THE BIGFOOT FILES/Chapter Forty: David Ford

Man vs. Bigfoot and Something in the Woods are a pair of gritty independent Bigfoot films written by, directed by, and starring the same man: East Texas native David Ford.

What the movies lack in budget, Ford replaces with old-fashioned, heartfelt storytelling that’s missing in most Bigfoot creature features.

Both films feature a Christian man trying to protect his family from Bigfoot. The legendary beasts are portrayed as monsters lurking in the woods with seemingly animalistic urges. However, their motivations are initially misunderstood.

The two films are available to watch free on the ad-supported streaming service Tubi.

Released in 2021, Man vs. Bigfoot is produced by GodZone Ministry, Saving Oscar Productions, and Random Media. It’s about a man named Jack who searches for his brother after he goes missing on a hiking trail. Jack soon finds himself in a game of cat-and-mouse with an angry Bigfoot.

Ford’s first Bigfoot film, Something in the Woods is loosely inspired by events reported about the Cowman of Copalis Beach. The story follows the Hartman family and their encounters with a Bigfoot stalking their farmhouse in the late 1960s. Released in 2015, Something in the Woods is produced by GodZone Ministry and Saving Oscar Productions. Tony Gibson also directed the movie with Ford.

A former teacher who works in advertising, Ford grew up in the small town of Harleton, Texas, and now lives in neighboring Hallsville. His interest in acting and filmmaking started after college.

“I have been messing around with a video camera since I was in the seventh grade, doing skits with my friends,” Ford said in an exclusive interview for THE BIGFOOT FILES. “I didn’t get serious about acting until I graduated college and did some acting on the side while being a teacher. I did one indie film with a local guy and realized that I too could probably make a movie after watching him do it. I learned a lot from my first film and just continued to grow with each film.”

Bigfoot sightings in East Texas stimulated Ford’s interest in the popular cryptid.

“My interest in Bigfoot started just through reading the research and evidence over the past 50 years in reports and stuff,” Ford said. “I wasn’t aware that East Texas was a hot spot for sightings at that time and when I read a report of several sightings in my area, well, I had to dig deeper. The more I dug the more I realized the evidence was very strong. Then, in 2015, while out in the woods one evening just before dark, something pushed over a dead tree in the thicket near me. I couldn’t see it, but it was huffing and puffing and running back and forth. The steps were heavy. That got me on the fence, and a couple years later I caught some audio of what I believe were Bigfoot creatures behind my house at 2 a.m. It took a couple months of setting my audio device out to finally get something that to me was conclusive. It sounded like a caveman getting on to a little juvenile for getting too close to the recorder.”

Ford thinks Bigfoot is a primate.

“I do believe the creature is an ape-like species that has been discovered, just not caught,” he said. “There is a mystery as to why we can’t catch one, but they are extremely fast, mainly active at night, and masters of the woods. Usually, when people see one, it’s very brief and they take off running. You got thousands of reports dating back to the 1800s of this same type of species. What is it? I don’t know, but they do have ape-like behavior in their rock-throwing, how they are built, and shaking trees, building teepee type structures, etc.”

Ford scored the ultimate Bigfoot casting coup when Bob Gimlin agreed to a cameo in Man vs. Bigfoot. Gimlin, of course, is one of the two men responsible for the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film, which allegedly shows a female Bigfoot walking along Bluff Creek in Northern California.

“After making my first Bigfoot film, I ran into Bob Gimlin at Ohio Bigfoot Conference, and we became friends,” Ford said. “So, it was important to me to try and get him in a cameo in my next film if it was possible. Bob is a genuine man, and his story has never changed. The stabilized version of his story is proof the creature exists because nobody has been able to replicate that creature with muscles flexing beneath the fur, and stretch fur technology didn’t exist then. There are lots of other points to that video that make the Patterson-Gimlin footage the best evidence we have, and anyone interested can listen to Dr. Jeff Meldrum speak on it.”

While Ford believes Bigfoot exists, he also firmly believes in the existence of God. His two Bigfoot movies feature Christian families in lead roles, but the religious references are subdued and blend nicely into the composition of the characters.

“I try to plant seeds of the Gospel message in a subtle way,” Ford said. “I think it’s important to sow seeds of the truth in a dark world. Science can’t explain our need and want to worship something, and I believe God built us this way, to want to know Him. I also believe that we all will stand before God one day to give an account as the Bible teaches, and I don’t want to be someone who never shared the good news of Jesus. There are like 4,200 religions in the world but only one that rose from the dead, and only one that is based on grace and not works. I have some Christian-centered films lined up for the future, and I plan to make those when the right investors or funding comes along.”

So, does Ford plan to make more Bigfoot movies?

“I would love to make other Bigfoot films and other movies,” he said. “The problem I face is funding. I made other movies for about $15,000. That isn’t enough to pay people. I just did those movies like that to show what I could do. So, I am hoping to find private investors for my future films. The goal for my next project is $200,000. If anyone is interested, they can reach out to me.”

The best way to contact Ford is his email: davidford75@gmail.com.

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RELATED LINKS

THE BIGFOOT FILES/Chapter Thirty-Nine: Man vs. Bigfoot

THE BIGFOOT FILES/Chapter Sixteen: Something in the Woods

THE BIGFOOT FILES/Chapter Thirty-Nine: Man vs. Bigfoot

Man vs. Bigfoot is a low-budget creature feature from David D. Ford, who wrote, directed, and acted in the 2021 film. The movie is free to watch HERE on Tubi.

Ford plays a tormented cop named Jack on leave after a traffic stop escalates into a tragic shooting. He deals with the nightmares thanks to a supportive wife and a new therapy group, although he questions whether he can put on the uniform again.

The film kicks into gear when Jack’s brother Aaron heads to the woods for a solo hiking trip. Aaron calls his wife the first night, reporting strange noises in the night. Not surprisingly, Aaron goes missing. A search party finds Aaron’s cellphone, and Jack spots a shadowy figure in the background of one of Aaron’s selfies.

Ruled as a likely bear attack by authorities, Jack continues to search for his brother. During Jack’s first night camping in the forest, he encounters a Native American trapper named Don Bighorse. The trapper tells Jack, “The protector of the woods is angry and out for blood. I think your brother was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The protector, of course, is Bigfoot. The trapper reveals he’s seen Bigfoot twice, including one week ago.

The next day Jack encounters the creature, and the movie becomes a cat-and-mouse game between man and beast for the remaining 45 minutes.

The Bigfoot in the film is realistic enough, and the battle between Jack and the creature is a gritty brawl at times. Both seem reluctant to deal a fatal death blow even when the opportunity is there.

Man vs. Bigfoot overcomes a slow start to finish strong with an emotional climax and one of the sweetest final shots ever in a Bigfoot movie. Ultimately, the film is about two creatures — man and beast — struggling with grief over recent tragedies in their lives.

Man vs. Bigfoot also features a cameo by Bob Gimlin, one of the filmmakers of the famous 1967 Patterson-Gimlin video that allegedly captured a real Bigfoot walking along Bluff Creek in Northern California.

In 2015, David D. Ford directed and acted in another Bigfoot movie titled Something in the Woods. Click HERE to read my review of Something in the Woods, which is also free to watch on Tubi.

NEXT UP: Chapter Forty: David Ford. I interview the actor/writer/director.

THE BIGFOOT FILES/Chapter Twenty-Five: ‘Spy Rock’

“Spy Rock,” the Episode 2 title of Hulu’s true-crime documentary Sasquatch, takes you deeper into the dangerous cannabis farming region of Northern California called the Emerald Triangle and further away from Bigfoot’s involvement in a triple homicide.

If you haven’t read my review of Episode 1, you can check it out HERE.

Episode 2 opens with an interesting interview featuring Bob Heironimus. He claims he wore the Bigfoot suit for the famous 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film in exchange for “a thousand bucks.” He offers a detailed description of the experience. Bob Gimlin counters the claim, but Heironimus says, “Have him look at my right hip. I had my jeans on. It was my wallet. He knows it was me.”

And that’s it as far as Sasquatch goes.

The documentary returns to David Holthouse, the journalist investigating a 1993 triple murder allegedly committed by Bigfoot. Picking up where Episode 1 left off, “Spy Rock” focuses more on the violent history of the Emerald Triangle region.

After a fruitful interview with a cannabis farmer named Razor, Holthouse learns the three murder victims are Mexicans and the scene of the crime is near Spy Rock Road. Media coverage of the region shows past coverage of stabbings, shootings, and murders.

The narrative then shifts to the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), a multi-agency law enforcement task force formed in 1983 to eradicate cannabis cultivation and trafficking. The campaign wiped out cannabis farms, increasing the costs of marijuana and heightening paranoia in the region. The cannabis farmers who remained started protecting their crops with firearms and booby traps. In the 1990s, the violence escalated, and harder drugs increased in popularity.

Holthouse sets up a meeting with a cannabis farmer and uses a hidden camera during a tense drive into the forest. During the meeting, he learns about the tension between whites and the Latinos who were often hired as laborers.

Holthouse briefly addresses his own past demons, including when he was sexually assaulted at age seven. He said the incident left him with a diminished sense of self-worth, enabling him to take risks without much fear. However, Holthouse appears nervous as he gets closer to the truth.

Another meeting with a different confidential source surprisingly reveals the name of the prime murder suspect, a man who worked on a farm affiliated with the Hells Angels motorcycle gang. However, Holthouse decides against releasing the suspect’s name out of fear for his personal safety. Even the intimidating Razor is afraid to discuss the suspect.

Holthouse manages to acquire the suspect’s phone number and makes the call. The episode ends with the suspect answering the phone.

NEXT UP: Chapter Twenty-Six: Sasquatch. I review the final episode of the 2021 Hulu series.

THE BIGFOOT FILES/Chapter Twenty-Four: ‘Grabbing at Smoke’

Hulu’s true-crime documentary, Sasquatch, begins its three-episode arc with a story “about a Sasquatch wasting three dudes in dope country.”

The series title feels like a bait-and-switch because it invokes the creature’s name to empower a metaphor rather than expose the mythic monster.

Titled “Grabbing at Smoke,” the first episode follows investigative journalist David Holthouse on a wild goose chase through his memory and the dangerous cannabis farming region of Northern California called the Emerald Triangle.

In the fall of 1993, Holthouse worked on a cannabis farm with a friend. The second night there, his friend received an intense phone call before two men arrived saying that a Bigfoot dismembered and killed three other men.

Twenty-five years later, Holthouse decides to return to the scene and investigate the triple murder.

Holthouse is a credible and compelling subject, and director Joshua Rofé effectively blends in creepy animation and an eerie soundtrack to create an atmosphere of anxiety and paranoia.

The first episode finds Holthouse at the start of his investigation and provides an interesting lesson on the dark history of the Emerald Triangle, including Native American massacres and the timber industry’s wanton destruction of ancient redwood trees.

However, the arrival of the hippies and back-to-the-landers in the 1970s fuels thriving cannabis farms off the grid and sets the stage for murder and mayhem in the shadows of the dense forest.

Back to the investigation, Holthouse fails to find any links to the 1993 Bigfoot murder story and hires a private investigator, hoping his connections will locate a lead.

The episode sprinkles in interviews with Bigfoot hunters and witnesses, including James “Bobo” Fay of Finding Bigfoot and Jeff Meldrum, a professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University.

“I’m convinced Sasquatch exists,” said Meldrum, who estimates 300 Bigfoot live in Idaho. “It’s the evidence that convinces me.”

The most interesting interview is Bob Gimlin, the gentleman forever associated with the famous Patterson-Gimlin film of 1967.

The documentary shifts back to the investigation when Holthouse’s private eye provides an intriguing lead.

A cannabis farmer named Razor recalls a similar story about three Mexican nationals killed around the Spy Rock Road area in 1993.

The episode ends with Holthouse planning to meet the mysterious Razor in person followed by a texted warning from the suddenly skittish private investigator.

“You. Please be careful.”

NEXT UP: Chapter Twenty-Five: Sasquatch. I review Episode 2 of the 2021 Hulu series.