return to it from a swim, they find it trashed. That evening, Jim proposes to Kelly, but feeling that it is too soon, decides they should move in together instead and they go to sleep.

That night they are awakened by mysterious sounds echoing through the woods, and whooping vocalizations. Cowering inside their tent, they can hear large creatures moving about outside, pushing into and investigating the tent; and the distant sound of a woman crying. The noises grow closer and something hits their tent. Scared, the couple decides to leave at dawn. In the morning, Jim discovers a clump gray fur. They wander in circles through the thick woods while hearing the same noises they heard the night before. During the night, Jim and Kelly encounter a naked woman who was on the missing person poster from Willow Creek. An unseen creature attacks them, killing Jim and moving on to Kelly whose cries for help are heard in the distance. The movie ends with three whooping vocalizations also heard in the distance.

Cast

• Alexie Gilmore as Kelly
• Bryce Johnson as Jim
• Peter Jason as an ex-Forest Ranger (credited as Ranger Troy Andrews)
• Laura Montagna as Missing Woman
• Bucky Sinister as Angry Man at Road
• Timmy Red as Ukulele Singer
• Steven Streufert as Himself
• Shaun L. White Guy Sr. as Herself
• Nita Rowley as Herself
• Tom Yamarone as Himself

Release and reception

The film was premiered at the 2013 Independent Film Festival of Boston, and subsequently screened within such festivals as Maryland Film Festival.[1]

Willow Creek has received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 86% (based on 51 reviews). The website's consensus states: "Writer-director Bobcat Goldthwait's first foray into horror doesn't break any new ground, but it does wring fresh terror from a well-worn genre formula—and offers a few nasty laughs in the bargain."[2]

References

External links

• Willow Creek at IMDb
• Willow Creek at Rotten Tomatoes