Creature From Black Lake . Weekly Alibi . 09-02-97

Creature From Black Lake

DIRECTED BY: Joy N. Houck

REVIEWED: 09-02-97

A classic entry in the unheralded "Bigfoot/ Abominable Snowman" subgenre of horror flicks, Creature is one of my all-time favorites, after The Legend of Boggy Creek and its really odd sequel, Return to Boggy Creek. Treat Williams lookalike John David Carson and the endlessly-overlooked Dennis Fimple (well, I might be pushing it a little) play anthropology students who hop in their van and drive to Louisiana in search of a mysterious creature, apparently for extra credit. Arriving at a tiny town, the boys run into trouble with the local sheriff when they start asking about the creature. Taken to the home of Dub Taylor, they blow it again by mentioning the creature in front of Mom, who blames the monster for her son's disappearance. Eventually, our heroes run across a couple of nubile (and ridiculously willing) country gals ("we just do what comes natural"), one of whom turns out to be the sheriff's daughter. After a midnight encounter with the girls is spoiled by strange snuffling noises, the boys are tossed in the pokey to think things over. There, they meet Jack Elam (himself a creature), who insists that the monster has been hanging around his house. The fellas enter the woods again, finally coming face-to-face with the object of their search, and all hell breaks loose. Now, there ain't much to this flick, but what the hell do you want from a Bigfoot movie anyway? We get to hear Dennis Fimple tell the chicken story, a '70s van is knocked around by the monster and the cast members say the word "creature" more often than Pacino spouted the f-word in Scarface. Rent it. (Saturn)

--Scott Phillips

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