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Bigfoot Horror Coming To South Carolina In May
“Growing up I spent most of my free time studying cryptozoology and the unknown,” Portanova said. “Instead of going outside and playing for recess, I would read books from the 001 section of the library about encounters with Bigfoot or alien abductions. My after school viewing habits consisted of watching paranormal investigation shows such as Unsolved Mysteries or Sightings. Years later when I graduated from film school, I took some time off so I could write my first real screenplay. There was only one idea that really inspired me: making a scary and action-packed movie that respected the history of Sasquatch.”
Portanova continues, “Within the film there is a moment where the character of Will (played by D’Angelo Midili) tells the story of a Sasquatch attack on a mining cabin that took place on Mount St. Helens in 1924. Some of my favorite movies are siege films, especially the classics Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Assault on Precinct 13 (1976). So, inspired by the Mount St. Helens story, I set out to write a Bigfoot siege film. I created some characters who find themselves in a similar situation, where they’re trapped in a cabin and Bigfoot is trying to break its way in.”
“There are also references to other Sasquatch classics sprinkled throughout the script,” adds Portanova. “The character of Bauman (played by Bill Oberst Jr.) is named after a character who appeared in Teddy Roosevelt’s book The Wilderness Hunter in 1892. Within the book Roosevelt relayed the story of a man named Bauman who encountered Sasquatch while out trapping with a guide. This story always fascinated me because it’s one of the only references I’ve seen to Bigfoot taking a human life. The opening of the film features a fictional take on this story, set in present day with our Bauman. A larger subplot later in the film took inspiration from the story of Albert Ostman, who said that he was kidnapped by a family of Bigfoot for six days in 1924. In our film, a character finds himself in a similar situation with a much angrier group of Sasquatch.”
“With Valley of the Sasquatch I wanted to tell an engaging story for the cryptozoology community,” Portanova concludes. “I’ve seen a lot of Bigfoot films and have never been completely satisfied with them outside of some of the 70s classics such as The Legend of Boggy Creek or Sasquatch: The Legend of Bigfoot.”
