Review: ‘Exists’ seeks to resurrect Bigfoot legend

That famously grainy, jittery and analyzed 1967 short film of a strolling ape-like figure in a Northern California forest has made Bigfoot the original name in found-footage horror. But like so many movie stars, Bigfoot has been sold out by movie opportunists, in this case as ho-hum fright bait in the aggressively unimaginative “Exists,” about young GoPro video-loaded cabin weekenders terrorized by the legendarily hairy whatsit.

On one level, it’s disarming that Sasquatch’s mythical allure shows no signs of abating. But we can only hope that the recent epidemic of found-footage gimmickry — partly begun by “Exists” director Eduardo Sánchez, who co-ushered in the Dramamine era of horror with “The Blair Witch Project” — disappears as quickly as a reclusive creature from encroaching humans.

Nothing pulls you out of a scenario of dread faster than thinking: “Well, why would that character be filming now? Shouldn’t he be helping?” or “Well, that falling camera sure landed in a fortuitous position.”

Nevermind that the real controversy of “Exists,” akin to the great zombie debates of 21st century pop culture, is: Who signed off on a fast Bigfoot?

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“Exists”

MPAA rating: R for language, violence, sexual content and drug use.

Running time: 1 hour, 26 minutes.

Playing: AMC Burbank Town Center 8.