THE BEAST OF BOGGY CREEK: The True Story of the Fouke Monster by Lyle Blackburn Page B
Authors: Lyle Blackburn
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film. The chance to potentially see themselves on the big screen compelled them to show up and try their hand at acting. Even the local police force assisted Pierce by setting up roadblocks and supplying props such as vehicles.
For a crew, Pierce relied on volunteers. He already had a small roster of high school age kids from Texarkana who had helped him shoot commercials, so he called on their help down in Fouke as well. Pierce rounded out his crew with some of the local Fouke kids and other volunteers. Since the kids often had school or chore obligations, they were not always available every day. Having a large pool of volunteers ensured that he would have enough help during the shoots, although the ever-changing makeup of the crew did not make things easy.
In the role of the monster, Pierce used a few different actors, including his brother-in-law, Steve Lyons; Steve Ledwell; and local boy, Keith Crabtree, who ultimately received the credit in the film. To create the costume, Pierce used a bit of ingenuity to fashion something that would reflect what people claimed to have seen and would also hopefully frighten audiences in the climatic final scene.
Once we got to the ending, I knew we had to do something for some kind of payoff. So we ordered a gorilla suit from some costume house in Los Angeles, and I went down to the five-and-dime store and bought a bunch of old wigs, and we cut ‘em into pieces and sewed ‘em all over the top of the gorilla’s head, and that was it.
Today, many small-time movie makers are familiar with the methods Pierce used to make The Legend of Boggy Creek —“guerilla film making,” as it has come to be known—but at the time Pierce was definitely taking a huge risk by investing time and other people’s money into an independent venture that literally depended on the effectiveness of a modified gorilla mask and unproven actors. However, as time would tell, the movie would ultimately make a monkey’s uncle out of any doubters.
The Legend of Boggy Creek
If you’re ever driving down in our country along about sundown, keep an eye on the dark woods as you cross the Sulphur River Bottoms. You may catch a glimpse of a huge, hairy creature watching you from the shadows.— From the narration of The Legend of Boggy Creek
Not only has The Legend of Boggy Creek become a B-movie cult classic, but it also has bragging rights for being one of the first horror films shot docu-drama style. Whether intentional or not, the film’s gritty, piecemeal production and first-person accounts impart a sense of realism that makes the incredible story seem all the more believable. This technique, common today, was way ahead of its time and is a major reason why this cult gem endures despite its shortcomings.
Of the 60 or so “actors” eventually credited in the film, nearly all of them ended up being locals who played themselves, or stood in for other locals, to reconstruct the alleged encounters with the monster. Much of the film’s soundtrack was overdubbed using a combination of suspenseful narration and eyewitness retellings (voiced in unabashed Southern drawl), which contributes to the overall feeling of authenticity. These people look and sound scared, as if Pierce had miraculously been there to film the encounter as it was actually happening. Because of this, it seems less like a movie and more like a horrifying live news broadcast. Not surprisingly, it was frightening to many viewers, especially during its original release in 1972. The movie scored a G rating, which drew in the younger audience, but the movie managed to spook the adults as well.
Admittedly, The Legend of Boggy Creek appears “dated” by today’s standards, but it’s not hard to imagine the impact it had in the drive-in back in the day. It was still a time of relative innocence, despite the on-going Vietnam war, so adults and kids alike were still susceptible to its scares. Sure, the lumbering gorilla-faced
For a crew, Pierce relied on volunteers. He already had a small roster of high school age kids from Texarkana who had helped him shoot commercials, so he called on their help down in Fouke as well. Pierce rounded out his crew with some of the local Fouke kids and other volunteers. Since the kids often had school or chore obligations, they were not always available every day. Having a large pool of volunteers ensured that he would have enough help during the shoots, although the ever-changing makeup of the crew did not make things easy.
In the role of the monster, Pierce used a few different actors, including his brother-in-law, Steve Lyons; Steve Ledwell; and local boy, Keith Crabtree, who ultimately received the credit in the film. To create the costume, Pierce used a bit of ingenuity to fashion something that would reflect what people claimed to have seen and would also hopefully frighten audiences in the climatic final scene.
Once we got to the ending, I knew we had to do something for some kind of payoff. So we ordered a gorilla suit from some costume house in Los Angeles, and I went down to the five-and-dime store and bought a bunch of old wigs, and we cut ‘em into pieces and sewed ‘em all over the top of the gorilla’s head, and that was it.
Today, many small-time movie makers are familiar with the methods Pierce used to make The Legend of Boggy Creek —“guerilla film making,” as it has come to be known—but at the time Pierce was definitely taking a huge risk by investing time and other people’s money into an independent venture that literally depended on the effectiveness of a modified gorilla mask and unproven actors. However, as time would tell, the movie would ultimately make a monkey’s uncle out of any doubters.
The Legend of Boggy Creek
If you’re ever driving down in our country along about sundown, keep an eye on the dark woods as you cross the Sulphur River Bottoms. You may catch a glimpse of a huge, hairy creature watching you from the shadows.— From the narration of The Legend of Boggy Creek
Not only has The Legend of Boggy Creek become a B-movie cult classic, but it also has bragging rights for being one of the first horror films shot docu-drama style. Whether intentional or not, the film’s gritty, piecemeal production and first-person accounts impart a sense of realism that makes the incredible story seem all the more believable. This technique, common today, was way ahead of its time and is a major reason why this cult gem endures despite its shortcomings.
Of the 60 or so “actors” eventually credited in the film, nearly all of them ended up being locals who played themselves, or stood in for other locals, to reconstruct the alleged encounters with the monster. Much of the film’s soundtrack was overdubbed using a combination of suspenseful narration and eyewitness retellings (voiced in unabashed Southern drawl), which contributes to the overall feeling of authenticity. These people look and sound scared, as if Pierce had miraculously been there to film the encounter as it was actually happening. Because of this, it seems less like a movie and more like a horrifying live news broadcast. Not surprisingly, it was frightening to many viewers, especially during its original release in 1972. The movie scored a G rating, which drew in the younger audience, but the movie managed to spook the adults as well.
Admittedly, The Legend of Boggy Creek appears “dated” by today’s standards, but it’s not hard to imagine the impact it had in the drive-in back in the day. It was still a time of relative innocence, despite the on-going Vietnam war, so adults and kids alike were still susceptible to its scares. Sure, the lumbering gorilla-faced
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