This week, the oddest DVD to appear on release lists is:

“Shriek of the Sasquatch”

Super hot babes and hairy, bloodthirsty beasts populate the decidedly retro, tongue-in-cheek drive-in movie homage “Shriek of the Sasquatch,” due out on DVD Tuesday.

It’s the work of writer-director-actor-composer Steve Sessions, whose contributions to low-budget video horror include such titles as “Dead Clowns,” “At the House of Madness,” “Contagio” and “Cremains.”

A throwback to the heyday of the drive-in ’70s, this kicky little monster flick apes all the tacky conventions we’d expect from a night out at the movies under the stars – buxom babes in distress, hulking beasts on the prowl, lots of gore and severed body parts, a cheesy synthesized musical score complete with sound pops and even a scratchy, scorched film print.

The story is pro forma for the B-movie genre: A comely couple, Julie (Sarah French, a.k.a. Scarlet Salem) and Nick (Donny Versiga), are driving through a rural area that’s had a rash of recent Bigfoot sightings and mysterious deaths. And before long they find themselves involved with a small-town deputy (Todd Cockroft) who is in pursuit of an elusive, murderous, ape-like creature.

As sudden attacks come fast and furious (from a monster in a decidedly raggedy and goofy Bigfoot suit) and as bloody body parts pile up, the film manages to neatly spoof the conventions of several popular Sasquatch flicks (ranging from “The Legend of Boggy Creek” to “Creature From Black Lake”).

One bonus here is the performance of blond, buxom “scream queen” Sarah French, who under the screen name Scarlet Salem has graced such horror titles as
“Insectula,” “Strip Club Slasher,” “Killer Biker Chicks,” “Incest Death Squad” and “Necrostalgic.”

“Shriek of the Sasquatch” is not rated and runs 81 minutes. It’s being released by Retro Media.

- Dennis King

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