APE CANYON REVIEW

 A mixed-up guy in the midst of a quarter-life crisis drags his big sister along on a Bigfoot-hunting expedition.

Starring: Jackson Trent, Anna Fagan, and Donny Ness

Directed by: Joshua Land 

Written by: Harrison Demchick

  “Ape Canyon” seems like as good a place as any to search for the most famous missing ape. Cal has been obsessed with Bigfoot since an early age. As a grown up, some like his sister Samantha (Anna Fagan) would think he would have grown out of it. However, after his mother past away his desire to find Bigfoot has hit all time highs. He’s booked a trip to Ape Canyon, and is dragging along his older sister to find the ape!

  Samantha isn’t thrilled about this at all, but realizes she needs to be there for him. They join a small group of people, and head off into the woods. Already with her doubts about this trip, things get worse in the first morning when everyone wakes to find their possessions missing. Apparently their guide stole everything, and has left them stranded. Samantha is upset, and it doesn't help that Cal wants to continue on his search for Ape Canyon. It looks like this adventure has just begun for the siblings.

  First off, if the audience is waiting for Bigfoot they aren’t going to see much of him. Bigfoot is used more as a backdrop to this story, and the reason the siblings have found themselves lost in the woods. There’s a fun animated cartoon of Bigfoot that’s used a few times to explain a couple of things like why that area is called Ape Canyon. It's a unique drawing of Bigfoot that still leaves a lot of mystery to the Ape.

  Instead this story’s focus is really about the relationship between the siblings. Both are mourning the loss of their mother, and are handling it in different ways. Samantha has been able to continue with her life, but Cal is in crisis-mode. No matter what happens in this story he has to make it to the canyon. Samantha battles between trying to be herself, and finding a way to help her brother. While they fight each other along the way, they truly are at their best when they look out for each other.

  He might not seem like it at all times, but overall Cal is a likable character. He’s just struggling through a tough time in his life, and is taking his sister and the audience on a journey that he hopes will bring him peace. Jackson and Anna do an excellent job of portraying the siblings, and all the emotional baggage their characters carry. Well timed comedy helps move this story along leading to a dramatic and emotionally ending. The search for Bigfoot continues as I give “Ape Canyon” 3 pools of blood. 

  HorrO

More information at: http://promotehorror.com/2021/04/16/a-man-turns-his-quarter-life-crisis-into-a-hunt-for-bigfoot-in-ape-canyon-on-vod-april-16/