10 Hidden Gem Horror Monster Movies

4. Willow Creek

Frankenhooker Patty Mullen
Dark Sky Films

Hot on the heels of the fantastic slice of social commentary that was God Bless America, 2013 saw Bobcat Goldthwait deliver another gem of a movie in the form of Willow Creek.

A found-footage feature, the focus here is on Josh and Kelly as they explore the titular woods in the hopes of finding bigfoot. For Josh, he's adamant that the sasquatch exists, whilst Kelly is a smidge more sceptical on this matter. The two interview locals, learn of a strange missing person's case, find the spot where that infamous Patterson–Gimlin footage was filmed, and document their own spiralling paranoia as things take a turn for the creepy as this tale unravels.

That this is Goldthwait's first - and sadly only - venture into horror makes Willow Creek all the more impressive, with the Police Academy favourite crafting a film that takes a delightfully slow-burn approach to driving up its tension and terror. Here, we have a movie that's so much about what you don't see rather than what you do see, allowing your own imagination to wreak havoc on what may or may not be out in the California woods.

All in all, thoroughly excellent stuff from Bobcat and his leading duo of Bryce Johnson and Alexie Gilmore.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.