Underwhelming, rather gore-less creature feature with no surprises concerning a Sasquatch(Taku he)running loose on Echo Mountain, attacking those illegally hunting. Miles O'Keefe is the true heavy of this flick as poacher Ed, out to get the Bigfoot and an Indian Ranger Eagleheart(Nathaniel Arcand)who actually saved his ass. Ed loses some pals to the angry Sasquatch, inlisting others in town to go back into Echo Mtn. to get those he deems responsible. The local media consider the poacher attacks as merely caused by an endangered grizzly. Richard(Dylan Purcell)is a smart high school kid who understands nature and wild-life regarding their habits and behavior but has been having trouble passing tests in class. He's asked by his disgruntled professor to join up with jock Jay(Brandon Henschel)who needs an A+ to graduate the class..and high school.. to develop an assignment on endangered species. Jay will coerce Richard to spend a weekend on Echo Mountain with his cousin Jenny(Chelsea Hobbs), who has a crush on him, and sweetheart Shea(Casey LaBow)hoping to find a grizzly recorded on camcorder therefore achieving that elusive grade he needs to pass class, hopefully impressing his teacher in the process. Sheriff Drake Kassel(Jack Conley)attempts to keep order with a mayor breathing down his neck to find that bear which killed those poachers so that locals will quit worrying about it..that, and the mayor doesn't wish for some killer bear to ruin tourist season. Into Echo Mountain with the dreaded Sasquatch shown from time to time spying on potential victims behind bushes and hanging leafy branches and uttering guttural growls when enraged. "Clawed.." is practically ready-made for the Sci-fi channel in that most of the violence occurs off-screen and even when we see the aftermath of the monster's attacks, rarely are they that gruesome or stomach-churning(..one hunter's holding his recently removed guts, another's face was torn into). There's a light amount of profanity and a peek-a-boo shot of LaBow's nicely developed breasts. The kids aren't that obnoxious(..well, except for Jay who likes to play practical jokes on his peers and hurl lame insults at nerdy Richard), and O'Keeffe as Ed, hides his eyes under a cap most of the time, speaking his dialogue under a bearded scowl. The Sasquatch isn't the least bit scary, and looks like a costume. Nothing that memorable here. You'll probably forget about it soon after it's over.."Clawed.." will hide quietly in the ever-growing number of Bigfoot/Sasquatch flicks that have increased in size over the years. Even the location itself can not enhance the rather dull experience.
Review of The Unknown
