CRYPTOZOOLOGY IN THE MOVIES

WATCH THIS SPACE!

2009-10-05T05:03:00.000-07:00

THOSE VISITING THIS SITE WILL NOTICE A LACK OF ACTIVITY - THAT'S BECAUSE A BOOK IS BEING WRITTEN ON THE SUBJECT....

Bigfoot At Holler Creek Canyon (2006)

2008-09-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

Directed by John Poague, this might as well be called, 'Bigfoot and the nude women', this is nothing short of diabolical, not exactly a soft porn romp but there's sex all over the place, moreso in the dialogue! Very annoying when such monsters are continuously relegated to such b-grade trash. Strangely however, some of the effects, when Bigfoot starts to go on the kill, are not too bad but it will leave you wondering just why this film was billed as a horror, hey, it even stars porn 'legend' Ron Jeremy. Don't give up the day job...

1/5

Bigfoot (1987)

2008-09-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's another of those 'kids meet Bigfoot...adults harass Bigfoot....shed a few tears...nice happy ending' type of films. Given a sprinkling of Disney dust this film still doesn't rise above mediocrity. Sure, there are some more engaging moments as Disney not always portrays the beast-man as lovable and cuddly, but for me there's too much predictability even if this made for TV drama tries so hard to be a break from the norm. Better than most of the b-movie tragedies though!

2.5/5

Bigfoot (1970)

2008-09-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

More sexy women are kidnapped by an angry Bigfoot, but hopefully the flailing females will be rescued by their biker pals...let's hope not.

1/5

Bigfoot - The Unforgettable Encounter (1994)

2008-09-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

This should've been called 'The Unforgettable Film', it's just another of those cheap backwoods romps where an annoying teenager befriends a Bigfoot, the couple going through the trials and tribulations of man-meets-Sasquatch, proof once again that Bigfoot movies are nearly all the same with the exception of just a handful. Let's face it, there's only really two Bigfoot stories that the American film industry has to tell...one is this kinda movie, the other is where a man-beast rips everyone to shreds. that's all they've got...

1/5

Big And Hairy (1998)

2008-09-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

Don't worry kids, this isn't what you think, but then again that's probably a shame, because this is a straight to dvd comedy that will have you reaching for the sick bucket as basketball flop Picasso befriends a Bigfoot who just happens to be a basketball genius...need I go on ?

1/5

the Beautis & The Beast (1974)

2008-09-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

Breasts, Bigfoot and sex...what more can a man want! This is a case of what Bigfoot might be doing when he's out and about...'The Beauties..' turns our favourite Sasquatch into a bit of a peeping tom as he stares on various nude girls at their summer camp and decides to invade their privacy. I don't think this movie was up for an Oscar....!

1/5

The Beast Of Hollow Mountain (1956)

2008-09-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

A Mexican rancher discovers a living dinosaur in the local swamp, which of course, then decides to go on the rampge. Not as appalling as one might think although the climax in the boggy swamp leaves a lot to be desired as our rubbery horror attempts to feast on a young boy. the effects aren't too bad for its time, just a shame the poor dinosaur perishes at the end...I dunno, there's always someone out there brave enough to take on these marauding leviathans!

2.5/5

The Beast Of Bray Road (2005)

2008-09-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Aaahh, tragedy strikes as once again as another alleged real monster of cryptozoological folklore gets bad treatment in the wake of this poor US low-budget pile of garbage. This movie may have been based on the encounters around parts of Wisconsin's woodlands, but on this occasion, the creature which is said to be part human and part animal leaves a little to the imagination as it rips its way through the neighbourhood, making the movie just another monster stalk 'n' slash flick for teenagers. Whatever happened to the engaging crypto-based movies that relied on atmosphere and slow build up, and more importantly, stuck to the facts ? Extinct.
Bad acting, a hilarious monster and so many characters you just want to see ripped up...

1/5

Beast From Haunted Cave (1959)

2008-09-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

I love the cover of this, depicting a devil-eyed rubber horror grasping as some busty maiden whilst in the distance twon folk attempt to destroy the menace. Here, a gangster, his two mob companions and his girlfriend have gold on their minds...but instead end up in a cave inhabited by a giant spider which pretty much has all the busty girls and local thieves on its mind...

Great b-movie fun that you'll probably watch once and then discard...

2/5

Bad Moon (1996)

2008-09-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

This horror movie slipped by the way side but has been considered by some as a forgotten gem. I'm sitting on the fence with regards to its merits but can see why it's enjoyed, although it must be said that the werewolf genre within the horror film word, has been much neglected and often falls short when such movies are made.
An expedition team trudging through Nepal are attacked by a ferocious creature which turns the main character, a guy named Ted, into a werewolf. Much of this film however is absed around a dog named Thor, not exactly complicated stuff but I won't go into detail here. Personally, I think the acting is pretty bad, in fact, much of the film is bad, which to me doesn't make 'Bad Moon' a gem at all...

1.5/5

At The Earth's Core (1976)

2008-09-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

I was always pretty hung up on these kind of films as a kid, even if the intrepid explorers often uncovered lizards which were made out to look monstrous! Still, this is still a great adventure story produced in Britain by Amicus who made the occasional atmospheric spooker.
A Victorian scientist, played by Peter Cushing and a big money-maker companion, played by Doug McClure, decide to test out a new drilling machine in the Welsh mountains only to disturb an untrodden world of flying reptiles and the likes.
Sure the film takes on the same premise as so many others, and let's face it, the basic plot of 'man meets monster' has been done time and time again, but this little movie isn't the worse you'll see, even if it ends up as a dire love story.

3/5

Ataca El Chupacabras (1996)

2008-09-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

Directed by Julio Aldama, not that it makes any difference...this is another of those films easily forgotten, leaving you to wonder why some decent director out there in film land doesn't make a movie about the Puerto Rican 'goatsucker' instead of all these horrifying low-budget attempts.

The local monster attacks a town drunk who in turn finds himself transforming into a vampire...how thrilling.

1/5

Ape Canyon (2003)

2008-09-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

A weird little movie this, with the sub-heading of 'The Story Of Bigfoot: North America's Greatest Lover"! So, expect a comedy with this one and not an intellectual cryptozoological romp. Put simply, when a woman is attacked and almost raped by a hairy man-beast....she only goes and falls in love with it!! It's all very crass trash scraping the barrel to say the least...

1/5

Among Us (2008)

2008-09-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

Rather predictable low budget horror in which a bunch of terrible film-makers go in search of Bigfoot in the dark woods of Pennsylvania. Of course, they do bump into the hairy behemoth and find it's rather more aggressive than they anticipated.

1/5

The Adventures Of Superman (1953)

2008-09-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

George Reeves stars as the caped crusader from Episode 23 of season 1. Originally aired on February 20th the episode concerns the possibility that a werewolf is on the rampage after strange prints are found at a deserted lumber camp.

2/5

The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961)

2008-09-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

A rather obscure eight-minute Warner Bros. feature that probably won't be remembered...until now, and yet remains more elusive than the real Yeti! In this toon Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny set out to Palm Springs, but instead end up way off course and end up lost in some frozen landscape where they encounter the man-beast who actually turns out to be a real snowman in the sense he ends up melting!

2/5

The Abominable Snowman (1957)

2008-09-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

Classic stuff from the Hammer studio's which sways from the gothic horror path and instead sees Peter Cushing and company trek to the snow-laden Himalayas in search of the Yeti. This is one of the finest cryptozoological-related movies, with strong acting, and written by Nigel Kneale who penned so many spooky drama's and based this on his tv play entitled 'The Creature'.
This isn't your typical run of the mill monster movie and although we do finally get to see the hairy humanoids at the end, you won't be disappointed. Some very atmospheric moments indeed making this one of the best beast-men movies ever released.

4/5

The 13th Child (2003)

2008-09-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

Considering the staying power of the Jersey Devil, the dragon-like critter said to have prowled New Jersey's vast Pine Barrens for more than a century, film-wise the legend had died a death on the screen. 'The 13th Child' is no exception, a straight to video (or should that be DVD!) horror that is low on budget, low on acting talent and remains forgettable and one to avoid.

1/5

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1916)

2008-07-19T14:23:00.001-07:00

An epic of watery glory in this classic adaptation of Jules Verne’s masterpiece. Directed by Stuart Paton, and starring Lois Alexander, Curtis Benton, Wallace Clarke, Howard Crampton among others, and with undersea shots filmed in the Bahamas, which explains the crystal clear depths even in this silent, black and white version, even though no actual underwater cameras were used, as watertight tubes and mirrors allowed such actions. For many, this adaptation was a landmark for special effects despite it lacking much of the punch of the novel and seems to lean slightly more to Verne’s Mysterious Island book. It’s flat direction leaves a lot to be desired.

2/5

A Midnight Episode (1899)

2008-07-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

A French short film, with the title of UN BON LIT, this obscure silent movie directed by George Melies, is possibly one of the first ever giant insect productions. It is a strangely quirky, surreal and comical piece in which a man sleeping, under the glare of the moon, is awakened suddenly as a giant bug crawling over him. He destroys the critter only to see three more of the hideous forms scuttling up the wall, which he tends to with candle flame, causing the insects to explode. After the weird ordeal, the man then casually slips back into bed and contentedly dozes back to sleep.

3/5

The Legend Of Boggy Creek (1972)

2008-07-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

This film is the sole reason as to why for many years I've looked into the folklore of monsters. It is also the reason many cryptozoologists do what they do, and also the reason as to why films such as 'The Blair Witch Project' exist. 'The Legend Of Boggy Creek' is also the reason as to why this blog has begun. Several years ago I wrote two exhaustive articles for Animals & Men magazine on cryptozoology-related movies, commercials, tv shows etc. This blog is the world's first website on such things, so there's no better place to start than with this Charles B. Pierce movie, probably my favourite film of all time which, to this day, maintains its eeriness and splendour. Rumour has it that director Charles Pierce borrowed $160,000 from a trucking company to shoot this movie...little did he realise it would go on to make over $20 million and become one of the greatest cult films ever made. It tells a simple story which, in fragments is based on fact, centering upon the river bottoms of Arkansas, particularly the area known as Fouke. Many of the actors in the movie are actually real witnesses to a hairy, bipedal creature that has roamed the swamps for many, many years. They've heard it scream, they've seen the livestock kills, and others have seen it walking in the shadows. Is is a relation to Bigfoot, or something smaller ? Whatever the case, this film plays along like a documentary and that's where its unintentional crackly weirdness come out, inspiring movie after movie, but never being equalled. The real story revolved around local man Smokey Crabtree who lived and hunted in the Arkansas swamps. He never saw the creature which would go on to become known as the Fouke Monster, but he heard it scream. Of course, the film doesn't strictly stick to the facts, in the end the man-beast becomes rather agitated by its surroundings and several people shooting at it, but this isn't churned out like a typical horror movie, instead it has an eerie narration, excellent acting when you consider these are people thrown in at the deep end, and it comes across a little like one of those creaky old Arthur C. Clarke documentaries.

To this day '...Boggy Creek' remains scary, and for me is beyond criticism because as cryptozoological movies go, none will better this drive-in classic. Although sequels were spawned, the original remains the kind of film everyone has always attempted to make. The film should have even been bigger, but it didn't do bad did it ?

'The Legend Of boggy Creek', the finest example of a cryptozoological movie.

5/5