10 Best Films Based On Urban Legends

No one would have expected Bobcat Goldthwait, the wacky-voiced 80s comic and Police Academy alum, to be a solid filmmaker. But his work as a writer/director has been much bolder than expected. Shakes The Clown, his first outing, follows an alcoholic party clown being framed for a murder and he granted friend Robin Williams what was arguably his last great performance in World's Greatest Dad.

In 2012, Goldthwait logged over 400 miles of drive time throughout Bigfoot country in search of the mythic beast. Though he came up empty-handed, the colorful locals he met created the basis for his found footage horror film Willow Creek.

Interviewing the director, he said, "I’m just really fascinated by [Cryotozoology]. I mean if these things aren’t real why, as the character in the movie says why for thousands of years people have seen it? So I find that even interesting, what is the subconscious reasoning for these archetypal characters that have shown up in all different cultures for thousands of years.” The character in question is Jim (Bryce Johnson), out to find Bigfoot with his girlfriend (Alexie Gilmore).

They have traveled to Willow Creek to camp near the site of the famed Patterson-Gimlin footage. The footage is a clear shot of Bigfoot walking down a quarry before turning its head at the camera in a way that some cryptozoologists have argued would have broken a human in a monkey suit’s neck.

As found footage films go, it's a strong entry, with a harrowing long take set entirely in a tent as spooky happenings occur outside.