"El Ucumar" (2023)

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s Argentinian creature feature El Ucumar, from director/writer Octavio Revol Molina and One Eyed Films.

Synopsis

A pair of biologists and a photographer (Clara Kovacic, Nicolás Obregón, and Gastón Palermo) in the northern Argentine jungle are in search of evidence of the Andean bear inhabiting the place. In a bar of a nearby town they learn about a local legend, of a supposed "bear man" known as the "Ucumar".

The Good

Joseph: Who doesn’t love a good crytpid movie? And El Ucumar is just that. With a ratio of so many bad Bigfoot, Nessie, and related films to solid ones, it’s always a pleasure to find one that works well. El Ucumar gets extra points from me for informing as well as entertaining, as it introduces the wider world to the Argentinian version of Sasquatch — and yes, it is a cryptid with a history behind it, not one simply made up for a single monster movie. I enjoyed the re-creation sequences involving characters’ experiences and history with El Ucumar, as they reminded me of a cross between The Legend of Boggy Creek, Small Town Monsters documentaries, and television series about unexplained phenomenon. This approach also allows for more monster attacks, which I am always up for. Molina paces the proceedings well, and these re-creations help with his building of suspense because they are inserted at effective times. The acting is solid, with Kovacic, Obregón, and Palermo portraying a main trio of two people who viewers can really root for and one who we can’t wait to see get his.

Mike: It’s no secret both Joseph and I enjoy our cryptids and unexplained creatures (as we’ve mentioned plenty of times before), so with the El Ucumar being sparingly referred to as an Argentinian Bigfoot, I was pretty excited for this one.

The creature design is well done, even if he does look a little too friendly to be taken as a serious threat. There are plenty of tense moments with breaking twigs causing characters to do that slow turn resulting in a face-to-face confrontation with something unexpected. The plot itself, while not very new or original, at least serves the story well and the inclusion of anecdotal Ucumar encounters shown rather than being told gave the film a slight anthology feel, which helped keep things moving and a bit fresh.

I can’t grade the acting too harshly as my solitary language of English made me rely on, and spend time reading, the subtitles which makes it hard to really focus on facial and body language which is the only way to really judge a performance when the words and inflections are in a different language.

The Bad

Joseph: Wow, that climax! From straight out of left field! It’s bound to be divisive, and though I personally wouldn’t call it bad, I will say it’s unexpected, and for me, in a wacky way. Viewers who love movies in which the ending is nearly unpredictable should get a kick out of El Ucumar.

Mike: Although it was told in a traditional form of filming, El Ulcumar still had the slow pacing of a found footage film and, were it not for the aforementioned anecdotal stories involving the creature that were told in an anthology type of way, would have been a massive slog to get through. Odd that a movie with so much happening could have such glacial pacing.

I should note, and this is more a PSA than a “bad” element, but if seeing children hurt is a triggering event for you, be aware that there are two instances in which kids (one of which being a just-born baby) suffer some trauma.

One of the ‘Good’ things I mentioned was the creature design which, I will say again, was quite well done. However, I also mentioned how cute he looked and unless that was for some inexplicable reason done intentionally, also earns a spot in this section because - let’s face it - if you’re looking for scares, having a creature that looks like an oversized Ewok might not be the best decision.

There’s also a whack third act that takes the story to a very weird place.

The Verdict

Joseph: As a cryptozoology and creature feature buff, like Mike, I’m always thrilled to find films, whether narrative or documentary, about cryptids other than the most well-known ones, and if those films come from another country and boast beasts I have little or no familiarity with, that makes me extra intrigued. I recommend El Ucumar for creature feature fans and cryptozoology aficionados alike.

Mike: If you like cryptids and films about them, then El Ucumar should be on your radar, While there’s no debating that the movie is slow, it IS debatable if the pacing hurts the film or not and it’s something that will come down to the viewer’s expectations. It’s also a bit oddly paced which makes it feel like a found footage film although clearly not one. There are some odd and questionable plot points that seem to be forgotten after being introduced, and then there’s a third act that goes in a totally unexpected direction which I’m not going to call either “good”or “bad” because it’s the potential to make or break the film for some people.

El Ucumar is worth catching at least once