Wild Man of the Navidad – director(s) Duane Graves, Justin Meeks (2008)
Let’s drag things out of the art house and into the woods for a bit. If you’re of a certain age (as Bill and I are), then before cable and video and all that, there were just plain late-night cheesy horror films. And if you ever watched those, no doubt at some point or another, you’ve seen some kind of Bigfoot film, like “Legend of Boggy Creek” or something along those lines. I’m no closet supermarket tabloid fan, but I will admit that I have a soft spot in my heart (or maybe my head), for these types of films. I was very interested in seeing “Wild Man of the Navidad” when I heard about it, but I wasn’t really expecting it to be as GOOD as it is.
This film is a dead-on, loving re-creation of these “Bigfoot” type films, but it also slyly drags in a few themes that no one could have gotten away with back in the 70’s.
The film takes place in and around the town of “Sublime”, Texas. Most of the cast are non-actors, and the look and the feel of rural Texas in the early 70’s is nearly perfect. The main character, Dale, is played by co-director Justin Meeks. Dale is a man who has just lost his job, and who lives outside of town on a remote ranch. His wife is disabled, and he has a caretaker, Mario, a Mexican who helps around the house (and goes through the wife’s panty drawer when hubby isn’t home, not to mention occasionally taking advantage of the wife, too). There is SOMETHING OUT THERE in the woods and thickets around the ranch, and it’s been there for years. Every evening Dale and Mario put out offerings for the creature, or creatures, since there seems to be more than one, and for years, that has kept things stable.
But now, financially strapped, Dale has resorted to opening part of his ranch to hunters, because it is hunting season. And Dale know that this is not really a good idea, as does Mario, because once the hunters show up, they may have the opportunity to bag a few things here and there, or they may well become the hunted. And of course, if you’ve ever seen these kind of films before, you of course know what the outcome will be.
I can say that while watching this I never had any sense (and you can take that however you like) that this was a modern film. The directors certainly have the look and the feel of an early 70’s film down to a tee. There are a few themes that go beyond the 70’s type film though, like references to a potent local moonshine that’s lowering the IQ’s (if that’s possible) of the local population; the aforementioned panty-sniffing Mexican caretaker, and even a bit of unrealistic gore, all of which were noticeably absent in “the real thing”. There’s also a bit of dark humor thrown in too, which works pretty well.
So, not a film for everyone, but certainly one for those who aren’t afraid to indulge themselves in “guilty pleasures”. I don’t feel the least bit guilty for enjoying this, but I may feel just a LITTLE guilty for telling others about it. Nah….go see it and enjoy.
Feelms 