Review: ‘Sasquatch Among Wildmen’ is a Good Primer on the Subject of Bigfoot

Sasquatch Among Wildmen
Uncork'd Entertainment
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In the UK, kids of my generation most likely got their first introduction to the Sasquatch, Bigfoot and/or the Yeti via the Usborne published The World of the Unknown book about monsters in the late 70s/early 80s, TV series Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World and PG Tips Unexplained Mysteries of the World collectable cards that came in boxes of tea bags! You could maybe even count Harry and the Hendersons… ( Harry does make a brief appearance in this documentary!)

Nowadays, those interested in the strange and unknown (or Fortean – named after writer Charles Fort who researched weird phenomena on the edge of known science) are spoiled silly by the resources available online and on TV, let alone the many books published on various subjects. Enter Sasquatch Among Wildmen, the latest documentary release from director/producer Darcy Weir.

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A follow up to a 2016 documentary for the Beyond the Spectrum TV series (titled The Unwonted Sasquatch), Sasquatch Among Wildmen is a standalone look at the history of the Sasquatch as well as the similar cases of ‘wildmen’ around the world and their possible connection via Relic/t Hominid theory. We learn about Sasquatch, the Yeti, the Almas of Russia, the Yeren of China, and the Dev of the Middle East – by no means an exhaustive list but a decent cross section to posit the theory of species migration across the Eurasian continent to North America via the Bering Land Bridge. Personally, I saw throwing the Dev in with Sasquatch as a bit of a wild card as I’ve usually seen them connected with Jinn, as a regional derivative of an Ogre or metaphor of the human condition, but I suppose one just needs to alter your perspective a little to view them as a ‘wildman’ warranting inclusion here, though some may see that as shoehorning a little. Sighting videos of various levels of quality from around the world are analysed, including an intriguing one from Russia, showing a large ape-like creature in a forest, that is dissected by Bigfoot Tony – a researcher and member of the British Bigfoot Research Team – who offers clear and reasoned analysis to what we can see, concluding that he doesn’t think the creature is a Russian Yeti, though he can’t say what the creature definitively is either. My only comment here is that it could’ve been good to have had the same video looked at by others in the field, such as Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum who provides key analysis throughout the entire documentary.

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Professor of Anatomy & Anthropology at Idaho State University, Meldrum certainly adds credibility to the subject, despite publishing a book on Bigfoot in 2006/7 that didn’t review well with sceptics due to accusations of pseudoscience and questionable research. Here he’s clear, thought provoking, questioning and open to scepticism which, as far as I’m concerned, is very welcoming in this field. In fact, overall there is a distinct lack of sensationalism in this documentary which, I feel, makes it stand out from many other shows and documentaries grounded in the weird of the world. Similarly, none of the other interviewees appear to be attention seeking nor rigidly stuck in their assumptions, either, which is a breath of fresh air, whether they’re right or not. The documentary is rounded off with a look at the work of the Olympic Project and their discovery of what may be Sasquatch ‘nests’ in the Olympic National Park in the Pacific North West of America.

Overall, I feel Sasquatch Among Wildmen is a good primer to the subject of the Sasquatch/Bigfoot/Yeti etc. and, as someone who has had an interest in the unknown and Fortean from an early age, I encourage anyone interested in the subject to use it as a good starting point for further study. I will certainly be checking out director Weir’s previous work and look forward to what he does next!

Uncork’d Entertainment releases the film on Digital/DVD November 10, 2020.


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