Bigfoot/Sasquatch films have generally not fared well, the worst of them being awful. That made me feel apprehensive somewhat and that the rating was low was no less promising. Was also filled with hope at the same time, with some of the reviews being decent, with passionate defence and passionate dislike, and Lance Henriksen and Adrienne Barbeau have done dependable work throughout their careers.
While 'Big Legend' was far from perfect and not particularly a good film let alone great, it is for me one of the better and more watchable bigfoot/sasquatch films out there. That is not by a marginal degree, the degree is quite significant and a very easy, not bold statement for me to make, having as said above being underwhelmed by a good deal of them. Not just that, 'Big Legend' turned out to be one of my better recent low-budget viewings.
Surprisingly, 'Big Legend' is not too bad visually, quite good on the whole actually. The scenery is atmospheric and easy on the eye and the photography is remarkably slick and the editing cohesive. The sound isn't too obvious and is not over-bearing, providing haunting moments. The direction is assured in the first half.
Acting came off to me as better than average, with Henriksen and Barbeau coming off reliably. Didn't find the characters anywhere near as bland and annoying as most other low-budget recent viewings. There is tension, suspense and creepiness and it is not a dull film, found the first half quite engaging and not too predictable.
It is a shame that the latter stages of 'Big Legend' isn't near as good. The tension and suspense does dissipate, it isn't as taut and some of it is ridiculous beyond belief and heavy in predictability with some of the decision-making becoming silly. The ending is anti-climactic and abrupt, another one of those indicating a sequel, a type of ending that has become increasingly lazy the more times it's used.
The effects are less than special, laughable at worst, the direction seemed to lose interest and direction and the dialogue can too often be cheesy and stilted, apparent even in the first half.
Overall, watchable if very uneven. 5/10 Bethany Cox
