While David Zellner’s latest seems to be nothing but toilet humor on the surface, Sasquatch Sunset has bits of naturalistic intelligence that are purposefully peppered throughout its brisk, 89 minute runtime. You come to watch Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, Christophe Zajac-Denek, and co-director Nathan Zellner fight, fuck, piss, shit, sniff, grunt, and tromp their way through the Northern Californian forest but you stay for what these creatures have to say about our own connection with the environment.
Nothing about watching Sasquatch Sunset is easy. Your humor will determine how far you make into the film, as I’m sure extended shitting sequences and watching Christophe Zajac-Denek pleasuring himself and then sniffing his fingers will be off-putting to some. The film is the latest in a series of absurdist comedies(recall, if you will, the reaction to the Daniels Swiss Army Man), full of heart and genuinely interesting viewpoints on modern Western Culture. Sasquatch Sunset seems to be this trend peaking, as the absurdism will test the limits of anyone unable to vibe with it. The film is, quite frankly, ridiculous in every way. So are out daily lives, we just pretend they aren’t because we aren’t literally flinging our own shit at birds.
Shot on-location in Northern California, every inch of Zellner’s production is lovely to look at (yes, even the shit). Towering redwood trees dwarf our small, nomadic family. They tromp through the forest, eating what they can scavenge, and they build shelters to sleep in to stay as out of the elements as possible. Each night, before they wind down, they ritualistically thwack fallen branches against the trees in sync. Their disappointment with a lack of response (there’s no dialogue in the film so we have to interpret facial expressions, pregnant pauses, and a whole lot of grunting) indicates that they have not found others like them in some time. It’s a lonely day-to-day existence, forever trapped with the same people and no new experiences. One can almost hear Jane Goodall narrating this as a documentary.
The female (Riley Keough) has grown bored being the object of sexual release for what seems to be the alpha male (Nathan Zellner) and rejects his advances. He does what any logical male would do at that point; masturbates, takes mushrooms, and is killed trying to have sex with a mountain lion while tripping balls in the forest. This leaves an interesting dynamic for the remainder of the film, with the female seemingly taking charge as the child (Christophe Zajac-Denek) is nowhere near able to fend for himself and the young male (Jessie Eisenberg) seemingly lacks the maturity to truly take over.
Eisenberg is interesting, working the makeup to really try to create a character. It’s the same as most of his onscreen characters, am unsure and nervy creature with a hint of sweetness, but it serves as one of the strongest performances in the film. Keough, however, adds so much humanity to the female sasquatch. The only female in the tribe, she manages to take something so animalistic and manage to add sexual agency, maternity, and a tired maturity. Keough works so much to add grief and joy to her role and every bit of it is onscreen. She reminds me a lot of Kim Hunter in 1968’s Planet of the Apes as Zira. Hunter really worked that makeup and dominated the performances in that first film and Keough has similarly found a way to make a character out of this hairy ape suit.
Not to say that this is as dignified as Planet of the Apes. Zira and Cornelius weren’t flinging shit, freshly plucked from their butts, at Dr. Zaius when he threatened their professional lives. Every scene of these creatures eating is disgusting (with the exception of the wild husk tomatoes). They gleefully pour fish guts into their mouths, suckle on the female’s teat, and shove cheese puffs stolen from a campsite away with abandon. The extended sequences of gross day to day life make some lovelier moments stand out. Trashing a campsite and eating the campers’ food is funny, but when the female accidentally turns on a boombox to hear Erasure’s “Love to Hate You” and is moved emotionally it really packs a punch. These light spots, sparks of actual intelligence and humor and rage in these creatures, make for staccato notes that really stand out against the grain.
The whole affair is scored wonderfully by Austin experimental band The Octopus Project. Folksy, backwoods, and fully of everything from flight to freakout, the score is wonderful and manages to add an element of realism that doesn’t exist anywhere but the movies. One part Partridge Family, one part eerie horror movie by way of Johnny Greenwood, and one part Joe Hisaishi piano, it all comes together to form a magnificent album that sticks with you long after the credits roll.
I deeply enjoyed Sasquatch Sunset. It’s still in my mind long after the movie ended. It’s a hard watch at points but so much of that comes from the humanity each performer is imbuing in their hairy characters. Was I looking for the humanity in these creatures or was I looking for the creature in me? Hard to tell by the end of it, as the Zellners never let you forget how gross the natural world can be, but there’s a beauty in the simplicity and connection to the forest this tribe has. Hilarious, absurd, and heartwarming, Sasquatch Sunset has wound up being quite the little surprise.
Sasquatch Sunset is available to rent/buy digitally from all the usual merchants.
WRITE DRUNK; EDIT DRUNK 