Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Sighting’ (2016)

Written by Scott Edwards

​The art of telling a story is one that many people are never able to do. I am one that really stinks at trying to tell a story, whether it is something that has been passed down through the ages, or something that I am trying to make up. There is a special skill that is required to tell a story, this is the real reason why I think alcohol was invented, so you can listen to a bad storyteller without losing your mind. It takes years of practice to tell a good story and while some people like myself will never be good at it, the more chances you get to tell them in front of an audience, the better you should get.
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The final day of high school has come and gone for Travis Brooks, and he is looking for a place to lay his head before his next adventure is about to take place. With his good friend Nate, the two have decided to make their way up to Canada for the weekend to just get away. Needing to get directions on their way, the two stop into a little gas station where they get a shortcut that should save them some time. Even though they don’t take the attendant’s advice and will attempt to cross the border when it is closed, there is nothing that can prepare them for what is coming their way.

On their way up a creepy road, Travis is able to convince Nate to finally pull over so he can take a leak, but when he starts to hear something weird in the woods, Travis runs back to the car and begs his friend to drive as fast as he can. Seeing strange hairy people in front of the car, Nate hits one of them causing the car to stall out and the two are forced to watch as the wrath of the unknown is about to take them over. Ransacking the car, the hairy beasts are finally able to get inside and take Nate out of his comfort zone. Seeing that his friend is gone, Travis needs to get help and runs back to the gas station to try and contact the police, but his phone continues to cut out during the conversation, so he calls Nate’s brother Chris instead, mainly because he has the guns.

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​Waiting for Chris to arrive, Travis tries to get the attendant to help him, but finds that everything is not as it seems in the old rundown gas station. Seeing newspaper clippings about Bigfoot and people going missing in the area, Travis focuses in on one story that he knew inside and out from a year ago where his friends were killed. Getting to see an old video about what the attendant really thinks the Sasquatch is, Travis is able to put everything together and pinpoints the attendant as the professor that has been shamed out of the community with his off the wall ideas. But he may be on to something with his theories, as the Sasquatch that Travis saw looked like people that were just wearing a furry coat of some sort.
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After Chris arrives, he and Travis head up to a little cabin and set up camp. Searching the area, they stumble upon a cave and head inside only to find that they have located the den of these beasts. Before they are able to look any further for Nate, they are ambushed by the group and stuck up in the cabin with no chance of escape. Firing in all directions, Chris is able to get Travis out with little harm to get help, but it may be too late to save anyone that has seen the Sasquatch in these woods as they are living up to their vicious reputation that has been passed down throughout the years.

This really is a decent Bigfoot movie. As the story continues to play out and the obsession of finding out where the Sasquatch really came from grows, you get a theory that might actually make sense for once, that they are people rather than an ape or bear hybrid. You never know, I guess someone will just have to find one someday. I liked how most of the movie was Travis telling the story and then the cop who listened to him delivered a completely different account of what he believed happened, possibly putting Travis in the hot seat. With killer Sasquatch, an obsessed professor, a disbelieving cop, a love triangle and a kid that wants to prove himself right, it is more than just a simple Bigfoot movie that will send chills down your spine, but a film that will make you question everything that may or may not make sense in your own mind. Stay Scared.

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