A hunter sets out to bring home a bear as a trophy, but a large, hairy creature ambushes him and leaves him dead. The killer turns out to be a legendary monster, a Bigfoot, who crawls back to his cave to sleep as if nothing happened. Later, Bigfoot targets an elderly couple by tipping over their RV, killing them in a shocking display of force. The creature then surfaces again at a 1980s-themed rock concert in Deadwood, South Dakota, where the noise disrupts its hibernation and jolts the town into chaos. Harley Henderson [Danny Bonaduce] — the cynical event organizer — hatches a plan to kill the giant and stage a sensational tourist attraction around its stuffed body, hoping to save his failing show.
But Simon Quinn [Barry Williams], Harley’s former musical partner turned environmentalist, sees something different: the creature is the last of its kind, and it must not be driven to extinction. The clash between profit and preservation intensifies: Harley relentlessly pursues the monster, while Simon argues that the animal is defending its territory. Harley assembles a crew of hunters and mercenaries to track Bigfoot, and a number of would‑be wildlife catchers attempt to photograph the encounter, only to be wiped out one by one. As the hunt intensifies, Simon uses a hang glider in a bid to spot the creature, and Harley’s team presses its pursuit with rifles and ruthless tactics. Bigfoot retaliates, killing several would‑be captures, and the action spills out toward the concert’s location, drawing in the military response.
Army helicopters join the pursuit, pushing Bigfoot toward danger as the town braces for a deadly showdown. Most of Simon’s activist allies fall either to the monster or to the National Guard, forcing a mass evacuation to shield the residents. With all her men dead, Sheriff Becky Alvarez [Sherilyn Fenn] and her partner Gunderson [Bruce Davison] struggle to call off an air strike after spotting Harley and Simon on Mount Rushmore, intent on trapping the creature. Gunderson is struck down when Bigfoot boots his patrol car into a tree, a crushing turn of events that also endangers Henderson. In the aftermath, Gunderson tells Alvarez that she’s a brave sheriff and that her father would be proud of her, even as the attack jets finally bring down the monster with missiles, destroying Mount Rushmore in the process.
A year later, Mayor Tom Gillis [Howard Hesseman], having survived his injuries, publicly honors the two men who faced the threat, declaring them heroes and unveiling a statue in their likeness. The town looks on as Mount Rushmore is rebuilt, symbolizing a reluctant peace and a memory of the strange chaos that briefly united and divided Deadwood.
