This film opens with vast mountain scenery that represents a form of surreal solitude—the presentation looks and feels peaceful and rejuvenating. Then the film jumps to a family that is obscure—a family of sasquatch creatures. The creativity of Sasquatch Sunset is unique and fearless—the film itself feels like uncharted territory. However, I felt sold on it for the first thirty minutes, and then later I felt there were multiple blurred lines in the continuation of the film itself. Directed by David and Nathan Zellner, their attempt to create a strong form of portraying a unique environment is almost accomplished, but the line of continuity just continues to be halting.

The film is about a family of sasquatches, and they have no names. The celebrities as the sasquatches are Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, Chrisotpher Zajac-Denek, and Nathan Zellner. The focus is on the life of this sasquatch family in the forest over the many different seasons. Nature takes its course to a heavy extent. There is no dialogue though, only repeated grunts, gibbers, and all kinds of animal sound effects. All of which give a pretty clear understanding though, as one of the beginning moments is where two of the sasquatch creatures engage in having a sensual moment. That scene gives off the feeling that Sasquatch Sunset could be decent, neutral, or mediocre.

With all the nature vibing, the life of the sasquatch family in Sasquatch Sunset has no clear point to give the film continuity. I felt that it was like a lighthearted version of a Planet of the Apesflick…there are just no humans or spoken language whatsoever. Its scoring and use of music is what creates the euphoric and somewhat inspiring atmosphere. The sasquatch family gets hyperactive and enthusiastic with the resources of their forest—turtles, plants, and drenches are where their positivity thrives. They may not be able to speak, but their facial expressions are their key to understanding their forms of communication for the film’s audience. How does this bizarre family of creatures find their connection? What are its writers trying to accomplish? Is their home in the forest their center of massive conflict?

My mind kept swerving back and forth with Sasquatch Sunsetcreating a blur. I thought to myself that the territory is clearly one that is taken and making the sasquatch family feel violated. If that was the case, why does the film resort to so much grunting and crazy buffoonery. “Buffoonery” in terms of how they act when they are not pleased. A lot of which I do not intend to describe, as it is on the side of grotesque. However, if the audience likes what is twisted, then they will get their money’s worth of “gross” in Sasquatch Sunset. I will say that the many behaviors made me have a clear understanding of the reasons why this film had people walking out at the Sundance Film Festival this year. It is clear this was not everyone’s cup of tea. It may be for some, but not so much for me. I will say though, I give this one credit for its different idea even though it did not find the right path of execution.

There is a moment where the sasquatch family comes across a tree and that sets off curiosity—a major layer of “curiosity” because the sasquatch family just starts eating from the tree. Then there is another tree found, and one of the sasquatches despises the taste of that second tree—animal instincts are clear and descriptive of what the underlying turmoil can be in Sasquatch Sunset. After they eat from a bad tree, there is a bizarre eagerness, how an animal would react if they were overly-excited. They do not speak, but they grunt and cheer on a bonkers level.

This is a ninety-minute nature escape with suspense in the craziest matter and repulsive to the extreme. Its writing makes its viewers think of nature along with the creatures (who roam like animals). From this setup, I felt like there would be more surreal tones of connection and a unique-type feeling. I thought of films like Where the Wild Things Are, March of the Penguins, and Jumanji—films of creatures, animals, or humans finding a course of action in an unknown territory. There is that setup of trying to find peace for the odd sasquatch family in Sasquatch Sunset, yet its presentation is just scattered and quirky.

This habitat that is natural for the sasquatch family is not so much for the rest of its audience. The big question…where is nature going? Especially with a moment of the sasquatches coming across a boom box and going into a mental state of craziness. I was rattling my head thinking maybe it was haunted. The forms of the forest seem to be haunted by layers of normalcy…the building blocks of nature are not part of the clever process of the film’s continuity…it makes for a below average portrayal in Sasquatch Sunset. Is there a point? Is there a layer of importance I was missing? Where is the narrative or poetic vibe in this film? I had a hard time seeing it. I do credit the film for its heavy direction in unforgettable scenery though. Two out of four stars for Sasquatch Sunset.

When it comes to movies set in space, there are always limited resources for scenes set many miles above the earth. Movies with this premise invigorate and captivate me because time is typically of the essence. In I.S.S., the mission of the film is critical and the conflicts in a space shuttle boil. From my experience with the film, however, I felt that the direction was a bit misconstrued. The story begins with the foundation of going into outer space, but the writing is lacking. As the film moves forward, tension and danger rapidly rise. I.S.S. has some amazing visuals of a spaceship adventure, but it is rushed.

The film is focused on American and Russian astronauts. The American astronauts are Dr. Kira Foster (played by Ariana DeBose), Gordon Barrett (played by Chris Messina), and Christian Campbell (played by John Gallagher Jr.). The Russian astronauts are Weronika Vetrok (played by Masha Mahkova), Nicholai Pulov (played by Costa Ronin), and Alexey Pulov (played by Alexey Pulov). Everyone on board is there to conduct research missions. However, their main mission turns to protecting themselves when they are informed that the United States is at war with Russia. Both the American Astronauts and the Russian Astronauts are told to take control of the I.S.S. Soon, no one on board can trust anyone which leads to mixed messages and concerns about survival. The onboard missions no longer matter when the primary goal is to stay alive to see home again. Because the astronauts are at odds, communication between the crews breaks down on the space shuttle.

The film demonstrates how the war on Earth turns into a treacherous war between the teams aboard the I.S.S. Again, the writing does not provide much context as to why individuals are at risk or how they are associated with what happens below. The film becomes a death match in space which is played out for the purpose of maximizing suspense. The scenery may seem revolutionary, but the concept itself is somewhat blurry. Why is there a war on Earth? How do the astronauts relate to it? How do they contribute to the conflict? Some of these questions are explained…barely. The film just jumps from moments of actionto various conclusions.

This movie is not amazing enough to have mass appeal with audiences, but the frequent floating in the I.S.S. did appeal to me. I found the home life on the spaceship more fascinating than many other aspects of the film. The set design is strong in I.S.S. and appears to provide a realistic idea of how the inside of a space shuttle may look in real life. However, the set alone was not enough to make the movie an exhilarating experience.

I.S.S. is monumental from a technological perspective, but the writing is completely rushed. It should have been an experience of epic suspense. Unfortunately, since there is no puzzle to it, it fails to be breathtaking. I left the film feeling neutral about my experience. Two out of four stars for I.S.S.