Name: The Legend of Boggy Creek
Genre: Horror
Rating: 45
Cast: Willie E. Smith, Jeff Crabtree, Buddy Crabtree

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Anton Bitel

VODzilla.co

amid all the footprints found, the livestock deaths, the sightings and close encounters, what The Legend of Boggy Creek lacks is a coherent narrative to lend urgency, or even shape, to its otherwise loosely episodic structure...

May 12, 2017

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Frank Wilkins

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

A campy little fun-loving cult classic thriller.

Oct 26, 2003

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El D D

I guess it was easier to scare folks in 72. As for the people hyping it up on socials im never listening to yall again lol. Its not bad but its not as good as everyones saying either.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/03/23

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The M

fantastic movie. This is what got me into bigfooting

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/22/23

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Audience Member

In a world of timely and scary themes like 'fake news' and misleading government information, how about spotlighting The Legend of Boggy Creek? An independent docudrama film, shot for peanuts, which explores a town in deep-south America, concerned with the presence of an urban legend. Yes, this film is undoubtedly an oddity and one that not only manages to be creepy but is also a calling card for any newcomer who wants to pick up a camera and shoot a low-budget film of ambition and intrigue. The Legend of Boggy Creek dares to explore the local, remote, and haunted town of Fouke, Arkansas: a place where folks can come on down and make a pleasant living; fishing, farming and experiencing a sense of community all in one package. Oh, and also be spooked by a supposedly terrifying creature known in those parts as the "Fouke Monster", stalking the woods around the town like a ghostly presence. Such surrounding woods and forests are cinematically shot like a labyrinth of dark foreboding. Murky rivers; scorched sunsets; wildlife roaming ominously. All combined with the cry of something ferocious in the distance to create a very creepy gateway into territory no outsider would ever dare to tread. Maverick director Charles B. Pierce crafts together two elements to tell the Boggy Creek story. The film is a half documentary, half horror hybrid, put together mainly by interviewing a handful of locals about this folktale (some in belief, others in disbelief), while also presenting siege-horror film set pieces to craft audience scares. The narrator introduces himself as a former resident who grew up in Fouke and describes the legend as something altogether too real and mysterious in its behavioural pattern. This adds to the film's already eerie aesthetic and the voiceover performer adds a gentle but also suspect tone of delivery that works very well. The town is skilfully documented like a dark fable as faux interview footages are balanced with dramatic scenes and actors. New town-folk becoming terrorised by the creature in their own homes is portrayed much like a siege thriller. But in these moments the film struggles to maintain its narrative structure, reverting to horror cliches with irregular acting from its amateur cast. Pierce's reach certainly exceeds his grasp, and with creaky support by an incredibly low-budget, the horror-documentary balance does not strike an entirely successful chord. Yet, there is still intrigue here. When one takes into account the on-going popularity of the found footage genre: going back to the controversial release of Cannibal Holocaust (Deodato, 1980) and then catapulted into financial breakthroughs with the release of The Blair Witch Project (Myrick & Sánchez, 1999), we realise the horror audience's appetite for the exploration of something perhaps authentic and eerily real. The Legend of Boggy Creek certainly proved to be a financial hit among the drive-in circuits and exploitation theatres, enough to generate interest in the film's faux-doc structure. Despite the film's weaknesses, there is substantial interest and atmosphere generated by the film's fable-like structure. If Boggy Creek proves one thing, it is that a low budget horror film with absolutely no violent content and no extensive technical prowess can generate enough eerie atmosphere and curiosity to be worth seeking out; especially for its bleak and unsettling portrayal of a quiet town spooked by a local legend. Yes, The Legend of Boggy Creek is perhaps dated and somewhat flawed compared to higher-budget horror film productions; and with its faux-doc style may strike a chord with audiences as somewhat familiar territory. However, Charles B. Pierce's ambition alone means that the film retains a spooky sense of menace, whilst also being a time capsule of small-town life - a game of two halves.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

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Timothy L

Has a very dark feel. It reminds of Jaws in the woods without the big budget and production. With a bigger budget I think the consensus would have been more on board. In my opinion the movie is good just the way it is. It provides the eerie feel and sounds that we all experience of the wilderness.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/11/19

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Audience Member

I can see how this was groundbreaking and very new to audiences, just like The Blair Witch Project if for us. It doesn't scare or even feel creepy anymore, so most of its *s come from the fact that it was that generation's BWP. The mockumentary format was arguably created by this film, which is ridiculously awesome fact. The creators of BWP have said that this was their inspiration. Also whats great is that used the same people in the movie as those who told their stories about the creature.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

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Audience Member

Their is no such thing as a Bigfoot ??

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

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Charles B. Pierce

Director

Willie E. Smith

Willie

John P. Hixon

Self

John W. Oates

Self

Jeff Crabtree

Fred Crabtree

Buddy Crabtree

James Crabtree

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Synopsis

Rural residents recount sightings of a hairy, three-toed biped in Arkansas.

Director: Charles B. Pierce
Rating: G
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 21, 2017
Runtime: 1h 30m

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