Nerdly » Frightfest 2018: ‘The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot’ Review

28th Aug2018

Frightfest 2018: ‘The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot’ Review

by Alain Elliott

Stars: Aidan Turner, Sam Elliott, Sean Bridgers, Ron Livingston, Caitlin FitzGerald, Ellar Coltrane, Larry Miller, Rizwan Manji, Mark Steger, Anastasia Tsikhanava | Written and Directed by Robert D. Krzykowski

With a title like The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot, people going to see this movie will probably be expecting something very strange. And that’s kind of what you get but in a different way than you might think.

I will say it immediately, this is not a ridiculous B-movie that the title may suggest. It has one moment or scene in particular that goes down that route but that is it. This is much more serious than I expected and a good chunk of the movie is spent focusing on a love story between the ‘man’, Calvin Barr (played by Aidan Turner in his younger years and Sam Elliott in his later life). The love story unfortunately seems a little bit unnecessary and doesn’t add a whole lot to the movie. I get the idea, it could have added some emotion (and does to an extent) but if it wasn’t in the movie at all, I don’t feel like I would have missed much.

My other major gripe is that the Calvin Barr played by Turner ad the one played by Elliot, seem like completely different characters. I get that people change over time, and there was at least fifty years between the two but there doesn’t seem to be much of a connection bewteen them.

Now, as they are in the title, I don’t think I am spoiling anything by talking a bit about the deaths of Hitler and The Bigfoot. Hitler’s is way too quick and plays a small part in it all. Including a reveal later on that lessens the impact it should have had. That said I liked the short build to it, there’s some nice tension and the weapon is very cleverly put together. The Bigfoot death though and scenes involving it are the highlight of the film. The only time The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot goes full-on ridiculous and B-movie is when it’s at its best and this is the fight between an eighty (ish) old man and The Bigfoot. It stays kind of serious but at the same time is very silly. There’s one disgusting but great moment and it ends in an almost touching way because main character Calvin Barr isn’t the killer you expect.

Sam Elliott is really good in the lead role. He acts, like the way he does in many of his roles, but that’s no bad thing. Even at an old age, he can play a tough guy and get away with it, while his age adds some vulnerability. Aidan Turner (best known for Poldark in the U.K.) does fine but isn’t given that much to work with.

The film does look great though. There’s some fantastic scenic shots and once again, the Bigfoot scenes are shot extremely well. I kinda of wish there was more scenes involving this creature.

Maybe if I watched The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot a second time, not expecting a crazy horror film, I might enjoy it more. But as it is, this is a slightly disappointing film with plenty of highlights. It doesn’t quite live up to it’s titles expectations, with its strangeness coming from the mix of styles that include romance, espionage, action, drama and a little bit of that B-movie fun.