Sasquatch, a new three part documentary series on Hulu, begins by asking a seemingly ridiculous question. Did the mythical Bigfoot actually murder three Mexican workers on a California cannabis farm in the fall of 1993? To address this absurdity, filmmaker Joshua Rofé and investigative journalist David Holthouse, take us on a bizarre, nerve-racking, and genuinely scary journey that successfully turns the true crime genre on its head.
Umapagan Ampikaipakan: I was expecting this to be one of three things. 1) An Unsolved Mysteries style investigation piece. 2) A Tiger King-esque look at the secret lives of Bigfoot hunters. 3) A conspiracy theory documentary à la Ancient Aliens.
Sasquatch is none of those things. These three episodes subverted my expectations in every way and delivered one of the best true crime documentaries I’ve seen since The Staircase. (It’s also not as long!)
Bahir Yeusuff: Man you had some thoughts. But now that you’ve mentioned it, I guess I too was expecting some combination of the things you mentioned. I don’t know about The Staircase comparison though. But I will say this, Sasquatch did not end up where I thought it was going to. There’s something about this that made it different. That actually throws me all the way back to something like The Jinx, in that it feels like it’s unfolding on you in real time. It isn’t so much a look back at what has happened, so I truly felt like I was in the thick of it with journalist David Holthouse. It really was a compelling watch. I binged all three episodes over dinner last week and boy was it a ride.
UA: There is a real slickness to the way this story is told. Yes, it does lean into some tried and tested true crime tropes (i.e. the late discovery of a potential witness, the cliffhanger text message that hints at a greater darkness, etc.), but it nevertheless uses them to great effect. The way the filmmakers have blended your traditional talking heads with animated reenactments also creates something of a unique look. It really keeps the story moving.
BY: It’s also kind of creepy. The Sasquatch believers and the Sasquatch hunters in the series are, as you would expect, a little unconventional. They are exactly who you have in your mind’s eye when you think of Sasquatch hunters. But when David starts talking to the drug farmers, and they don’t bat an eye at the mention of it, that’s when it feels a little real. Like these are farmers who have spent years and years in the woods, and if they buy it without missing a beat, it makes you wonder what they’ve seen out there in the north Californian woods.
Is Bigfoot Real?
UA: I’ll tell you this much about myself. I am the kind of person who wants to believe. I’m not naturally a skeptic. All I require is a little bit of fact. Feed me that and I’m good to go. In fact, I think a lot of people are. Which is why myths and legends like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster have endured for so long. Sure, they’re fun stories to tell around a campfire. But I think a lot of us also want to believe that there are bigger mysteries to this world.
Which is probably why the idea that these three men could have been murdered by a mythical creature was a story that some people would believe. Or want to believe.
It’s important to note that this isn’t really a series about the Sasquatch. In fact, it’s whole genius lies in that fake-out first episode that lays the foundation for what you think might be an investigative piece into the existence of these creatures, but is in fact merely the gateway drug (pun intended) into something much darker and far more dangerous. It’s a really risky narrative strategy. But one that really pays off.
BY: I think you have to be all in though. Admittedly I was a little disappointed at the bait and switch, because I was expecting (and truly hoping) for a three hour investigative documentary on the Sasquatch. My family and I had driven up to Mendocino County a couple years ago so I remember hearing my brother-in-law tell stories about both the drug farms and the Sasquatches and it was great.
I think watching David work through the problem was what got me truly hooked. There is something about watching truly competent people break down what they do that really turns me on. And in the end, I was all in with the story they were trying to tell. I mean, when the story turns towards Bigfoot (intentionally vague) my jaw was on the floor. I was bolt upright on my sofa, jaw on the floor. That was beautiful.
UA: That was another very clever thing that director Joshua Rofé does. He lets David tell this story. Which breaks the monotony of the usual true crime documentary by having your subjects speak to an actual person instead of an unknown and unseen documentarian.
I’m still trying to figure out what this means with regards to having an unreliable narrator, but it really did add to the mystery of what was actually happening.
BY: You think David was an unreliable narrator? To me it felt like the show was unfolding and we were learning about it all with David. There were some side roads they went down that didn’t really pay off till later, but overall, I was on board with David and his journey. Never has a phone call where a person’s name has been bleeped out made me so nervous.
UA: For me, that unreliability came from just how deep undercover David was, when he was on that farm, back in 1993. I kept asking myself just how much of what you heard and saw had to do with the drugs you were doing at the time. In fact, how reliable are these witnesses given they were all pretty drugged out too.
This is what made the show great too. That narrative balance between what was real, what was imagined, and what was pure hallucination.
BY: And all told from David’s point of view right? Essentially we’re taking David’s word for it, even as he begins to second guess himself, and his memories, and the people in that room, that one night back in 1993. Yeah, I guess you’re right. Maybe he was an unreliable narrator.
Does Sasquatch Land Its Ending?
BY: What did you think of the ending? Documentaries have an even bigger responsibility to stick that landing. I felt the ending was okay, nothing was truly answered, but maybe the answer was in the friends they made along the way?
UA: About half way through the second episode I began preparing myself for this ending. And I think that’s always going to be the case when you’re dealing with these sorts of murder mysteries. Which is probably why they called this thing Sasquatch. The answer to your question is in the title of this series. Like D.B. Cooper, like Nessie, like MH370, there are some things that are destined to remain closed to us.
That said, I did have this gnawing feeling that there is more to this story. That there is speculation and hearsay that had to be held back. Stories and anecdotes that might have bolstered the case but had to be omitted due to the fact that they weren’t actually facts.
BY: And that’s where we are now right. That’s where all the best stories end up. Your uncle not telling you all the stories he’s heard because some of them are just too crazy to repeat. But in this case, David is an actual journalist, with values and accountability. Yeah, there is more to this story I’m sure. Maybe it’ll be a book one day. And then maybe it’ll be another TV series.
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