Microbudget filmmakers Dillon Brown and Michael Rock are back with a follow-up to their $800 (!) Bigfoot mockumentary, Tahoe Joe 2: The Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Conspiracy has slightly larger ambitions than the first film and admirably builds on the story. This time out, Brown and Rock worked with a relatively bigger budget of $5500. I’m highlighting the financial element here because I think it’s an essential component of how we should experience a film like this. I don’t need Oscar-caliber performances and award-winning special effects from a flick that costs less than a used car. I want unpolished authenticity. I want gumption. I want fun. Tahoe Joe 2 delivers on all of that.
You don’t need to have seen the first film in order to understand this one, as the events are recapped organically and concisely, but allow me to note a few important points. In addition to producing, shooting, writing, and directing the movie, Brown and Rock star as themselves. Within the world of the film, their first Tahoe Joe documentary was released to the public, generating controversy and scorn but also a social media trend. Sqautchers and vapid influencers alike have descended on the area surrounding Lake Tahoe to search for the titular Sasquatch. A brief prologue depicts some foolish influencers being attacked by what may or may not be a Bigfoot.
The story proper follows Rock, a retired Green Beret, as he is recruited by one of the surviving influencers from the prologue to go on a search and rescue mission. The good-natured soldier flits between dismissing the furor surrounding his earlier encounter and feeling responsible for what his actions have wrought. Brown is much more affected by the relentless online criticism and initially rejects Rock’s proposal to trudge back out into the snowy wilderness, but he eventually joins on. With better recording equipment and more firepower, the duo heads back out into the woods where they stumble onto a conspiracy that reframes the events of the first film and acts as a nice bit of world-building.
Both Brown and Rock are comfortable in front of the camera. Rock has the flashier role and is clearly the lead. Considering he was a Green Beret in real life, he certainly looks the part, and he has a certain amount of natural charisma. Brown is the main supporting player and he brings a sort of everyman energy to the piece. The two have great chemistry together which makes the film feel grounded. John Potash’s villain definitely looks the part of a dangerous mountain man, and it was fun to see him briefly square off against the brawny Rock. Toma Smith plays the hulking Tahoe Joe and is totally believable as the ferocious cryptid.
Tahoe Joe 2 is presented as a documentary and is structured as such, but it incorporates found footage elements, as well. There’s lots of footage from head-mounted cameras and phones, so there are a handful of panicked shaky sequences and fleeting glimpses of Joe on the hunt. There are also a few stretches that reminded me of first-person shooter video games. Night vision and security cam shots spice up the visuals here and there, too. I appreciated that we get to see more of Joe this time out, although the filmmakers still wisely avoid any sort of money-shot grand reveal. The creature suit works just fine with this approach.
Brown’s script is loose in some spots and tight in others. I’m guessing that there was a fair amount of improv involved with the more capable actors, but ultimately it all gels. The found footage component helps to cover up for some of the less experienced performers. The premise is well executed, though, and I truly enjoyed how the fallout from the first film informed the expansion of the story here. Meta flourishes like the utilization of real-world bad reviews of the initial film pleasingly accent the flavor of this sequel. Make sure you sit through the credits, as there are a couple of short scenes midway through, one of which is pretty funny, and a stinger that sets up a possible third film.
The score is comprised of library tracks and they are deployed effectively. Most of it is atmospheric electronic stuff, but we also get some folksy guitar bits to mix things up. Aside from that clash of styles, I never would have guessed that the music was cobbled together in that manner until I asked Brown about it. What I mean is that it feels like a coherent suite thoughtfully arranged.
If you’ve read my work with any frequency, you know that I’m a champion for films that were made for a buck-fifty with some duct tape and grit. Dillon Brown and Michael Rock’s Tahoe Joe 2: The Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Conspiracy falls squarely into that realm, and though I find that title a little unwieldy, I think it succeeds at everything else it sets out to do. Then again, I probably would’ve called it Tahoe Joe 2: Here We Joe Again, so what do I know? I’m told the film will be released for on-demand platforms on May 27th. Recommended, with caveats, for fans of The Deadly Spawn, The Blair Witch Project, and Digging Up The Marrow.
Michael Cavender