The Legend of Boggy Creek is a horror movie in the form of a true-life documentary. As such is was well ahead of The Blair Witch Project. Still, it wasn’t the first of its kind. Haxan, from 1922, probably takes that honor. Cinematic huckster Charles B. Pierce must be given credit, though, for ingenuity.
Presented as an account of real life events, The Legend of Boggy Creek, was made on an extremely limited budget, and it shows. However, the movie was an enormous success. It’s like Obsession or Backrooms today.
Some people actually believed it was the truth. A few gullible people even thought The Blair Witch Project was genuine footage from some lost kids. Wait, it gets worse. An oafish young guy I worked with believed everything in the Conjuring movies really happened. Hey, it was inspired by true events, wasn't it? P.T. Barnum was right.
The Legend of Boggy Creek is cheap and amateur, but that only adds to its effectiveness. Surely no real movie looks this bad?
This is nearly a found footage movie. Locals are interviewed about their experiences witnessing the Foulke Monster. It’s a missing link/bigfoot creature rumored to prowl the swamps near the town of Fouke, Arkansas. There are some cool re-enacted scenes of the monster marauding around the farms of the area.
If you put your brains on hold, you might just actually believe in the beast for an hour-and-a-half. Of course I don’t think for a minute any such being exists or existed in modern times, but cynicism isn’t much fun. Strap in, let the movie unfold, and you will believe a guy in a cheap costume is really a link to the prehistoric past. Or maybe it’s just a Furry who got lost at one of their events.
Locals were used as the cast, giving The Legend of Boggy Creek a degree of Cinéma vérité authenticity. One of the locals wrote a book about how the filmmakers mistreated the citizens of the area, but I haven't read it. The movie was extraordinarily successful, especially considering its miniscule budget, and I'm sure Producer-director-cinematographer Charles B. Pierce didn’t consider sharing the wealth with the Foukers. I imagine there were some resentment.
Charles B. Pierce died in 2010. He worked as a set director on numerous films before he turned to making independent films. The Legend of Boggy Creek was his debut, and while he made quite a few other cheapo films, none saw the success of Boggy Creek. One, however, came close.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown was made with the same formula as Boggy Creek. It’s presented as a documentary about a serial killer in Texarkana. This time, at least, the movie was based on a genuine case.
The Legend of Boggy Creek is legendary in its own right. It played drive-ins for ages, racking in the box office dollars. I remember seeing commercials for it on TV when I was a kid. I never managed to see the movie until today.
I used to see The Legend of Boggy Creek in video stores, but the G-rating scared me off. I wanted blood and violence. Most of those old tapes were dupes anyway. Pierce made bank with his movie at the theater, but Boggy Creek was ruthlessly pirated.
I found a DVD recently and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it this morning. An incredibly out-of-place digital copyright was inserted under the title in the credits. Early, predawn morning, the front door open and wind from the nearby creek coming in, it was the next best thing to watching The Legend of Boggy Creek at a drive-in.
The print I watched isn’t bad, but The Legend of Boggy Creek is now copyrighted and exclusive copies are for sale at the official website. Along with, of course, various bits of merchandise like shirts, a soundtrack, and a Boggy Creek Casebook. You can buy The Legend of Boggy Creek on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, or even 4K UHD. I’m sure it looks great, but in some cases a scratchy print just feels right. I considered ordering one in the past, but the copy I found for two bucks worked out just fine.
There were various sequels, remakes, and regurgitations, but I don't plan to bother with them, and neither should you.
Written by Mark Sieber
Presented as an account of real life events, The Legend of Boggy Creek, was made on an extremely limited budget, and it shows. However, the movie was an enormous success. It’s like Obsession or Backrooms today.
Some people actually believed it was the truth. A few gullible people even thought The Blair Witch Project was genuine footage from some lost kids. Wait, it gets worse. An oafish young guy I worked with believed everything in the Conjuring movies really happened. Hey, it was inspired by true events, wasn't it? P.T. Barnum was right.
The Legend of Boggy Creek is cheap and amateur, but that only adds to its effectiveness. Surely no real movie looks this bad?
This is nearly a found footage movie. Locals are interviewed about their experiences witnessing the Foulke Monster. It’s a missing link/bigfoot creature rumored to prowl the swamps near the town of Fouke, Arkansas. There are some cool re-enacted scenes of the monster marauding around the farms of the area.
If you put your brains on hold, you might just actually believe in the beast for an hour-and-a-half. Of course I don’t think for a minute any such being exists or existed in modern times, but cynicism isn’t much fun. Strap in, let the movie unfold, and you will believe a guy in a cheap costume is really a link to the prehistoric past. Or maybe it’s just a Furry who got lost at one of their events.
Locals were used as the cast, giving The Legend of Boggy Creek a degree of Cinéma vérité authenticity. One of the locals wrote a book about how the filmmakers mistreated the citizens of the area, but I haven't read it. The movie was extraordinarily successful, especially considering its miniscule budget, and I'm sure Producer-director-cinematographer Charles B. Pierce didn’t consider sharing the wealth with the Foukers. I imagine there were some resentment.
Charles B. Pierce died in 2010. He worked as a set director on numerous films before he turned to making independent films. The Legend of Boggy Creek was his debut, and while he made quite a few other cheapo films, none saw the success of Boggy Creek. One, however, came close.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown was made with the same formula as Boggy Creek. It’s presented as a documentary about a serial killer in Texarkana. This time, at least, the movie was based on a genuine case.
The Legend of Boggy Creek is legendary in its own right. It played drive-ins for ages, racking in the box office dollars. I remember seeing commercials for it on TV when I was a kid. I never managed to see the movie until today.
I used to see The Legend of Boggy Creek in video stores, but the G-rating scared me off. I wanted blood and violence. Most of those old tapes were dupes anyway. Pierce made bank with his movie at the theater, but Boggy Creek was ruthlessly pirated.
I found a DVD recently and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it this morning. An incredibly out-of-place digital copyright was inserted under the title in the credits. Early, predawn morning, the front door open and wind from the nearby creek coming in, it was the next best thing to watching The Legend of Boggy Creek at a drive-in.
The print I watched isn’t bad, but The Legend of Boggy Creek is now copyrighted and exclusive copies are for sale at the official website. Along with, of course, various bits of merchandise like shirts, a soundtrack, and a Boggy Creek Casebook. You can buy The Legend of Boggy Creek on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, or even 4K UHD. I’m sure it looks great, but in some cases a scratchy print just feels right. I considered ordering one in the past, but the copy I found for two bucks worked out just fine.
There were various sequels, remakes, and regurgitations, but I don't plan to bother with them, and neither should you.
Written by Mark Sieber
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