What is Sasqua?
In 1974, a small band of hippies moved into an isolated farmhouse in the Dracut Forest to escape modern society and start a commune—only to find themselves hassled by The Man. And when the bloody murders began, local law enforcement put the blame on the freaky flower children. But they all eventually joined forces to fight against the true threat to the community: cannibalistic sasquatches.
That’s the plot of Lowell’s very own bigfoot movie: Sasqua.
Lowell native Channon Scott came back from Los Angeles to shoot the movie and cast stars of the horror classic The Hills Have Eyes. Many locals were also involved in the production as cast and crew.
Called “flim flam men” when they first came to town, the filmmakers managed to complete the movie after numerous problems including police raiding the set during a rehearsal, hunters shooting at the actors wearing bigfoot costumes, and construction workers going on strike at one of their shooting locations.
The film premiered to great fanfare in the Lowell area in 1975, but soon after passed into lost cult classic legend—until now.
Documentarian John Campopiano, known for his exploits as The Boston Yeti, has been leading a crew of intrepid investigators on a hunt for lore about the film, along with whatever copies of the film may still exist. His goal is to create a documentary for theatrical release. You can read more about the documentary’s production in this recent Boston Globe article.
The Luna’s management has been intimately involved in helping bring this vision to life and looks forward to bringing Sasqua back to a Lowell screen in the near future.
What can you do to help?
Sasqua t-shirts are available in the Luna lobby with the proceeds helping to fund the documentary.
If you have any tips or stories about the making of the movie that you’d like to share, please email hauntedlowell@gmail.com.
QUICK 2024 UPDATE: COMING SOON! The documentary is “in the can” as they say in Hollyweird! And it’s going to be great! Stay tuned! ~Manager, The Luna Theater