The Man Who

The Man who killed Hitler and then the Bigfoot
Decades after serving in WWII and assassinating Adolf Hitler, Calvin Barr (Sam Elliott/Aidan Turner) is
enlisted as the only man for the job: to hunt down the fabled Bigfoot. Living a peaceful life in New
England reflecting on his lost love Maxine (Caitlin FitzGerald), the War Veteran is contacted by the
FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to lead the charge to capture the elusive beast that is
carrying a deadly plague. Can he find the dangerous creature deep inside the Canadian wilderness
before it’s too late?
“It’s nothing like the comic book you want it to be.”
I went in as blind as I could to this film that had been on my radar for the best part of a year. What a
title! Typically, the film both lives up to the audacity of said title, but also doesn’t. In Grindhouse
styling, even down to the choice of font, we are given a scenario that could be balls out crazy, but
instead we are subjected to something a lot quieter, a lot smaller, and ultimately a bit less
interesting in places, but in other ways, more interesting. I’m surprised at the amount of ‘horror’
sites adopting this, as it is not a horror at all.
This is Robert D. Krzykowski’s directorial feature debut after years of producing other people’s films
(like Lucky Mckee’s The Woman) and writing/directing short films himself.
I love Sam Elliott and in this it’s no different. Here is a character, Calvin Barr, that is set up to kill two
monsters, one real and one mythical, and it wasn’t until sitting down to watch that I realised that the
character would be played by 2 actors, one in the distant past (Aiden Turner) and the not so distant
past (Sam Elliott)
Both actors, especially Elliott, have unique voices, and it’s good that Turner certainly has an air of
Young Sam Elliott about him physically because there was no attempt to make them sound similar.
The film however has an early 90s, slow burn character study feel to it, like a lot of the indie films of
the early to mid 90s did. Recurring motifs, Elliot’s character keeps searching for a stone in his shoe
that he can never find; the case that Calvin has we are left wondering, what’s in the case. The film
flip flops between the past and the present using triggers for Barr to slip back and forth which never
seem out of place and work remarkably well. These leaps back in time mainly consist of Barr
reminiscing about his lost love, indirectly lost by killing Hitler; by mistakes made, by making difficult
choices. The 80’s set Elliott era storyline tends to revolve about growing old, in a Straight Story kind
of way. This is quite nicely done, and the film itself is very nicely shot.
Yet I was left wanting.
It’s nothing like the comic book you want it to be.”
Alas for me this turns out to be true.
I felt dozy through the first half, but then it picked up as Elliott was about to go off to kill Bigfoot and
I thought it might make all the difference, the Bigfoot section though fun seems to be a bit of an
after thought, again, it’s not really about the big fights, the big showdowns, but should it have been?
I found my mind wandering at times into places I felt this film could’ve gone, which may say more
about me as a viewer than anything else. I wanted something a bit bigger, a bit more driven, maybe
even a bit goofier? This was clearly not the directors vision of the film, he wanted to take the
largeness of the conceit and make something a lot more personal, both most likely to himself (as it
had been in development for years) and for the characters the film encapsulates.
Yes, the title says ‘The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot’ and yes this does actually
happens, but with such big world building events, the execution felt muted, yet matter of fact at the
same time.
That premise and its execution felt a lot like the kind of posters that Cannon Films would use to
promote their not yet made films at Cannes, where the poster, the title, the cast, were more
interesting than the film itself. What it could’ve been, where it could’ve gone.
All in all I’m mixed on my thoughts for the film. I loved the quiet moments but really wanted to see
elements of it pushed further. I am though excited to see where this director takes his talents next. I
like writers/directors that don’t take the easy route, that try thinking outside the box. Having the
great Douglas Trumball on board and Spectral Motion who created the Demogorgan from Stranger
Things creating the Bigfoot, as well as John Sayles there as Executive Producer give the film a bit of
gravitas.
If you are used to action packed dramas, or gonzo grindhouse, this film is certainly not for you. If you
like slow paced contained character driven dramas you may get something out of this. It tackles a lot
of themes that are very telling, very poignant right now. The film is also very open ended, in a similar
way to the current box office darling ‘Us’ is. I like films like this, that make you think, discuss, ponder.
I wanted to like this more than I did, but maybe that’s a failing of me. As I say, I’m very keen to see
where Krzykowski goes next as a writer/director.
I watched this as a DVD screener, and the quality of picture on DVD was very good. Hearing the
director talk in interviews about trying to replicate the look of films from the 40s and 80s certainly
came across in the cinematography and the choice to use cinemascope. The rousing score by Joe
Kraemer is fine too. This is a lovely looking film especially on the largest screen you can find. No
extras were included on this screener but the film, which is available on streaming April, and then
physical DVD and Bluray come May suggests that the following extras are included.
Behind the scenes

Deleted scenes
Commentary
Elsie Hooper short film
Joel Kraemer interview
Storyboards.

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The Man who killed Hitler and then the Bigfoot

“It’s nothing like the comic book you want it to be.”

Yet I was left wanting.

It’s nothing like the comic book you want it to be.”

Alas for me this turns out to be true.

Behind the scenes

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