Return to Boggy Creek

I thought I had seen this movie, twice in fact. Then I read all the other reviews, and they didn't quite match up. A man and three young students, two girls and a boy, go to this town to study alleged bigfoot sightings. I still feel pretty confident that this is the movie I saw, despite the discrepancies in the reviews. Therefore I'm putting my review back: If you like the occasional 'B' movie, as I do, then Return to Boggy Creek is the movie for you! Whether it's setting the sleep timer, and nodding off to your favorite movie-bomb, or just hanging out with friends. Boggy Creek, the mute button, and you've got a fun night of improv. Look out! Is the legend true? I think we just might find out, along with a not-so-stellar cast. Will there be any equipment malfunctions at particularly key moments in the film? Does our blonde, manly, young hero have any chest hair? Will the exceptionally high-tech Technicolor last the entire film? You'll have to watch to find out for yourself.

Three kids, including Diff'rent Strokes' Dana Plato, become lost in the swamp during a hurricane. A Bigfoot-like creature called Big-Bay-Ty comes to their rescue. Had he eaten them, the movie would have been so much better. Dawn Wells plays the kids' terrible mom. Her overwrought acting makes you wish Mary Ann had stayed on Gilligan's Island.

It's pretty insipid even for a G-rated movie. It's also mind-numbingly dull with terrible performances all around. Most of the supporting actors seem to be making the lines up as they go along. There's some of the worst music to ever be put forth by man in this movie. Have earplugs ready. Being a huge fan of The Legend of Boggy Creek, I was of course disappointed by this weak Disney "sequel" that has nothing to do with the original. That film's creator, Charles B. Pierce, had no association with this film. Pierce would go on to do his own Part 2 years later. The only thing to really say in that sequel's defense is that it's still better than this turd.

It actually could be considered as a form of self-mutilation to watch all three of the "Boggy Creek" films in a row. The pace of these films is so incredibly slow that even a snail would fall asleep to it. Part two drops the documentary/narrative style of the original and tries to look more like a regular film. This approach generates a slightly better feeling of involvement, especially since the characters are good old- fashioned walking, talking hillbillies. Rest has more or less returned to the community of Fouke in Arkansas, until a tourist family spots a big hairy thing near the bridge of Boggy Creek. The grandchildren of one of the villagers are the first ones to encounter the monster up close and personal, when they go off venturing in their boat. For you see, "Return to Boggy Creek" is actually a children's movie, and a very VERY lame one, I may add. So the three kids are the main characters. They make a pact not to tell anyone what they've seen and decide to capture the monster themselves. Their quest takes quite some time, especially since the three little idiots are caught in a storm and the entire village gets worried about their disappearance. At this point I immediately thought: I hope this doesn't turn out the type of lame Walt Disney flick where the monster eventually saves the lives of the children and brings them back to their families. That would be really ridiculous. Well, I'm not going to reveal the ending, but rest assured it's a family film from start to finish. Don't expect any casualties or half eaten cadavers. There's hardly any suspense, but copious amounts pointless padding footage to compensate. Oh, and banjo music. Lots and lots of banjo music

I went into this one with low expectations so I wasn't disappointed. It's just a lame little Bigfoot movie for kids. Dawn Wells tries, but I think she emoted better on Gilligan's Island. I still love her, though. The kids are funny to watch, just because they're so unbelievable. Dana Plato (she plays Evvie Jo) ended up on her own TV series later on, and her acting was probably the best. Bruno's was probably the worst. We always crack up when he tells the kids he'll beat them at fishing. Best of all, it has a song. They sing it twice. For some reason, a lot of Bigfoot movies had songs. I don't know why that was. It's a decent song. It's not the best song in the world, but it fits the mood of this movie perfectly. Watch it when you're in a silly mood, or watch it with the kids and see what they think.

Return to Boggy Creek (1977)

1/2 (out of 4)

Horrible follow-up to THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK has three children getting stuck in the woods while a hurricane blows through. While out there they run into a Bigfoot like monster known as Big Bay-Ty and unlike the legends, he's actually not harmful at all. Okay, who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to try and turn a drive-in hit into some sort of weird Disney movie? Yes folks, the monster here is actually a good guy with a big heart who helps the poor children when they are in need. I'm really not sure what the producers were thinking but this thing is just a complete disaster from the word go and for the life of me it never makes any sense as to what the filmmakers were trying to do. I mean, did they really think people wanted to see a Bigfoot movie trying to act like Walt Disney? I'm sure this could have worked but not when you handle it as poorly as this film did. For starters, the majority of the running time has the three kids sitting around either talking, fishing or not really doing anything. Two old folks sit around and talk about whether or not the monster is real. Two of the kid's mother (Dawn Wells) constantly calls the children her babies yet she has no problem with the young ones going into the swamp with deadly snakes and alligators. The editing is horrid, the music score awful and there's a really annoying title song running throughout, which will drive you crazy. The monster looks decent but sadly you don't get to see it too much and when you do it's usually at night. The only reason to check this out is if you're interested in seeing Wells outside Gilligan's Island or wanting to see Dana Plato who plays one of the children. RETURN TO BOGGY CREEK actually manages to make the first film look like a classic.