'The Sky's Forest' Review: A Fresh Indie Sci-Fi Horror Twist On Bigfoot
- Outside the Spotlight
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
This film was born out of the desire and need to tell stories and make something when it felt like the world was falling apart and not much was being made. More specifically, we filmed it during 2021 of COVID. This story deals with the notion of truth: where does it really exist amongst all of us? What do we have to sacrifice in order to discover the full truth, and more importantly, will it allow itself to be known? We live within a hierarchy that thrives on the masses infighting, and when that infighting stops, other mechanisms are used to keep people distracted. We used Bigfoot conspiracies and meteorite discoveries to examine that idea a little bit. We had very limited budget but a lot of inspiration and heart to build something with our own hands, so we made our own props, Bigfoot suit, and special effects in the months leading up to the shoot. We wanted to lean into the creature feature vibes of the 80's and 90's with our props, environment, color grading, acting, and commitment to the story, which all of parts of our team, actors, crew, special effects, post, pulled off beautifully.
- Garrett Schulte (writer/director/actor)
The pursuit of a mysterious item or creature in the woods are hardly new concepts, and so they can be inevitably difficult to reinvent. With The Sky's Forest however, writer/director (and also actor) Garrett Schulte certainly succeeds in some ways.
Following a dysfunctional group of scientists and conspiracy theorists through rustling leaves, snapping twigs and bellowing voices in the night, The Sky’s Forest is a sci-fi horror that takes a bit of time to adjust into it's rhythm but delivers steady intrigue from the get-go.
Jasmin (Omalolu Fiki) is a government astronomer chasing answers about some interstellar rock-like object that she has discovered. She is initially denied direct access to do so by her partners-in-science Sam and Jonathan (Mary Glen Fredrick and Lee Vignes) who opt to handle things themselves. But, like any good protagonist, she gives them the finger and goes on her merry way.
She follows her instincts to her friend Monica’s (Christine Penn) cabin in the woods, which’ll provide a clear sky and the ideal location to get the answers she’s looking for. Here, she also reconnects with Monica’s partner Dax (Garrett Schulte) and his conspiracy-screaming, bigfoot-believing brother Chuck (David Price). The trio venture into the woods in search of Jasmin's meteorite and the threat of a sasquatch looms.
The cast provide a good mix of personalities with Jasmin the eager scientist willing to stop at nothing, Chuck is the wildcard with a lot of knowledge- whether actually useful or not- and Dax is the more level-headed ying to his yang. They all play very well. Jasmin has a genuine determination in her eyes as well as believable strokes of fear as the obvious star of the show. Dax is likeable, and Chuck provides some solid entertainment. They are later joined by the others who have independently set up their own camp, and things only get more chaotic from there.
Whilst they are all generally likeable, some of the group are annoyingly trigger-happy to the point of incompetence, especially after having established that bullets are not effective against what they're fighting. But having said that, under the stress of fending off unknown entities in the woods is exactly when one would try to rely on their firearms, so I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Speaking of the unknown entities, what I do appreciate about The Sky’s Forest is its willingness to let the audience’s imagination form the early parts of the terror. It’s aided by spooky sounds, a monstrous voice and a genuinely suspenseful score, but the appearance of the “sasquatch” is largely left to footsteps and glimpses of fur. It’s kept comfortably off-screen until later in the film and is better for it. Characters are sporadically left alone, and whispers are heard from an unclear source. Is it real or inside someone’s head- or both? Mysterious lights and flashes of what seem otherworldly persist- the tension builds very nicely.
Visually, The Sky’s Forest makes wonderful use of colour and light; the choice to have characters use glow-sticks is a stoke of genius- even better that there is an in-world reason. It gives the film a particular flair and prevents artificial oversaturation. Garrett Schulte has a good eye for location and utilises the landscapes of Blue Ridge, Georgia to provide some genuinely stunning moments of could-hang-on-your-living-room-wall cinematography by Kayla Windsor
The appearance of the creature as is eventually seen in its entirety might catch some a little off-guard as it did me with a practical costume and hardly-realistic mask; however given its extraterrestrial nature, it can’t logically be argued to be “unrealistic.” Its face is static and it appears to communicate through humans’ minds as opposed to actual speech- added to this, some low-budget but perfectly plausible special effects give this indie creature feature a certain old-timey charm. The sound staggers in some sections with character dialogue appearing audibly uneven, but it’s only a minor- if slightly distracting- hiccup.
Whilst said creature is presented as the film’s antagonist, The Sky’s Forest dabbles with the idea of who the true villain actually is. Certainly from the human’s perspective, it’s the giant alien-sasquatch out to kill them all. But from the sasquatch’s perspective, the humans are trespassing and trying to take what isn’t theirs. It’s an interesting commentary on humans’ disruptions of nature’s process, other species’ habitats and ultimately their greed. It also addresses the myth of oversized creatures stomping about the woods and where they might come from, perhaps attempting to explain the origins of these stories.
Garrett Schulte's feature debut is not perfect but enjoyable with plenty of mystery, intrigue, thrills and a bit of gore. It's a fresh take on the Bigfoot concept that’ll please genre fans and surely entertain more casual viewers looking for something other than the next big blockbuster.
For more, visit the film's official website and IMDb page.
About the filmmaker
Garrett Schulte is an engineer turned actor who loves to feed both sides of his brain with his work. He did all of the post production for the movie and sought to bring the final product of the film to the level the actors, crew, and special effects artists elevated it to. He's thankful for all the support from donors, investors, friends, family, and collaborators, and appreciates all the talent and artistry everyone brought to this project.
Watch the trailer for The Sky's Forest below:
Read about more great indie movies:
'Say Less' Review: A Tense Teen Drama Feature From Director Michael Kellman
'Gifted Pain' Review: A Martial-Arts Inspired Action Thriller Of Trauma And Survival
The Professional Parent Review: An Oscar-Qualifying Short Film On Hard Truths In Slovakia
Roses on the Vine Review: A Quiet Story of Love and Survival
The Wildman of Shaggy Creek Review- A Nostalgic, Family Friendly Coming-of-Age Creature Feature
Read mainstream movie reviews:
Read film lists: