Rating: 3/5
Hooptober 9.0 | 23/34 | Charles B. Pierce
I was seven years old when I first heard him scream. It scared me then, and it scares me now.
Fouke, Arkansas. A small town with a population of 350. By day, a typical small town. At night, a haunted landscape.
The film frames the narrative in a somewhat documentary format.
The movie effectively lays out the premise through interview and reenactment, during which the people of Fouke describe their run-ins with the “Fouke Monster.”
The monster is Bigfoot adjacent, especially with how his form cuts against the landscape.
Most Fouke Monster sightings occur around Boggy Creek, a swampy region that only experienced hunters and naturists can navigate.
The movie begins with a child running through the fields. He’s off to inform a landowner about a Fouke Monster sighting. The framing and pacing in this segment suggest a skilled cinematographer at work. Most of the cinematography is functional, although it has some small, beautiful moments.
I’ve only seen the unofficial sequel, And the Legend Continues, on MST3K. I can’t believe Charles B. Pierce directed both.
Compared to Pierce’s The Town that Dreaded Sundown, this hits harder because it maintains its documentary style and doesn’t have Sundown’s exhausting cop humor.
The narrator is well-spoken instead of dialect-appropriate. It makes sense from a viewing standpoint but creates a disconnect in my mind.
The film contains charming story and character songs, helping create a homespun feel.
By the end, the movie gets repetitive as the run-ins with the monster increase, and the same people keep encountering it.