TAHOE JOE 2 – The Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Conspiracy – found footage review

As I have said before, one of the great things about found footage films is that it isn’t about the budget, it’s about the ambition. If you are committed to the story and have some ingenuity you can pull off almost anything. Saying that, you still need to put the work in. With the first TAHOE JOE their passion was obvious, as well as their commitment to the premise. The question then became…was it any good?

And the answer was it was OK. 

It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great, it was just entertaining enough but not a ground shaker. With the sequel, the filmmakers return to the Sierra Nevadas for another date with Bigfoot. Can their luck hold out?

TAHOE JOE 2 re-introduces us to the filmmakers behind the first film, two men who got involved with the beast while looking for a lost friend. Since the first film they, and their film, have become rather infamous. Some believe the film is true, others think it is a hoax, and both sides are very vocal. It turns out that their film has also inspired people to do dangerous things for social media clout. This reckless behavior has led to the disappearance of a young woman who had been out in the wild with her friends. The two filmmakers head back out to the domain of Tahoe Joe, uncertain what they will find but hoping they can save the missing young woman. They can never guess that what awaits them is a much deeper mystery than they could have imagined. 

I give them filmmakers credit because when it comes to the introductory stuff and the social media interactions they nail it. Their chemistry is really good too. The film works for the first half, as things get going but once we get to the first reveal, and the deeper cut of actors the film takes on a wobble. Some of the later acting is really bad. As is the camera work. When it cuts to someone that isn’t them holding a handheld camera and then shooting things like it’s a movie – move over to the person speaking, hold on to them until the next person speaks, and then the camera moves to them, and so on. It kills the vibe of the film, as does the casual way that the two filmmakers move from just “two dudes making a documentary” into killing machines. I get it, one of them has a legit military background but it feels…off. 

That’s the thing with the whole film – the tone. Is it scary, or just fun?

Both?

Eh?

It’s entertaining, for sure, but it doesn’t hold together. The wider the film’s world becomes, the more far-fetched it is. As the series seems poised to continue, I can’t say I am interested in where it goes. It worked better as a contained film, but as it becomes admittedly weirder it gets less interesting for me. 

I will admit though, Tahoe Joe still looks really good. They have that going for them. 

It’s a meh from me, dog. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28437619/

2.5 out of 5