A former cop’s attempt to find his missing brother leads to a showdown of the titular creatures.

Jack Rollins is a former police officer heavily suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after a routine traffic stop leads to a near fatal shooting by the perpetrator. He decides to join a church group of veterans and others who have suffered PTSD as well. However, Jack’s world is about to be turned upside down. When his brother Aaron goes to a cabin in the woods to document a possible legend, he is discovered missing for two days. Jack becomes aware of the situation and he decides to get a search party going.

The search party leads to the finding of some of Aaron’s things, including a phone that includes a video of Aaron shooting his gun at something. Convinced he is gone, Aaron’s wife grieves heavily. As Jack collects his brother’s things, he is motivated to find his brother. Coming across a Native American, Don Bighorse, he warns Jack that the protector of the woods is angry. As Jack continues the search, he soon finds himself against a threat he never imagined, and the question isn’t “will he find his brother”, but rather, “will he survive himself”.

From the title alone, one would expect a very bad and cheesy film pitting a human against a sasquatch in the mountains with very hokey CGI effects in the vein of The Asylum’s mockbusters. That’s not what we get here. Instead, we have a very emotional and dramatic film about man vs. nature with the trigger being that our lead is a flawed man who must endure the rigors of nature and his own demons to solve the case of his missing brother.

Writer-director David Ford also takes on the central role of Jack Rollins, a PTSD-stricken police officer whose attempt to overcome his issues are put on hold when his brother goes missing. The search party scene brings in an emotionally performance from Theresa Mills as Jack’s sister-in-law Christine. This becomes the trigger for Jack to search for his brother himself and this is where things get very interesting.

The pivotal point of the film is Jack’s encounter with Don Bighorse, played by Antonio Tec. Don explains to Jack about the Bigfoot, who serves as a protector of the forest. A flashback shows Don’s possible encounter, which is what happens when man messes with nature. From there, we see Jack in constant danger not just against the Bigfoot but the rigors of nature. This is important because we see how Jack may be able to stop the Bigfoot and possibly find his brother but come face to face with his own demons to fight nature.

Man vs. Bigfoot is actually better than the title indicates. It’s a film about man vs. nature and how man must overcome their own demons to overcome the rigors of nature.

WFG RATING: B

Random Media presents a Saving Oscar Productions film in association with Godzone Ministry. Director: David Ford. Producer: Stuart Miller. Writer: David Ford. Cinematography: Payton Pierce. Editing: Payton Pierce.

Cast: David Ford, Stuart Miller, Tracy Ray, Theresa Mills, Antonio Tec, Lee Kelley, Vicky Jones-Stanfield.