#151. The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)

DVD Synopsis: A 1970s documentary-style drama questions the existence of a hairy 7ft tall Sasquatch-type monster that lives in a swamp outside of Fouke, Arkansas. According to the locals the monster walks on two feet, has a characteristic smelly odor and kills chicken, cattle, dogs and livestock but so far it hasn't killed any people. The monster supposedly harassed two families in the late 1960s, but since then few have seen the monster yet it can be heard in the swamp at night. Actual interviews with area residents tell the tale. Could this be real or a conspiracy of a backwoods community looking for attention?

The Legend of Boggy Creek is a documentary (filled mostly with staged re-enactments) about a supposed real-life creature that was spotted in the Boggy Creek area of Fouke, Arkansas back in the 60's and early 70's. This creature, which resembles a Sasquatch, had allegedly appeared to dozens of local residents around that time, and The Legend of Boggy Creek was an attempt by director Charles B. Pierce to condense all of these sightings into a feature film. 

And was his attempt successful?   Well, while the finished movie is certainly not perfect, I have to say it definitely managed to keep my interest. The first half hour or so of The Legend of Boggy Creek is a string of vignettes in which we hear from a series of eyewitnesses about their encounters with the creature, all of which are fairly engaging (even if a few do stray a little far from believability). The ending of the film is also very strong, following two small families who have the most frightening encounter with the creature to date. If The Legend of Boggy Creek does have a weakness, it's in the middle section of the film, when the story temporarily veers away from the creature to focus more on the local residents. These scenes were just too slow for my taste, and definitely seemed as if they were filler to pad the film's running time, Yet this proves only a minor speed-bump in an otherwise entertaining film. 

With beautiful cinematography that really shows off this area, and a rustic, folksy atmosphere that director Pierce maintains from start to finish, The Legend of Boggy Creek turned out to be a real pleasant surprise.