After watching The Legend of Bigfoot (Harry Winer, 1976) and Sasquatch: The Legend of Bigfoot (Ed Ragozzino, 1977) a while ago I decided to go back to the source of all Bigfoot-themed docudramas, and that’s of course The Legend of Boggy Creek, the first movie from interesting independent filmmaker and set decorator Charles P. Pierce. I’ve been waiting for a good DVD release now for quite a while, because with these films - often murky and cheap - never makes a good impression in lesser quality. Now a good version is out, still in 4:3 format, but superior to every other release - including, what I’ve heard, the earlier version-to-go-to from Hen’s Tooth.
Like the above mentioned films Boggy Creek is a mix of narration, real footage and reconstructions of Bigfoot-encounters. What differs this one from the others is how it’s closer to a traditional documentary, with interviews with the real witnesses (who also seem to play themselves in the reconstructions) and the narration is told from the point of Charles B. Pierce, but it’s not him doing the narration - which is odd. He shows up on screen several time, interviewing witnesses and I guess it’s him at the end, visiting the place where he saw Bigfoot as a child.
I was a bit afraid it would suck when the movie started, because the first scene - a flashback to his childhood - is actually quite bad, awkward acting and crappy editing. It’s like that somehow was test footage before the actually shoot started. The rest is of good quality and it’s never boring. What surprised me most is how extremely well-made the Bigfoot-sequences is, where the creature is seen like this dark menacing figure inside the woods. It’s masterfully shot and manages to be quite creepy at times.
Pierce also never claims the footage he’s shot is for real, and the documentary seamlessly moves between reality and dramatizations. The creature itself is a local version of Bigfoot called the Fouke Monster, named after the town it’s been seen. Now, I think it’s hard for us who doesn’t live in the US and in similar towns, to fully understand the mystery of Bigfoot. I mean, we hardly have any cryptids in Scandinavia, and we also have enormous amounts of forest and wilderness. I wonder why? Maybe the mysteries is needed in these small towns, fake or real. Something you can think of while watching the nature around you, close to a religious concept - just like with UFO’s and conspiracy theories. They desperately want life to be something more than just working, sleeping, eating and fucking.
I miss that here. We need mysteries.
The Legend of Boggy Creek have its fair share of cheese, but Charles B. Pierce was a good (not great) director and he clearly had an eye for spookiness. I’m not saying this is his crowning achievement, he still had a lot to learn about filmmaking and his later films, for example The Town That Dreaded Sundown and The Evictors is way better, but one thing you can’t take away from Boggy Creek is the childhood memories. Because if there’s something I’ve heard over and over again is how this film affected the life of those who saw it as kids, just like the (similar in style) In Search Of… tv-series. It triggers the imagination without making it silly, it takes the witness reports seriously and creates excellent reconstructions without going into Ivan Marx territory.
I think I fully understand the fascination for Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Fouke Monster etc now, and if there’s one movie you should start with if you wanna get into Bigfoot-spirit, it’s this one.
"The rest is of good quality and it’s never boring."
I hardly remember the beginning of this flick....but I do remember it having a serious tone/style.
"and manages to be quite creepy at times."
There are some creepy moments in it....
"I mean, we hardly have any cryptids in Scandinavia, and we also have enormous amounts of forest and wilderness. I wonder why? Maybe the mysteries is needed in these small towns, fake or real."
Yeah but also could increase tourism in one area.
And merchandising....
"I think I fully understand the fascination for Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Fouke Monster etc now, and if there’s one movie you should start with if you wanna get into Bigfoot-spirit, it’s this one.
Maybe time for a rewatch....good review, Fred.
Posted by: Megatron | November 05, 2014 at 23:32