Often the most interesting crimes are those that sound so improbable that they resemble fiction and turn from headlines into myth. Hulu’s new series “Sasquatch” deals with that type of crime, investigating rumors that three cannabis farmers were gruesomely murdered, attributed to the legendary forest monster Sasquatch.
Directed by Joshua Rofé (“Lorena”), the Hulu series follows gonzo journalist David Holthouse as he investigates an anecdote he heard on a cannabis plantation in Northern California in the 1990s. Best known as a hotbed of cannabis cultivation, the area has earned a reputation in popular culture as a particularly dangerous region, thanks in part to the Netflix series ‘Murder Mountain’. While the series has been criticized as sensational, the sentiments are echoed by the longtime cannabis farmers interviewed in ‘Sasquatch’.
Holthouse, who has worked as an embedded journalist on topics such as neo-Nazi communities for 25 years, acts as the series’ lead detective, making his way through Mendocino County in search of clues to the alleged murders. Scenes were often shot with only one cameraman and no support team to create a sense of security between Holthouse and his sources, many of which have obscured voices and images.
“In some cases he was developing resources over the course of a whole year,” says Rofé. “His wheelhouse is essentially parts of society that would make the rest of us really uncomfortable and really scared. He thrives in those situations. “
While visiting a pot farm in Northern California in 1993, researcher David Holthouse heard a story that still haunts him about a savage Bigfoot attack.
HuluThe three-episode series that premieres April 20 is terrifying indeed. For inspiration, Rofé did not look at other true crime documents, but rather suspenseful feature films such as’ McCabe & Mrs. Miller ‘,’ Zodiac ‘,’ The Parallax View ‘and’ Memories of a Murder ‘by’ Parasite ‘director Bong Joonho.
Sources repeatedly warn Holthouse against further investigation or risking his own safety. Despite the fact that these three alleged murders are now 28 years old, sources acknowledge that these deaths are part of a pattern of other missing persons that the area’s residents would rather be forgotten.
“I didn’t know we were getting into this that this was going to be such a dangerous world that we would enter,” says Rofé. It seemed more idiosyncratic. Did a Bigfoot kill three men on a weed farm? Of course I knew there was darkness, but I could not have imagined how dark it would get. “
While visiting a pot farm in Northern California in 1993, investigative journalist David Holthouse heard a story that still haunts him about a savage Bigfoot attack.
HuluOne night Rofé said that Holthouse was planning to meet a source without a cameraman. The meeting alternated twice, first in the afternoon to a public place, then at 11 p.m. at a location that turned out to be closed. Even Holthouse was nervous at the time, but then an unexpected eight people joined. One of them called another source and then offered to drive immediately to Holthouse to meet them three hours away, in the middle of the forest. Meanwhile, Rofé was back in a hotel room, wide awake awaiting text updates from Holthouse that he was safe. Holthouse may wisely declined the invitation.
“I am a film maker, I am a film buff to the extreme,” says Rofé. But suddenly you realize you’re not just making that doc series you were so excited about. There are things that are so real, and [the sources] don’t admit to making your little doc series for Hulu. They don’t care about the themes you want to explore. It can get very unpredictable, and you quickly realize that. “
The iconic Bigfoot pose captured in the Patterson-Gimlin movie.
Courtesy of the US Forest ServiceWhile the general tone is dripping with paranoia, there are still some lighthearted moments, thanks in large part to interviews with Sasquatch enthusiasts who range from true believers to scholars who consider the beast an allegory. Rofé himself declines to comment on whether he believes Sasquatch exists, but regardless of his opinion of the myth, the experience of filming the docuseries changed him in at least one major way.
“I never want to go camping again,” he says.