Overview
Whether you believe he’s lurking out there or not, there’s no denying that Bigfoot is one of the most infamous cryptids in the Western world. Countless explorers have set out to find him or some evidence of his existence, yet after centuries of searching, all we have to show for it are some blurry photos. Looking to change that is the one and only Jack Osbourne.
After investigating demons, ghosts, and portals, Jack is trying his hand at investigating a different kind of mystery. Now, alongside his friend Jason Mewes, Jack is setting out into the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest to prove Bigfoot’s existence once and for all.
Jack Osbourne’s Night of Terror: Bigfoot was the first installment in the Jack Osbourne’s Night of Terror series, which consists of 90-minute specials and deep dives into one paranormal topic. Bigfoot certainly merits a dedicated investigation, but can Jack find new evidence? Or, as some prospective viewers worried, is he simply going to run around the woods for an hour and a half? Let’s find out…
Jack Osbourne’s Night of Terror: Bigfoot Air Date
Warner Brothers first announced that Jack and Jason would be taking on Bigfoot in May 2022, with the release date set for Sunday, June 26th. Night of Terror: Bigfoot was announced as a straight-to-streaming release, available to watch on Discovery+.
There was a significant amount of press for the special, which did manage to create hype around the investigation. However, this does not seem to have translated into a great deal of viewers, and a very small number of these ended up praising the show.
The Creation and Production
Night of Terror: Bigfoot was produced by Jack’s own production company, Osbourne Media. Jack gets an executive producer credit, and other producers include:
- Rob Saffi – Executive Producer
- Peter Glowski – Executive Producer
- Kristen Teraila – Executive Producer (For Discovery+)
- Jason Westlund – Associate Story Producer
- William De Bolt – Line Producer
- Hannah Brown – Supervising Producer
- Erik Pinkston – Senior Producer
Production was managed by Chris Celentano and Tifani Welch and coordinated by Pete Hernandez. Addison Miller took on the role of director of photography, with camera operators Chris Stevens and Chris Olmedo.
Post-production was supervised by Andrew Raley at Revolution Post, with editing led by Bogdan Bageag and a team of four main editors and two assistant editors. Francisco Ortiz took on the role of colorist while Eric Rettermayer handled audio mixing.
Jack Osbourne’s Night of Terror: Bigfoot Cast Members
Joining the titular host, Jack Osbourne, on his mystery mission is actor, Jason Mewes. Here’s a little bit more about their backgrounds…
Jack Osbourne
Having been raised by the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, Jack is no stranger to the darker side of life. Fascinated by the mysteries of aliens and the occult from a young age, he got most of his inspiration for investigations from horror movies and the X-Files.
Though he did enjoy wandering around haunted houses and searching for ghosts as a teenager, it wasn’t until he hosted Haunted Highways in 2012 that his passion was brought to the small screen. He is perhaps best known as the host of Portals to Hell but has since turned his attention to feature-length specials that allow him to explore one aspect of the supernatural.
Jason Mewes
One half of the renowned comedy duo Jay and Silent Bob, Jason Mewes, is probably not someone you’d expect to see assisting with a paranormal investigation. Jason has starred in movies such as Clerks and Dogma. He has long been a fan of scary movies, citing the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise as his all-time favorite and inspiration for his interest in the paranormal.
As one of Jack’s best friends, he was invited to join him on their expedition to find Bigfoot. In the press release for Night of Terror: Bigfoot, Jason admitted he’d “never done anything like this. It’s pretty crazy,” but expressed his excitement to potentially be a pioneer and unravel the age-old mystery.
Primary Focus of the Show
After a brief introduction, Jack and Jason set out to speak to primatologist Mireya Mayor to learn more about the signs they should be looking for. Mireya also gives them some specialist gear to add to their stash, which includes:
- Foxpro – emits vocalizations that animals respond to
- Infrasound Microphone – produces high frequencies only animals can hear
- Parabolic Microphone – magnifies sound over long distances
- White Phosphor Night Vision Helmet – military-grade night vision
- Thermal Optic – uses heat signatures to isolate animals in darkness
- IR Strobe – infrared strobe which night vision can pick up
- Pheromones – can attract Bigfoot, apparently
After getting kitted out, Jack and Jason interview some eyewitnesses, who warn them to be careful during their search because Bigfoot can be dangerous. After setting up their camp, the boys head to the spot where the eyewitnesses had their experience. They don’t find Bigfoot, but they see some rabbits, hear an unidentifiable animal call, and hear something breaking twigs in the woods.
On day two of the investigation, Jack and Jason meet with a few more witnesses to discuss what they’ve found, as well as with a Bigfoot expert named Kevin Llewellyn. He encourages the boys to go to Upper Priest Lake, where they travel next. After hearing a howl, they decide to head deeper into the woods, but only find some hair on a tree and a heat signature that causes some leaves to rustle.
Once the sun rises, they review their evidence, which mostly consists of audio recordings of howls and branches breaking. They return to the eyewitnesses to share their findings, finally concluding that they can’t be sure what they experienced was Bigfoot, but it’s certainly beyond coincidence.
The Show’s Impact on the Paranormal Community
As mentioned, Night of Terror: Bigfoot did generate quite a lot of hype. Comments on the trailer express lots of enthusiasm, with viewers sharing their fascination with Bigfoot and hopes for the special. One such comment reads, “Jack Osbourne is a staple in our house with all his Supernatural shows. We love both of these guys. Cannot wait to see this!! Should be hilarious and interesting too.”
Once the special had been released, those who were already fans of Jack and Jason seemed to get the most out of it. “Just watched this. Please tell Jack and Jason to do a ghost hunt together next. It has to happen,” one viewer asked. Another agreed with praise for the pairing, commenting, “I’d like to see more from Jack & Mewes. I loved it.”
On the other hand, some viewers wanted an expert-led investigation of Sasquatch, but many audience members turned off when they realized this was not what they’d be getting. However, others commented that this was never the aim of the show. “I think people miss the point,” one viewer explained. “Sometimes it’s not about finding something real, it’s just about entertaining people and I like Jack, he’s funny.”
The Show’s Seasons and Episodes
As of writing, Jack Osbourne’s Night of Terror has two 90-minute installments; “Bigfoot” and “UFOs”. There is also an earlier iteration named The Osbourne’s Night of Terror, which features the rest of Jack’s family on a traditional ghost hunt.
Famous Guest Appearances
Jack and Jason conduct their investigations alone, but they do receive contextual help regarding what to look out for from some Bigfoot experts. These are:
Mireya Mayor
As an anthropologist and primatologist, Mireya works as a correspondent for National Geographic. Having been described as the ‘female Indiana Jones,’ she is no stranger to the unusual and tells Jack and Jason she is slowly becoming a Bigfoot believer. Before helping the boys with their investigation, she appeared on Expedition Bigfoot.
Kevin Llewellyn
A ‘lifelong Bigfoot enthusiast,’ Kevin has had multiple experiences with the cryptid and documented these in various books, such as Incessantly Bigfooting: Light-Hearted Stories from a Lifelong Bigfoot Enthusiast.
Kevin lends his expertise to podcasts such as Bigfoot and Beyond, and television talk shows such as Bigfoot Today. He appears in Night of Terror to share his secrets with the boys, stating that he prefers to let Bigfoot come to him rather than the other way around.
Controversies and Criticisms
Though most viewers felt the investigation was genuine, other aspects of Jack Osbourne’s Night of Terror: Bigfoot were criticized. The main gripe for many viewers was his choice of sidekick in Jason. “I love anything Bigfoot and also as long as Jack is part of it,” a viewer commented. “But it would have been so much better if he would have teamed up with his sister, I think they work together great”
Others agreed, “Jack you can do better, find a sidekick who is funny and drop [Jason]… Treat the subject matter with a little more respect.” The same review also touches on another criticism: the large amount of filler in the show. “It has some interesting footage and Jack’s enthusiasm carries the programme to a degree, but running around in the dark with [Jason] struggles to deliver 1hr 22mins of content.”
AllYourScreens also commented, slightly more harshly, on the lack of any real investigation. “Jack Osbourne tries his hand at unsuccessfully tracking down Bigfoot in a two-hour special that has more filler in it than a 99-cent convenience store burrito.” They left readers with the conclusion, “Unless you’re a Bigfoot TV show completist or some sort of odd Jack Osbourne or Jason Mewes super-fan, I can’t imagine why you’d bother watching.”
Future Outlook
Jack Osbourne’s Night of Terror has more specials on the way for Halloween 2023. In the next season, it appears Jack is taking on more traditional haunted locations, such as “Nevada State Prison” and “Glenn Tavern Inn” alongside his friends and family.
As for Night of Terror: Bigfoot, it was the first special released in the season, almost two months before the “UFOs” special was added to Discovery+. There are some kinks that the production team worked out between the two, namely the pinpoint focus on Bigfoot, which leads to a lot of filler to pad out the runtime. There’s also a lot of ‘pointless’ tension in the constant mentions of dangerous grizzly bears and the terror of camping in a dark forest.
However, when the show doesn’t use quintessential spooky sound effects and empty scares, it does include some interesting information about Bigfoot. It’s entertaining to see a feature-length paranormal special, as very few shows get to play around with such a long runtime. But, it appears most paranormal fans would rather stick to short episodes that are packed full of evidence than sit through countless interviews with eyewitnesses.
Conclusion
Jack and Jason do well as hosts, bringing some humor in without displaying a lack of care for their investigation. However, this doesn’t change the fact that they don’t gather any real evidence or attempt to debunk that which they do find.
All in all, I think this is the weaker of the two Night of Terror specials. This is a shame, considering the potential, but I feel the combination of comedy and horror isn’t balanced here as well as it could’ve been.
You can probably give Jack Osbourne’s Night of Terror: Bigfoot a miss unless you really want to see two men walking around a forest in the dark. Instead, try the other installment, Jack Osbourne’s Night of Terror: UFOs, which manages to mesh the paranormal with a laid-back approach better.