By Steph Cannon
“Gorgeous” and “Bigfoot” aren’t typically two words you hear together, but indie production company Small Town Monsters has found a way for that to make sense with their latest documentary On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier.
Small Town Monsters continues to build on their success in creating captivating and crafted documentaries with their latest film, which takes an extensive look at the lore of Sasquatch in the Great White North. Combining interviews with those who claim to have first-hand accounts with Bigfoot, sound recordings, and a wealth of information about the geology of Alaska, this is a well-balanced take on one of history’s most infamous legends.
What’s most surprising about On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier is how earnestly jaw-dropping the visuals are. This is just as much a documentary on the makeup of Alaska, its wildlife, and the indigenous people as it is about the monster believed to lurk amongst the snow. It can’t be understated how beautifully shot this film is. With an abundance of sweeping drone views of the state’s mountains and startlingly up-close glimpses of wildlife, this feels like it could be a National Geographic feature. The STM crew spent several months deep in the heart of the Alaskan wilderness to concurrently garner footage for this project as well as two others that will round out their Bigfoot coverage, set to be released later this year.
While it’s easy to get swept up in the beauty of it all, On the Trail… at its core is a search to find proof of Bigfoot’s existence in the Alaskan frontier. Sasquatch is a monster that is typically synonymous with roaming the U.S. Pacific Northwest, so it's a unique and interesting take to head further north to explore the mythology.
There are a multitude of interviews with locals who claim to have experienced sightings of the famed monster, and one aspect that STM does well is to provide an unbiased approach with each account. Every person is given room to talk about the encounter from their point of view, which in turn allows the audience to make their own speculations. It’s clear each interviewee was craftily chosen, because regardless of the factuality of their reports, the stories they tell are compelling and chilling. Sound recordings of alleged cries and calls from Bigfoot are woven into accounts from those who state they’ve had run-ins, creating an admittedly eerie and chilling viewing experience.
Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum of belief, On the Trail of Bigfoot:Last Frontier offers a gorgeous, fascinating look at the unspoiled wilderness and people of Alaska, their ideaologies, and way of life. The fact that it also happens to be a documentation on the presumed evidence of the presence of one of history’s most famous monsters is ultimately just the capper to a splendidly put together documentary.
On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier debuts on major streaming platforms on January 17, 2023, from 1091 Pictures, including iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, and FandangoNOW.