In 1972 an advertising salesman from Texarkana borrowed $100,000 and made an indie picture entitled "The Legend Of Boggy Creek". His name was Charles B. Pierce. The film was released on the drive-in circuit and earned an astounding $20 million. Bigfoot was just emerging into the public consciousness at that time and we all wanted to know more about the elusive and frightening creature. Charlie's film was a "docudrama", containing re-enactments of alleged encounters between the residents of Boggy Creek and the mysterious monster. Many of the locals actually portrayed themselves in the film.
That was the humble origin of the Sasquatch film. Over the years many others have tried to emulate the success of that picture. Some have retained the documentary format while others have woven fictitious tales of men and women being menaced by the beast. Mr. Pierce himself tried to follow his initial success with a Boggy Creek II, which mixed new re-enactments with a fictitious story about a college professor and a few students trying to find the legendary critter.
Although this movie bears the name of Boggy Creek it does not follow the original's documentary format, preferring instead to offer up a fictional narrative concerning a troubled young lady and some friends attempting to stay a week in her recently departed father's cabin in Boggy Creek, Texas. The filmmakers should have stuck with the re-enactment format, then they would have actually had a story to tell. Instead we get this plodding, deadly dull pile of Squatch poop.
The movie runs 1 hour and 27 minutes. That first hour is pretty much filled with nothing but padding. Jennifer, the troubled young woman, loved her father and hates her mom, who left daddy when she was still a child. The fact that Jennifer's loss has come as a crippling psychological blow to her is established by long, lingering shots of her staring off into the swamp, shots that seem to go on forever. Friends and their boyfriends show up to help Jenny get over it. They are all trite and stereotypical. There is a brooding redneck with a shotgun, who lives next door and warns them that there is something evil in the woods and that they should leave. Guess what? They don't. Instead they decide to follow through with camping in the woods. The two young men are brutally dispatched by a Sasquatch in short order. The women run for their lives, but to no avail. The final scene shows poor, pathetic Jennifer surrounded by Bigfeet, her fate all but sealed.
The original Boggy Creek was an amateurish affair, to be sure. Mr. Pierce had never directed a feature film before, and it showed. (He actually did go on to make a couple of very fine films and is credited with coming up with the line "Do you feel lucky, punk?" for Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry.) Amateurish though it was it still managed to deliver a few chills to that 1972 audience. This movie delivers nothing. There is no plot, no suspense, no insightful or witty characterizations, no drama, and no horror. The highlight of the film is when they all take a boat ride and you get to see footage of the lake. It appears to be a very lovely place. I wish they'd showed us more of it!
So this is the fate of the Boggy Creek franchise, if it can be honestly labeled that. From an inauspicious but promising beginning it has quickly devolved into a cheap vehicle for stock characters and clichéd situations and, of course, lots and lots of padding. Do yourself a favor and seek out the original, if you're determined to see a Boggy Creek movie. The rest of them are just a waste of time.
That was the humble origin of the Sasquatch film. Over the years many others have tried to emulate the success of that picture. Some have retained the documentary format while others have woven fictitious tales of men and women being menaced by the beast. Mr. Pierce himself tried to follow his initial success with a Boggy Creek II, which mixed new re-enactments with a fictitious story about a college professor and a few students trying to find the legendary critter.
Although this movie bears the name of Boggy Creek it does not follow the original's documentary format, preferring instead to offer up a fictional narrative concerning a troubled young lady and some friends attempting to stay a week in her recently departed father's cabin in Boggy Creek, Texas. The filmmakers should have stuck with the re-enactment format, then they would have actually had a story to tell. Instead we get this plodding, deadly dull pile of Squatch poop.
The movie runs 1 hour and 27 minutes. That first hour is pretty much filled with nothing but padding. Jennifer, the troubled young woman, loved her father and hates her mom, who left daddy when she was still a child. The fact that Jennifer's loss has come as a crippling psychological blow to her is established by long, lingering shots of her staring off into the swamp, shots that seem to go on forever. Friends and their boyfriends show up to help Jenny get over it. They are all trite and stereotypical. There is a brooding redneck with a shotgun, who lives next door and warns them that there is something evil in the woods and that they should leave. Guess what? They don't. Instead they decide to follow through with camping in the woods. The two young men are brutally dispatched by a Sasquatch in short order. The women run for their lives, but to no avail. The final scene shows poor, pathetic Jennifer surrounded by Bigfeet, her fate all but sealed.
The original Boggy Creek was an amateurish affair, to be sure. Mr. Pierce had never directed a feature film before, and it showed. (He actually did go on to make a couple of very fine films and is credited with coming up with the line "Do you feel lucky, punk?" for Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry.) Amateurish though it was it still managed to deliver a few chills to that 1972 audience. This movie delivers nothing. There is no plot, no suspense, no insightful or witty characterizations, no drama, and no horror. The highlight of the film is when they all take a boat ride and you get to see footage of the lake. It appears to be a very lovely place. I wish they'd showed us more of it!
So this is the fate of the Boggy Creek franchise, if it can be honestly labeled that. From an inauspicious but promising beginning it has quickly devolved into a cheap vehicle for stock characters and clichéd situations and, of course, lots and lots of padding. Do yourself a favor and seek out the original, if you're determined to see a Boggy Creek movie. The rest of them are just a waste of time.