Monster's Blog

I remember being a child of about ten years old, sitting down to watch 'The Legend of Boggy Creek' with my family, excited by the thought of a bigfoot creature lurking in the swamps out there in America, and slightly terrified by the assertion by the filmmakers that this was a 'true story'. It's amazing (albeit unsurprising) how much scarier things are when you believe them to be true.

When I sat down to watch it recently, I cast my mind back to that childhood experience. I remembered so vividly the creature's unearthly scream, its terrifying silhouette in the landscape, its rattling of the doors of the caravan in the film's most frightening scene of all.

I prepared myself to experience all that terror again.

Except it wasn't terrifying. It wasn't even the slightest bit scary.

No doubt about it, watching 'The Legend of Boggy Creek' recently was something of a surprise and a disappointment. Admittedly I don't believe in Bigfoot anymore, so the 'true story' claim no longer holds any power. This isn't a re-enactment, its just a story. And robbed of the potency of 'fact', that creature is now just a guy in a hairy suit, just like any other movie monster.

But still. Seeing that potency vapourise in front of me felt rather sad. A memory diminished.

Anyway, all that aside, is 'The Legend of Boggy Creek' any good? Well yes, it is, in its own idiosyncratic way. For a start, it adopts an effective mock documentary style. The 're-enactments' are presented as such, and Arkansas locals are interviewed about their sightings of the creature. In fact its very hard to say if these interviews are scripted or genuine (a trick that 'Blair Witch Project' emulated less successfully). In many ways 'The Legend of Boggy Creek' plays out much like a modern dramatised documentary. It is very effective (it certainly fooled one ten year old).

The film is also superb at capturing a sense of place, with its use of nature footage and audio tracks. In many ways 'The Legend of Boggy Creek' is a loving tribute to Arkansas, its wildlife, and its way of life. Indeed the monster can be seen as a personification of Arkansas (or should that be monsterification?). I'm reminded of the British mythology surrounding the Green Man, whose spirit inhabits Britain's woodlands. There's certainly no doubt that director Charles B. Pierce views the creature with much affection (there's even a folk song lamenting his loneliness at one point).

All that said, there's no denying that the film is slow paced, even laboriously dull at times. And no, it isn't scary.

But if you fancy a real slice of Americana, enjoy mockumentary film making, or have an interest in Bigfoot-type creatures then this is definitely worth checking out.

'The Legend of Boggy Creek' will always have a special place in my heart.

'Behemoth the Sea Monster' is a British entry into the monster movie genre (if you'll allow me to call it a genre), and follows in the 1950's tradition of giant monsters born from reckless nuclear testing. This time it isn't Tokyo or New York under attack, but good old London town!

The story begins with a lecture by scientist Steve Karnes, played with real enthusiasm and energy by Gene Evans. In it he warns of the dangers of nuclear testing, and of the "gemoterical progression of deadly menace" that may result from it . The story then switches to Cornwall, where dead fish are being washed up on the shore and a fisherman dies under mysterious circumstances. Before long, Karnes is on his way to the scene, suspecting giant monsters afoot.

'Behemoth the Sea Monster' is a thoroughly entertaining movie. Though relatively slow paced for the first half hour, it is never dull. The characters are engaging, and there are plenty of moments of unintentional humour (such as the wildly inconsistent 'Cornish' accents, the 'scientific' jargon, or the photograph of a giant footprint - so clearly a small footprint beside a Matchbox car).

That's not to say though that the film is so bad its good. In many ways it is simply good. The radioactive nature of the beast is exploited to good effect, with some scenes of radioactive burns being surprisingly grisly, highlighting the very serious warning on which the film is based. The victims of the violence are also surprising - children are killed on more than occasion. There is definitely a genuinely dark edge to 'Behemoth the Sea Monster' which serves it well.

The decision to keep the monster largely off-screen until the film's climax was most likely an economic rather than a dramatic one, but whatever the reason it works to the film's benefit, creating real suspense and allowing the viewer to imagine a more fearsome beastie than the one that eventually reveals itself. That said, the creature design and animation are perfectly adequate, and the dramatically lit scene in which it tears down a row of electricity pylons is particularly effective.

'Behemoth the Sea Monster (also known as 'The Giant Behemoth') is certainly not without its flaws. It is somewhat derivative of director Gene Lourie's own, earlier 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms' , and the eventual confrontation with the monster at sea is a bit of a disappointment, as is the missed opportunity to see it stomping on landmarks like Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

But these are minor niggles about an otherwise enjoyable and curiously British monster movie which I can recommend.

'The Mist' is one of those movies, like John Carpenter's 'The Thing' or Neil Marshall's 'The Descent', that depicts a group of people in a struggle for survival against monsters, and in doing so demonstrates that actually human nature, when under duress, is often scarier than any monster out there.

The plot concerns a sinister mist that descends upon a remote town, a mist that harbours a variety of nasty supernatural creatures. The story centers around a group of people trapped by this mist in a supermarket, among them the main protagonist (played by Thomas Jane) and his son.

It isn't long before tensions mount amongst the survivors, as conflicts emerge - firstly over what to do about the threat, and later (and most disturbingly) over whose fault the whole situation is. To say more than that would be to give too much away, and I'm certainly not going to discuss the now famous ending.

The development of rifts between the protagonists is convincing and well handled, and is informed by a sharp eye for both the nuances of human behaviour, and for the social and political state of America. In fact, the increasingly violent nature of these conflicts is often more frightening than the encounters with the monsters, and more of a threat to the survival of the group.

That's not to say that the monster attacks aren't any good, because they are. They are suspenseful, they are well timed, and you're never quite sure how they are going to play out. If I do have a a criticism of 'The Mist', however, it would be that the creature design (with the exception of one magnificent beastie toward the end) is somewhat derivative and uninspired, and some of the CGI isn't as good as it could have been, which occasionally impacts on the viewer's suspension of disbelief.

But these are minor gripes, which don't lessen the fact that 'The Mist' is an excellent film - well written, well performed, and well paced. It also benefits from a haunting score by Mark Isham. And though its portrayal of humanity may be bleak, it is compelling and thought provoking, and the film never forgets to entertain.

Just don't let anyone tell you the ending beforehand!

'Diary of the Dead' has somewhat polarised fans and critics alike, some dismissing it as Romero's weakest zombie film by far, others hailing it as his most intelligent and provocative film since 1978's 'Dawn of the Dead'. Consequently I approached it with cautious excitement.

Certainly the opening scene doesn't disappoint. Shot from the point of view of a news camera-man it shows us the outbreak of the zombie plague at the scene of a paramedic emergency. It is brilliantly shot, its horrific events initially in the background, then obscured by the news reporter, frustrating the viewer and inviting an uncomfortable ghoul-like thirst for blood in them. The film's central theme is also introduced nicely when the camera-man asks a paramedic to move his van along as it is spoiling their shot of the crime scene.

This central theme of the media's manipulation and construction of reality, of things not existing unless they happen on camera, is certainly nothing new - cinema has dealt with this postmodernist theory many times before. But it is as pertinent now as it has ever been.

The plot follows a group of film students and their lecturer, caught up in the middle of the rise of the zombies yet determined to capture the unfolding events on camera so that others might see the truth, after realising that the traditional news media is censoring and distorting its depiction of events. Of course, the 'truth' proves to be elusive, their relationship with their medium more complex than they anticipated.

'Diary of the Dead' is a road movie of sorts, the protagonists driving from one location to another in search of a safe haven from the marauding undead, encountering a wide variety of characters both dead and alive. The first hour of the movie is gripping and chilling. Scenes such as the one in an abandoned hospital are seriously creepy, and there are some effective new takes on ideas presented in earlier movies of the director, including a disturbing family re-union. It is also the funniest of his movies, some of the methods of zombie despatch being outrageously inventive.

There is a problem with 'Diary of the Dead' though. And that is the method Romero chooses to deliver his subtext. Or rather 'text'. As with 'Land of the Dead' the social commentary doesn't feel like a naturally occuring layer beneath the horror movie. Rather it feels like the film's rasion d'etre, the zombie apocalypse merely a device for delivering an essay on the nature of visual media in the 21st century. The zombies take a back seat in this one.

There's nothing inherently wrong with that (although it is no doubt the main reason why many fans were disappointed with this film), but what does matter is that the film has made its point about halfway through its duration, and then continues to over-state it again and again instead of racking up the tension in the horror-side of things. What's more, the method of delivering the film's message (mainly monologues to the camera and voice-overs) have the effect of interrupting the flow of the narrative, and this becomes a real problem in the latter half of the film.

That said, the film's commentary on the media, and on a nation afraid of itself, are intelligent and considered. And when that commentary is made visually (rather than being spelled out verbally) it can be incredibly effective indeed. Its just that the film feels unbalanced and talky, and seems to fizzle out rather than build to a climax. Which is a shame, as 'Diary of the Dead' has some glorious moments and is very nearly a superb film. As its however, it is merely very good.

I have to admit that I was slightly obsessed with the Omen trilogy when I was teenager, loving the films so much that I developed a habit of scrawling the number 666 on all of my school desks, books and bags. Sad but true.

Having seen the films again recently I think it is fair to say that only the first film has stood the test of time. I remembered the second in the series 'Damien Omen II' as being a great film, but in reality it is heavy-handed, lacking in atmosphere, and treats its characters as mere puppets to be toyed with in its innumerable death sequences, which lack the inventiveness of the original film. Even the film's highlights (the infamous frozen lake and elevator scenes) lacked the emotional punch that I thought they had.

I'm obviously becoming too discerning in my own age.

Anyway - whilst the films deteriorated in quality as the series progressed, the same can not be said of Jerry Goldsmith's superb soundtracks. Of these, the soundtrack to the third film 'Final Conflict: Omen III' is generally considered to be the most accomplished and ambitious, and whilst I think that is probably true my personal favourite is the soundtrack to 'Damien: Omen II'.

What I love about it is its masterful combination of orchestral arrangements, male and female choirs, and (unusually and strikingly) electronic keyboards, the latter bringing a real energy and urgency to the score.

Unlike the scores for the other Omen movies, Goldsmith throws subtlety out of the window for this one. The main title is a throbbing, almost martial stomp-along which exudes real menace, a menace that continues throughout the entire score - the staccato croaks and crawks on pieces like 'Claws' and 'Broken Ice' are especially chilling, evoking as they do the sound of a raven, while somehow sounding other-worldly and demonic.

It is clear that Goldsmith had fun with this score. Whilst dark and sinister, it is so in a very playful way - you don't feel threatened by the music, rather you are swept along with it in an air-punching, demonic reverie, willing it along to the next surge of power and hellishness. This is music written from the antichrist's point of view, not the film's ill-fated protagonists.

The 'Damien: Omen II' soundtrack is available in a great 2 CD set which contains two versions of the score - the orchestral version and the version used in the actual soundtrack. They make a fascinating comparison. The orchestral version is the more nuanced, and the most crisply recorded, yet the version from the soundtrack contains some great snippets such as 'Aunt Marions Visitor', and gives greater prominence to the electronic keyboard. Both offer a different yet equally enjoyable experience.

Great stuff.