Fifteen years after he made a killing by zooming in on Heather Donahue’s terrified, snotty nostrils, Eduardo Sánchez—one of the two directors of The Blair Witch Project—has trekked back into the woods, perhaps to finally slay the found-footage monster he helped unleash. Exists, which debuted a week ago at SXSW, chronicles another wilderness adventure gone awry. But instead of being forced by some vengeful old cauldron-stirrer to go to the corner and think about what they’ve done, the unlucky campers here are being stalked by that most camera-shy of forest monsters, Bigfoot himself. So unless the beast has a stealth talent for woodworking, expect fewer ominous stick figures and more scenes of Sasquatch going berserk, possibly as revenge for the pranks that beef-jerky-loving hipsters are always playing on him.
As TheWrap reports, Lionsgate has picked up the film, though there’s no word yet on when they’ll release it. Presumably, however, it won’t be on the same day as Willow Creek, a different found-footage bigfoot movie directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. (Yes, that Bobcat Goldthwait. He does found-footage horror movies now, apparently.) Willow Creek, which is supposedly slated to open sometime this spring, bears more than a passing resemblance to Blair Witch, so maybe Sánchez made Exists just to prove that nobody rips off The Blair Witch Project like one of the directors of The Blair Witch Project. In any case, those dreading their annual camping trip will soon have a couple of chances to scare their outdoorsy loved ones into making new vacation plans. Who ever heard of Bigfoot attacking someone in the comfort of their own air-conditioned living room?