Corey Michael Eubanks is more used to hair-raising stunts than hair-laden cryptids, but Dave reckons his PM Entertainment kiddie caper is still a passable lark.

As 1994 came to pass, Harry and the Hendersons, the Steven Spielberg-produced TV show, had completed a successful three-season run in syndication, while its feature-length predecessor, William Dear’s 1987 film of the same name, continued to prove itself a video store favourite.

Having earned bank with Magic Kid (1993), ever-enterprising action peddlers PM Entertainment decided to keep their family-friendly options open and determined that a yeti flick of their own was a good proposition. Enter BIGFOOT: THE UNFORGETTABLE ENCOUNTER – and the filmmaker they tasked with making it was an unlikely one.

The son of Bob Eubanks, host of legendary television show The Newlywed Game, Corey Michael Eubanks has enjoyed a forty-year career in stunt work, contributing his body-breaking bravery to a variety of box office behemoths. The early ’90s, however, afforded Eubanks the chance to flex his creativity in a different sense, resulting in an impressive pair of smaller, self-penned romps helmed by his daredevil buddy Russell Solberg: Payback (1991) and Forced to Kill (1994).

Given his background in high-octane action, it’s certainly a surprise seeing Eubanks make his directorial debut here. Nevertheless, he does a fine job tackling his own script. In it, Bigfoot is blamed for the disappearance of a camper in the mountains of Northern California. Chicago-based businessman Chaz Frederick (a scene-chewing David Rasche) latches onto the hoo-ha and posts a million dollar reward for someone to bag the beast which, in turn, leads to a media frenzy replete with hunters, an anthropologist (Crystal Chappell), and a local park ranger Nick (Matt McCoy). Thankfully, little Cody (Zachery Ty Bryan) is also on hand – and when Bigfoot steps in to save the lad from danger, it becomes clear that the moppet is the only person that can keep the hirsute cryptid out of the firing line.

Kicking off with an animal attack that pushes the boundary of the film’s G rating, Bigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter is a relatively fun lark – albeit a lark that peaks during its first third and coasts for the rest. Indeed, we’re introduced to the sasquatch after thirty minutes, when he’s going punch for punch with a real-life grizzly bear. It’s a cool and evidently quite dangerous sequence, and something you certainly don’t see in the rather homogenized kiddie fluff of today.

As a whole, it’s the cast who prevent Bigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter from going stale, with notable mentions to a bewigged Clint Howard and his dad Rance for providing two of the more memorable characters. Child star Bryan – who, at this point, was midway through his stint on TV’s Home Improvement – is fine if generic as Cody. As it happens, the film wound up being his feature debut, after all his scenes as Brian Bosworth’s son in Stone Cold (1991) were cut. A tip of the hat, too, to Steve Fink for creating some neat animatronic prosthetics for the titular fuzzball. They’re expressive and retain a degree of realism.

Filmed in the vicinity of Shaver Lake, California, Bigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter was shot in May 1994 and it made its U.S. video debut eleven months later courtesy of Republic Pictures Home Video. Despite playing on PPV in 1996, the film skipped a physical media release in the U.K. until just after the millennium, when Prism Leisure put it out, initially as a standalone bargain bucket disc before pairing it with Chuck Norris’ eco-friendly fantasy, Forest Warrior (1996).

USA ● 1995 ● Family ● 88mins

Zachery Ty Bryan, Matt McCoy, David Rasche, Crystal Chappell ● Dir./Wri. Corey Michael Eubanks