Plot:
We’re told this is a real story. Real people are portraying themselves, etc…
In the swamp lands, snakes, birds, and various other creatures are going about whatever business they have. A terrible noise scares these animals. Blonde Moppet is running across a field runs to a gas station. Blonde Moppet’s mother thinks there’s a Wildman on the farm. The landlord doesn’t believe her and sends Blonde Moppet back on his way. After he heads home, the group of old men laugh about it.
Blonde Moppet is running home, hears something. He gets to the farm. Our narrator is Blonde Moppet as an adult. We get the starting credits now as we view the peaceful swamp.
Fouke, Arkansas, is a small town with a population of 300. It’s near Texas and Louisiana. This is the town that rolls up the sidewalks at sunset, a very rural place that has a lot of farmers and ranchers. It’s pleasant until dark.
Flashback, Smoky Crabtree and his son Travis building a fire. They do some trapping.
Next re-enactment, Willie grabs his gun starts shooting, didn’t believe in Creature at first.
John Hixon recounts his encounter. The Creature ran on 2 legs.
John Oates tells how some of his hogs were killed with the Creature who came up and down the creek. Oates got rid of the hog corpses and checked the day after. The corpses were gone. The Creature got them.
Start to learn about Boggy Creek and its annual flooding. Very few people go into the swamplands let alone the heavy swamps. Creature comes out very soon after dark. Newspaper first mentions it as the Fouke Monster.
Fred Crabtree is hunting and spots the Creature. Being unsure if it was man or beast kept him from firing. Months later, Fred’s uncle, James, is hunting. Animals are hiding that day. He sees the Creature walking in the woods and leaves. James and Fred never mentioned seeing the Creature for years.
Creature travels the creeks. Searcy family lives near a creek. One night, only Mom and a daughter, Mary Beth, are at home. They have no phone; closest neighbor is a mile away. Close to sundown, Mary Beth draws up some well water and heads indoors. The Creature is skulking around. Reading that night, Mary Beth puts her cat out for the night. She puts a quilt over a window to block a draft when she hears the cat screeching. And she starts screaming seeing the Creature. Mom eventually revives her. Mary Beth talks about the Creature. They find the cat the next day, dead, untouched. It died of fright.
Creature comes out when the light would normally play tricks with you. A boy is whittling. By the way, we learn that real men hunt deer. Whittling Boy chases after the dogs after the “deer”. In the woods, the chase continues. Whittling Boy spots the Creature, opening fire. He runs, dropping the gun. The Creature is in pain but wasn’t found.
Fouke community readies for action. Big hunt planned. Men are bringing hunting dogs from several states. Blonde Moppet is along, too. I think we’re supposed to assume the camera is watching from Blonde Moppet’s point of view. Men are carrying shotguns and rifles. They follow the dogs. Some hunters are even on horseback. They go through the areas the Creature was seen.
Sadly, the horse died from second hand smoke inhalation.
A man is bucked from his horse. Dogs have the Creature’s scent, but, won’t follow it. Most of the hunters head home disappointed. A few stay to search a little longer after dark, but not straying into the deep woods.
At first, the Creature didn’t hurt anyone. It vanished for 8 years back into the deep swamps. We are attacked with a swamp montage with possibly the worst 70s ecological folk rock ever conceived in the twisted mind of a James Taylor Cat Stevens fusion hybrid. The beauty of nature continues filling the screen. Time marches along through the seasons. The song’s lyrics delve into the mind of the Creature. Slowly, a few adventurous teenagers start camping in the swamp again.
Travis Crabtree is heading for the swamp to camp. And, another 70s eco-rock song deadens my sense of hearing. He is doing camping stuff. He stops by to visit Herb Jones, local hermit. Herb has lived in the swamp for years. Herb doesn’t think there is a Creature. Living in the swamp for 20 years, he should have seen it at some point.
A car stops and drives away. They saw something. The Creature is back. Animals are disturbed and fleeing. OH Kennedy finds a 3 toed strange track in a field. This is of national interest. Kennedy is interviewed asked if the Creature is a Sasquatch. He doesn’t know. Some guys rule out the possibility of a gorilla, monkey, orangutan, etc…Kennedy has heard some strange noises….
Blonde Moppet narrates some more. We get another re-enactment. Creature always travels Boggy Creek.
Some kids want to tell their grandpa about something they saw. They tell Mom about seeing the Creature. Kids drag her to where they saw it. Peaceful music, Mom is about ready to leave when seeing the Creature. Kids run with Mom in the rear.
Charlie Woolridge saw the Creature crossed the road.
In a trailer, some girls are having a slumber party. They hear something. One girl is convinced someone is outside the trailer, hears breathing. Suddenly, the Creature roars. The girls panic and get the rifle. Looking for bullets, slowly fumble putting the bullets in. Creature is gone. In the morning, the girls are hysterical and, the Creature trashed things outside.
Somehow, the Creature has changed. It’s on the rampage.
Aerial footage, one man had heard the Creature before. This time, it killed his prized dog. This man will kill the Creature for killing his dog. This time it’s personal.
Creature will stay in some areas for a while. However, he always uses the creeks.
2 couples are moving into a house. Each couple has a child. The men work late. They move in on Monday, but Thursday. Women are in the house. We get a Creature POV shot. They hear something. As creepy music is playing in the background, Creature tries getting in the house by opening the door. The women manage to wedge the door shut.
They don’t know who it was. They have the bright idea to leave the house, taking the kids and heading for the road. Neighbor checks around the house, not finding anything. Women return.
The next day, they have some company for the weekend to fish. They head off to the creek. With no luck fishing, the boy, Corky, finds a strange 3 toed track. Both of them return to the house.
That night, everyone is asleep. Creature skulks back. Guy hears something. Everybody else wakes up. Creature is coming, put a chair under the knob to wedge the door shut. All of them are deathly afraid. The husbands arrive. All are babbling at once. Getting some shotguns, later after getting some boom sticks, shade pulls up. Creature’s furry paw grabs inside the house. It looks like a bad gorilla costume. So bad the Vampire Beast in Robo Vampire would be an improvement. Every one of them is panicking.
They go outside to find the Creature. Opening fire, Creature cries out; don’t know if it was hit at all. Women are screaming. Go to get the Sheriff who looks around not finding a thing. See the tracks. A panther is supposed to live under the house. Its panther tracks. Sheriff leaves them an extra gun. He’ll check further down the road and leaves.
Everyone is about to hit the sack. One guy feels the call of the porcelain and heads for the can. Creature breaks the window as the guy is on the throne. He rushes out of the bathroom. Panic, get the guns again. They spot the Creature shoot at it some more. Check to see where they think it fell.
Stumbling around the dark, one guy is sent back to protect the women. Creature attacks some guy. It’s so dark, can’t tell what’s happening.
They take the wounded guy to the Sheriff who gets a police escort to take them to the Texarkana hospital. The guy is in shock but recovers. The couples moved away. The question is what did the Creature want in the house?
Blonde Moppet is now a grown man, returning to the old home place. Creature is still out there. It may be real or not. But, near dark, watch for the Creature. As long as there is still wilderness and mystery, the Creature exists.
Swamp, hear the Creature roar as the end credits roll. More 70s ecological folk rock attacks us…
