To preface my review I should note that I'm a huge fan of all things cryptozoological: Bigfoot, Loch Ness, Jersey Devil, Mothman, Lizardman, etc., so it's easy to understand my excitement when History Channel was producing a show that followed a relatively unknown beast in the Rougarou.
I approached the episode curious but cautious. I wasn't sure if it was real; however, soon enough my suspicions of it being a mockumentary were founded. This, surprisingly, did not deter from my overall viewing experience. In fact, I'd say it embellished it. Bear with me.
History Channel gets a ton of flak for its rather derivative programming that has taken a noticeable nosedive in the past decade. I thought Cryptid was a step in the right direction. Once you realize it's a mockumentary you begin to appreciate it for what it really is: a fascinating educational history of both Louisiana culture and mythos wrapped around an intriguing storyline that sets up each piece of knowledge quite well. With each plot point there's a parallel piece of history and mythos regarding the Rougarou. This is all set up organically within the confines of the story and isn't shoehorned into the plot just to make a few extracurricular points. This organic pacing coupled with apropos asides made for a fascinating mini-series.
I compare it to Animal Planet's Lost Tapes which had a similar premise. For those unfamiliar, Lost Tapes was a 30-minute "found footage" show that often had some poor sap (or saps) getting lost or stranded far from home and unceremoniously tracked down by some creature. One episode was Bigfoot. Another the Kraken. The Chupacabra was tossed in as well for good measure. The problem with this show, in my opinion, was two fold. It wasn't a sustainable premise (after all how many really fascinating cryptos are there before you start scraping the bottom of the barrel?) and secondly it seemed to focus more on the fake story than the myth behind the being. This handcuffed the overall experience in my opinion but still left a rather entertaining product.
I felt Cryptid blew it out of the water in both style and substance. The acting in Cryptid is top notch in my opinion. The ensemble won't win Emmys but they had me convinced that they were living in the moment and not just reading lines to cash a paycheck. They approached the story with a serious tone and I think that laid the groundwork for a compelling 6-part series that stayed interesting throughout.
I've seen my fair share of reviews lambaste the show solely because it was fake, much like the Megaladon nonsense that aired months ago prior Shark Week. I think this is a poor comparison. If I were to compare it to anything of equal value I'd point to the Norwegian film "Trollhunter". I can understand the frustration with being 'duped', but I hardly think that devalues the show in any way. I'd rather have six episodes of a scripted piece with an eventual payoff then something like any of the millions of Bigfoot expeditions where they go into the woods for a weekend and find absolutely nothing but random animal recordings.
I thoroughly (and surprisingly) enjoyed Cryptid and hope the History Channel continues to produce similar series in the same vein.
